(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
John Sebastian - "Welcome Back"
Hit Number 1: May 8, 1976
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
I wouldn't blame anyone for not knowing the name John Sebastian. However, this guy accomplished more in the music world than you might think. For a while in the '60s, Sebastian was the lead singer for the band the Lovin' Spoonful, and though their run of popularity wasn't long, they did score a #1 hit in 1966 with "Summer In the City." I also seem to remember them being featured in my "Just Missed" section a couple times, so they very easily could have had a few different #1 songs. Instead, "Summer In the City" was their only one. Well, for the band anyway. After the Lovin' Spoonful dissolved, the members went into total obscurity, with one of the dudes in the band leaving music behind entirely, becoming a chef. Sebastian stuck around the music business, playing an impromptu performance at Woodstock and releasing a few albums, with some of them being kind of successful, but none that did a whole lot. Even still, the guy knew some people in the business, and he had some ties to some pretty famous people. One of those people would be Alan Sacks, who was writing a TV show with Gabe Kaplan.
Sebastian would say many years later in an interview that Sacks called him one day about doing some writing for the show, which was just titled Kotter. He wanted a theme song that had a Lovin' Spoonful-like sound, so who better to ask than Sebastian, right? Sebastian said he saw a pilot and read some early scripts for the show, and thought that he could really come up with something great. That's when he came up with "Welcome Back." For anyone who might not know what Welcome Back, Kotter is about, the show revolves around a teacher (Gabe Kaplan) who returns to the school that he went to. He constantly has to deal with a group of people who call themselves the "Sweathogs," which Songfacts describes as "a group of misfits." Apparently, it was Sebastian's song that made Sacks and company decide to rename the show to Welcome Back, Kotter.
As the theme song for a TV show, the song works. It's catchy, and has a friendly-sounding tune that leads smoothly into a classic sitcom. If I was alive when Welcome Back, Kotter was airing (which I wasn't, my parents hadn't even graduated from high school yet) I wouldn't mind tuning in to ABC to watch the show, being greeted by this song. It's like a nice handshake before watching the show. However, I start thinking about the song as a stand-alone song that reached the top of the pop charts, and that same magic just isn't there. It's not like the song's any less catchy, or the song is worse in any way, I just think it's only meant to be a theme song, not a hit single. I know it's probably not fair to compare these two theme songs, but take the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song for instance. It's a song that will forever be beloved by me and other people who grew up on the show, singing along to that theme song whenever the show came on. But if the SpongeBob theme were to become a #1 song on the Hot 100? Yeah, that would be a little concerning. Again, I'm not saying "Welcome Back" is just like the SpongeBob theme, but I'm saying that sometimes theme songs should only remain theme songs.
Everything just sounds so dinky. Sebastian's voice sounds kind of frail, and the guitar parts too leave something to be desired. There's also what sounds like a harmonica solo or something? Nothing stands out about the song, but it's not like it had to, or that was ever the intention. Sebastian was going for a straight TV sitcom theme song, and he succeeded. The song works wonderfully as a theme song, it's just a lackluster hit single. Because of the ties to the show, the song is likely beloved by many. And though I don't think it should've hit #1, it should be beloved. It's a song that probably brings back good memories for those who were alive when the show aired. Maybe my opinion of the song would be different if I was too.
Lastly, Welcome Back, Kotter was the big break for none other than John Travolta, who played one of those Sweathogs. That's a name that will be brought up several times as the '70s roll on, I can guarantee that.
GRADE: 5/10
IN POP CULTURE:
Chris Cummings, a country singer from Canada, covered "Welcome Back," and that version would be included on his 2010 album Give Me Tonight. Here's the video he made for his version:
(As an Atlanta Braves fan, I also just wanted to mention that the team's keyboardist, Matthew Kaminski, plays this song for former Braves players when they come up to bat with their new team, which is pretty awesome)
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