Zal Yanovsky

Zalman Yanovsky (December 19, 1944 – December 13, 2002) was a Canadian folk-rock musician and restaurateur. Born in Toronto, he was the son of political cartoonist Avrom Yanovsky and teacher Nechama Yanovsky (née Gemeril). He played lead guitar and sang for the Lovin' Spoonful, a rock band which he founded with John Sebastian in 1964.

In 1967, he left the Lovin' Spoonful and was replaced by Jerry Yester. Yanovsky released a solo album in 1968 titled Alive and Well in Argentina. In 1971, he retired from music and became a restaurateur, opening his own restaurant in 1979 and writing cookbooks. He continued to perform occasionally.

Yanovsky was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000 as a member of the Lovin' Spoonful.

Zalman Yanovsky was born on December 19, 1944 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Avrom Yanovsky, a Ukrainian-born political cartoonist and Nechama Yanovsky (née Germeil), a teacher of Polish heritage. As both parents were Jewish, Yanovsky attended Downsview Collegiate Institute in his teenage years.

Mostly self-taught, Yanovsky began his musical career playing folk music coffee houses in Toronto. He lived on a kibbutz in Israel for a short time before returning to Canada. He teamed with fellow Canadian Denny Doherty in the Halifax Three. The two joined Cass Elliot in the Mugwumps, a group mentioned by Doherty's and Cass's later group the Mamas & the Papas in the song "Creeque Alley".

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.