# Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful

Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful is the third studio album by the American folk rock band the Lovin' Spoonful. It was released in November 1966 by Kama Sutra Records. It peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.

## Background

The Spoonful recorded Hums throughout 1966, whenever they had days off from their busy touring schedule. Most of the album was recorded in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, split between Columbia Records' 7th Avenue Studio and Bell Sound Studios, but additional recording took place in June 1966 at an unidentified Los Angeles studio. A string of sessions were originally set to take place at Columbia from August 16 to September 23, but recording was delayed due to booking issues.
Hums was a deliberate attempt by the band to record in a variety of styles. They composed and played in the pop, country, jug-band, blues and folk styles. It would ultimately be the last full project by the original lineup. The album managed to spawn four charting singles for the band, including the No. 1 hit "Summer in the City". "Rain on the Roof", "Nashville Cats", and "Full Measure" also appeared on the Pop charts, all but the last making it to the Top 10. Bobby Darin had a Top 40 hit with a cover version of "Lovin' You". Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash covered "Darlin' Companion" in 1969 on Johnny Cash at San Quentin. Principal songwriter John Sebastian said of "Nashville Cats" — which made No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 — "We thought our version would cross over to the country market. It never did. So we're always kind, gee, well I guess that tells us what we are and what we aren't." Flatt & Scruggs took "Nashville Cats" to No. 54 on the country charts as a single. Dolly Parton covered "Lovin' You" for her 1977 album Here You Come Again.
Hums of the Lovin' Spoonful was re-released in 2003 on the Sundazed label with bonus tracks consisting of four demos, instrumental tracks, and alternate versions/mixes of songs from the album, along with extensive liner notes. It was also released on CD along with Do You Believe in Magic? in 1995.

## Reception

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
| Mojo | |
| MusicHound Rock | 4/5 |
| Select | |
| Uncut | |
William Ruhlman of AllMusic wrote of the album: "An emphasis on the parts of the album is a way of describing it as more a loose collection of disparate tracks than a unified effort, despite Sebastian's hand in all the compositions and his lead vocals on most of them. This was by necessity, but also by design, since Sebastian and co. went into the studio trying to sound completely different each time. They often succeeded..."

## Track listing

All songs written by John Sebastian except where otherwise noted.
Side one
* "Lovin' You" – 2:25
* "Bes' Friends" – 1:52
* "Voodoo in My Basement" – 2:35
* "Darlin' Companion" – 2:22
* "Henry Thomas" – 1:40
* "Full Measure" (Steve Boone, J. Sebastian) – 2:40
Side two
* "Rain on the Roof" – 2:13
* "Coconut Grove" (J. Sebastian, Zal Yanovsky) – 2:38
* "Nashville Cats" – 2:34
* "4 Eyes" – 2:53
* "Summer in the City" (J. Sebastian, Mark Sebastian, Boone) – 2:39

## Personnel

According to Dennis Diken's 2003 liner notes, except where noted:
The Lovin' Spoonful
* John Sebastian – lead and backing vocals; acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards, autoharp; harmonium ("Bes' Friends"); ocarina and harmonica ("Henry Thomas"); additional drums ("Full Measure"); Irish harp ("Rain on the Roof"); pedal steel guitar ("Rain on the Roof" and "Nashville Cats")
* Zal Yanovsky – backing vocals, guitars; lead vocals ("Voodoo in My Basement"); slide whistle ("Henry Thomas"); wastepaper basket ("Summer in the City")
* Steve Boone – bass guitar, keyboards; upright bass ("Bes' Friends")
* Joe Butler – backing vocals, drums; lead vocals ("Full Measure")
* unidentified (played by the Lovin' Spoonful) – twelve-string guitar and Hohner Tubon ("Lovin' You"); banjo ("Bes' Friends"); woodblocks, bass marimba, wastepaper basket, log drums and steel drums ("Voodoo in My Basement"); organ and African hair drum ("Coconut Grove")
Additional musicians
* Henry Diltz – clarinet ("Bes' Friends"); photography
* Larry Hankin – Jew's harp ("Henry Thomas")
* Artie Schroeck – electric piano ("Summer in the City")
Production
* Erik Jacobsen – producer
* Roy Halee – engineering

## Charts and certifications

Year-end chart performance :
| Chart (1967) | Ranking |
| US Cash Box | 59 |