The twangy grandeur of Zal Yanovsky’s big guitar riff on the Lovin’ Spoonful’s You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice made it a Top 10 hit in the winter of 1965-’66. The track also caught the ear of Brian Wilson, inspiring him to write the Beach Boys classic, God Only Knows. Another Spoonful hit, Daydream, influenced Paul McCartney as he was putting together the Beatles’ Good Day Sunshine, from their groundbreaking 1966 album, Revolver.
In the mid-Sixties, the Lovin’ Spoonful were one the most innovative and well-regarded bands around. Yanovsky’s whimsical, wild, wistful and weird guitar work was no small part of the quartet’s popularity. It was the sunshine in the band’s self-described Good Time Music.
