Joe Butler lives in Greenwich Village, NY with his second wife, Kim. They enjoy aerobics and getaways to their vacation home in the Berkshires which Joe recently rebuilt. Joe worked in construction for twenty odd years before the band reformed in 1991.

<< Joe Butler is the guy in the middle there.

In early 1965 as the "British invasion" dominated the American music scene, two rockers from Long Island, Steve Boone and Joe Butler, teamed up with two folkies from Greenwich Village, John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky, to form The Lovin' Spoonful and go on to record and perform some of the songs that would dominate the charts and establish them among the greats of the mid-sixties era.

Few American rock groups have gathered as much universal affection over the years as the brilliant and underrated Lovin' Spoonful. Their back catalogue of hits is constantly repackaged and reissued as their stature increases. They consisted of John Sebastian (vocal/guitar/harmonica/autoharp) and Zalman Yanovsky (guitar/vocals)  The band were completed by Steve Boone (bass) and Joe Butler (drums/vocals). 

Their unique blend of jug-band, folk, blues and rock 'n' roll synthesized into what was termed as 'electric good-time music', kept them apart from every other American pop group at that time. In two years they notched up 10 US Top 20 hits, all composed by John Sebastian. They gave us such hits as "Do You Believe in Magic," "Daydream," "You Didn't Have to be So Nice," "Nashville Cats" and the anthem for a hot July evening, "Summer in the City." All this in the span of 4 years and 5 albums. They toured almost constantly during this period and were one of the first rock bands to perform on college campuses almost as much as for teenage concert goers.

In 1967 Zal Yanovsky left the band to pursue a solo career and was replaced by Jerry Yester, a member of the Modern Folk Quartet and friend of the band since its earliest days. 

All of the band's energy was soon focused on recording their fourth album the very ambitious Everything Playing. It was the first attempt for a rock band to record an album on the new Ampex 16 track tape recorder and quite a challenge it was. It was worth the effort however, producing hits like "Darlin' Be Home Soon," "Six O-Clock" and "She's Still A Mystery To Me" on the American charts and "Boredom" and "Money" in the UK and Europe.

Additionally Sebastian wrote the music for two films, Woody Allen's "What's Up Tiger Lily" and Francis Ford Copula's "You're A Big Boy Now", the latter featuring the beautiful 'Darling Be Home Soon'. The quality of Sebastian's lyrics and melodies makes him one of the finest American songwriters. 

In June 1968 John Sebastian left the band to go solo and Joe, Steve and Jerry went back into the studio to record what would be their last hit single of the 1960's, "Never Goin' Back" with legendary Nashville session player Red Rhodes on pedal steel guitar. 

As 1969 approached the skies were darkening in Good Time Music land and sensing opportunities in individual endeavors the three remaining members went their separate ways with a promise to not let the magic spark go out.

After the Spoonful stopped touring, Joe Butler landed Broadway leads in "Hair," "Mahogany," and "Soon," collecting raves. Joe appeared in a half- dozen feature films, including "Born to Win" with George Segal and "One Trick Pony" with Paul Simon. He also composed music for many commercials. 

In 1991 a long awaited settlement with their record company inspired Joe and Steve to contact Jerry and start up the Lovin' Spoonful again. After a two month rehearsal in the Berkshire Mountains, the group started touring anew, visiting over 150 cities and countries worldwide and reaching out to a whole new audience in addition to those that have enjoyed their music over the years.

Since the Spoonful reunited, Joe Butler has stepped out from behind the drums as lead singer, performing the classic hits, new Spoonful material and his own new songs.