Welcome Back ( John Sebastian song ) - wikipedia Welcome Back ( John Sebastian song ) For the Mase song, see Welcome Back ( Mase song ). For other uses, see Welcome Back ( disambiguation ). This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2014 ) `` Welcome Back '' German cover Single by John Sebastian from the album Welcome Back B - side `` Warm Baby '' Released March 1976 Format 7 - inch single Recorded 1976 Genre Folk rock, blues rock Length 2 : 51 Label Reprise Songwriter ( s ) John Sebastian Producer ( s ) Steve Barri, John Sebastian John Sebastian singles chronology `` She 's A Lady '' ( 1969 ) `` Welcome Back '' ( 1976 ) `` Hideaway '' ( 1976 ) `` She 's A Lady '' ( 1969 ) `` Welcome Back '' ( 1976 ) `` Hideaway '' ( 1976 ) `` Welcome Back '' is a popular record that was the theme song of the 1970s American television sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter. Written and recorded by former Lovin ' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in May 1976 after only five weeks on the chart, and also topped the adult contemporary chart ( the show itself had become an instant ratings success upon its premiere the previous fall ). It also reached No. 93 on the country chart. Contents 1 History 2 Chart performance 2.1 Weekly charts 2.2 Year - end charts 3 Other versions 4 See also 5 References 6 External links History TV producer Alan Sachs wanted a Lovin ' Spoonful - like theme song for a new ABC sitcom entitled Kotter. Sachs 's agent, Dave Bendett, also represented Sebastian and arranged for a meeting between the two. Initially, Sebastian had considerable difficulty with the lyrics since including the title character 's name did n't lend itself to a sufficient number of obvious rhymes. Instead, Sebastian decided to focus the lyrics on the idea of the series ' premise of Kotter returning to the very place he grew up and having dreamt of leaving to do something positive. The producers liked the resulting song so much that they changed the name of the series to Welcome Back, Kotter. Co-produced by Steve Barri and Sebastian, the song eventually sold over one million copies. The song originally had one verse, meant for the TV series. Because of the popularity of the show, Sebastian, in the single version, added a second verse to the song, as well as an instrumental section featuring a harmonica solo, before he resumed finishing up the verse, as well as the repeated chorus and coda to finish the song. The single version would eventually be used during the closing credits of Welcome Back, Kotter. Some final season episodes have played the entire song, less the instrumental section, as the closing credits rolled. Chart performance Weekly charts Chart ( 1976 ) Peak position Australia KMR 24 Canadian RPM Top Singles Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary U.S. Billboard Hot 100 U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks 93 U.S. Cashbox Top 100 Year - end charts Chart ( 1976 ) Rank Canada RPM Top Singles 42 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 58 U.S. Billboard Easy Listening 28 U.S. Cash Box 19 Other versions Northern California experimental band Mr. Bungle covered the song on January 13, 1992, in back - to - back English and Spanish versions, at The Berkeley Square in Berkeley, California. Canadian country music artist Chris Cummings covered the song in 2009 and released his version as a single. The version was later included on his 2010 album Give Me Tonight. The song was sampled by rapper Lupe Fiasco for his song `` Welcome Back Chilly '', rapper Mase for his song `` Welcome Back '', hip hop group Onyx in their song `` Slam Harder '', and by rapper AZ for his song `` Once Again ''. Swedish dream pop group jj recorded a version of the song in 2009. This version of the song is used in the trailer for the second season of MTV 's Scream. The song is often used by Atlanta Braves organist Matthew Kaminski for former Braves players when they are at bat for their current team. See also List of Hot 100 number - one singles of 1976 ( U.S. ) List of number - one adult contemporary singles of 1976 ( U.S. ) References ^ Jump up to : Whitburn, Joel ( 2002 ). Top Adult Contemporary : 1961 - 2001. Record Research. p. 217. Jump up ^ Steffen Hung. `` Forum - 1970 ( ARIA Charts : Special Occasion Charts ) ''. Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 12. ^ Jump up to : `` Lyrics : Welcome Back by John Sebastian ''. Top40db.net. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ `` Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada ''. Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ `` Top 100 Hits of 1976 / Top 100 Songs of 1976 ''. Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 12. Jump up ^ Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1976 Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Jump up ^ `` '' Welcome Back '' ( `` Welcome Back, Kotter '' theme song ) ``. Pitchfork. 2009 - 09 - 08. Retrieved 2016 - 10 - 12. External links Song review Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics John Sebastian Albums John B. Sebastian ( 1970 ) John Sebastian Live ( 1970 ) Tarzana Kid ( 1974 ) Welcome Back ( 1976 ) Satisfied ( 2007 ) Singles `` Well, Well, Well '' `` Welcome Back '' Related articles Even Dozen Jug Band The Mugwumps The Lovin ' Spoonful Chris Cummings Studio albums Somewhere Inside Lonesomeville Ooh, That Could Cost Him the Gold, Bob ! Who Says You Ca n't ? Give Me Tonight Compilation albums Chris Cummings Greatest Hits Notable singles `` I Waited '' `` Sure Enough '' `` Somewhere Inside '' `` Almost Always '' `` The Kind of Heart That Breaks '' `` A Minute and a Half '' `` Wild Wild West '' `` That 'll Teach Her '' `` No One Hurts Me More Than Me '' `` Welcome Back '' Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Welcome_Back_(John_Sebastian_song)&oldid=847147961 '' Categories : 1976 singles John Sebastian songs Chris Cummings songs Billboard Hot 100 number - one singles Billboard Adult Contemporary number - one singles Songs written by John Sebastian Television theme songs 1976 songs Reprise Records singles Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from January 2014 All articles needing additional references Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from October 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 23 June 2018, at 07 : 34 ( UTC ). 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Question: who sang the theme song to welcome back carter
Answer: former Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian