Welcome Back (John Sebastian song)

"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 topped the Easy Listening chart and reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart [1]  for one week in May 1976 after only five weeks on the chart (the show itself had become an instant ratings success upon its premiere the previous Fall). The song also reached number 93 on the Country chart.



Contents
[hide]  *1 History  ==History[ edit] == TV producer Alan Sachs wanted a Lovin' Spoonful-like theme song for a new ABC sitcom entitled Kotter. Sachs' agent, Dave Bendet, also represented Sebastian and arranged for a meeting between the two. The producers liked the 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.
 * 2 Other versions
 * 3 See also
 * 4 References
 * 5 External links

The song originally had one verse, meant for the TV series. Because of the popularity of the show, "Welcome Back, Kotter", Sebastian, in the single version, added a second verse to the song, as well as an instrumental section featuring Sebastian's harmonica solo, before he resumes 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 ofWelcome Back, Kotter. ==Other versions[ edit] ==
 * 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. Cummings' 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 rapperAZ for his song "Once Again".[citation needed]
 * Swedish dream pop group jj recorded a version of the song in 2009.[2]
 * The song is often used by Atlanta Braves organist Matthew Kaminski for former Braves players when they are at bat for their new team.