EASTON, Pa. — A music group that rivaled The Beatles and Rolling Stones for number of hits in the mid-1960s will return to Easton's State Theatre, it was announced.
And it will come with two other groups from the era — one that had a No. 1 hit in 1965 and another that plays the songs of a band that had a half-dozen Top 10 hits in the late 1960s and includes the band's rhythm guitarist.
The My Generation Tour, led by The Lovin' Spoonful, will perform at 7:30 p.m. March 13.
Also on the bill are Gary Lewis and The Playboys — best known for its 1965 chart-topping hit "This Diamond Ring" — and The Hollies Greatest Hits starring Hollies guitarist Terry Sylvester.
Tickets, at $58.93-$109, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at the State Theatre website and the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.State Theatre website
Tickets, at $58.93-$109, go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at the State Theater website and the box office at 453 Northampton St., Easton.
In the mid-1960s, The Lovin' Spoonful owned the music charts, with seven Top 10 songs in just over a year, behind only The Beatles and The Rolling Stones in sales.
Starting with its 1965 Top 10 hit "Do You Believe in Magic," The Lovin' Spoonful produced seven Top 10 hits in a year, including "You Didn't Have to Be So Nice," "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?" and the gold chart-topper "Summer in the City."
Its last Top 10 hit was "Nashville Cats" in 1966, and its last Top 15 hit "Darling Be Home Soon" in 1967.
The band also was at the forefront of bridging folk and rock, transitioning from flower power hits such as "Do You Believe in Magic" and "Daydream" to the scorching social consciousness of "Summer in the City."
But the original lineup of the band toured for just two years before frontman and principal songwriter John Sebastian left for a successful solo career.
The only remaining original member is bassist Steve Boone, who co-wrote "You Didn't Have to be So Nice" — the follow-up to its debut "Do You Believe in Magic" — with Sebastian, and "Butchie's Tune,” the B-side to “Summer in the City."
The group also performed at State Theatre in February.
Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Hollies tribute
Gary Lewis & The Playboys is led by Lewis, son of the late iconic comedic actor Jerry Lewis.
Though best known for "This Diamond Ring," Lewis & The Playboys had 17 Top 40 singles, eight of which went gold.
They included the No. 2 hits "Count Me In" and "Save Your Heart for Me," the No. 3 "She's Just My Style" and the No. 4 "Everybody Loves a Clown."
The group's last charting hit was 1969's "Rhythm of the Rain."
The group appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show," "American Bandstand" and other TV programs.
The group broke up in 1970, but resumed touring in 1985.
The Hollies Greatest Hits plays the music of The Hollies, the British pop and rock group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010. Sylvester was among the members inducted.
The Hollies, with lead singer Graham Nash, had such hits as 1966's "Bus Stop," 1967's "On a Carousel" and "Carrie Anne," 1969's "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother," 1972's platinum "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" and its last U.S. hit, 1974's gold "The Air That I Breathe."
Nash left The Hollies in 1968 to form Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and Sylvester replaced him to sing the high parts on songs that Nash sang.
Sylvester left The Hollies in 1981.
The group has consistently continued to perform and record, and released its latest album, "Then, Now, Always," in 2009.
