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"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.

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"Welcome Back"
German cover
Single by John Sebastian
from the album Welcome Back
B-side	"Warm Baby"
Released	March 1976
Recorded	1976
Genre	Folk rock, blues rock
Length	2:51
Label	Reprise
Songwriter(s)	John Sebastian
Producer(s)	Steve Barri, John Sebastian
John Sebastian singles chronology
"She's A Lady" (1969) "Welcome Back" (1976) "Hideaway" (1976)

History

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

Chart performance

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".^{[citation needed]}
• 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.[13]
• 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."[14]

See also

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

References

External links

• Song review
• John Sebastian - Welcome Back on YouTube

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