Welcome Back (John Sebastian song) explained

Welcome Back
Cover:	Welcome_Back_-_John_Sebastian.jpg
Caption:	German cover
Type:	single
Artist:	John Sebastian
Album:	Welcome Back
B-Side:	Warm Baby
Released:	March 1976
Recorded:	1975
Genre:	Folk rock, blues rock
Length:	2:51
Label:	Reprise
Producer:	Steve Barri, John Sebastian
Prev Title:	She's A Lady
Prev Year:	1969
Next Title:	Hideaway
Next Year:	1976

"Welcome Back" is a popular record that was the theme song of the 1970s American television sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter.^[1] Written and recorded by former Lovin' Spoonful frontman John Sebastian, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in May 1976, after only five weeks on the chart, and also topped the adult contemporary chart^[2] (the show itself had become an instant ratings success upon its premiere the previous fall). It also reached No. 93 on the country chart.

History

TV producer Alan Sachs wanted a Lovin' Spoonful-like theme song for a new ABC sitcom entitled Kotter.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1976)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)^[3] ^[4]	24
Canadian RPM Top Singles^[5]	2
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary^[6]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[7]	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks	93
U.S. Cashbox Top 100^[8]	1

Year-end charts

Chart (1976)	Rank
Canada RPM Top Singles^[9]	42
U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[10]	58
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening^[11]	28
U.S. Cash Box^[12]	19

In popular culture

The song is featured twice in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film (2023). It is first used in an opening montage depicting Scott Lang's (portrayed by Paul Rudd) life following the events of (2019), and it is used again in a similar montage at the end of the film after Lang and his family escape from the Quantum Realm and defeat Kang the Conqueror (portrayed by Jonathan Majors).^[13]

Other versions

• 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. The 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 rapper AZ for his song "Once Again".
• Swedish dream pop group jj recorded a version of the song in 2009. This version of the song is used in the trailer for the second season of MTV's Scream.^[14]
• The song is often used by Atlanta Braves organist Matthew Kaminski for former Braves players when they are at bat for their current team.
• The artist Rumer recorded it for her 2012 album Boys Don't Cry.
• On May 1, 2020, Count Bass D released a cover of the song on his Bandcamp site, commenting, "This take is a nod to the light at the end of this Coronavirus tunnel. It's a peaceful piano rendition aimed to help with the stress of these times."^[15]
• In season 5 of "Scrubs", J.D. leads the group in a rendition of "Welcome Back Coxer" after Dr. Cox takes a hiatus from work.^[16]

See also

• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1976 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1976 (U.S.)

External links

• [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t570376|pure_url=yes}} Song review]

Notes and References

1. Judy . Stephen . Editor's Page: Welcome Back . The English Journal . 1976 . 65 . 6 . 7–8 . 814547 . 1 March 2021 . 0013-8274.
2. Book: Whitburn, Joel . Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Joel Whitburn . 2002 . Record Research . 217.
3. Book: Kent, David. David Kent (historian). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. illustrated. Australian Chart Book. St Ives, N.S.W.. 1993. 0-646-11917-6. 267.
4. Web site: Steffen Hung . Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts) . Australian-charts.com . 2016-10-12.
5. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2016-10-12.
6. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2016-10-12.
7. Web site: Lyrics: Welcome Back by John Sebastian . Top40db.net . 2016-10-12.
8. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 10/29/77 . www.cashboxmagazine.com:80 . 17 January 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080120004350/http://www.cashboxmagazine.com:80/archives/70s_files/19771029.html . 20 January 2008 . dead.
9. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 2016-10-12.
10. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1976/Top 100 Songs of 1976 . Musicoutfitters.com . 2016-10-12.
11. http://www.45cat.com/45_list_view_record.php?li=2171 Top 50 Adult Contemporary Hits of 1976
12. Web site: Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1976 .
13. Web site: Iacobucci . Jordan . Every Song in Ant-Man & the Wasp: Quantumania . . February 17, 2023 . March 1, 2023.
14. Web site: "Welcome Back" ("Welcome Back, Kotter" theme song) . Pitchfork . 2009-09-08 . 2016-10-12.
15. Web site: Welcome Back - Count Bass D . Bandcamp . 2020-05-01 . 2020-05-05.
16. en . 6 August 2023 . Welcome back cox . Scrubs . Scrubs (TV series) . . 22 . May 9, 2006 . YouTube.