Here's Who Did The 'No Reservations' Voiceover, According To Reddit
Not every great icon gets the theme song they deserve, but the late Anthony Bourdain got lucky with the micro-earworm of a guitar solo that introduced each episode of "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations," the Travel Channel show that followed the towering former chef on his culinary tour of the world. As a music fanatic, per The Los Angeles Times, it would be understandable to assume that Bourdain ripped through the studio to record the title sequence himself. However, a closer listen reveals that the lyrical part of the intro (you know, the part that goes, "Nooooooo reservations") sounds more affected than the host's naturally low register.
Where might one turn to get to the bottom of the "No Reservations" theme song mystery once and for all? Reddit, of course. When user @PseudoName18 posed the question on the website, a Bourdain superfan came to the rescue with an answer, revealing both the band and the story behind the song.
It was The John Spencer Blues Explosion
A "little research" told one Reddit user that the "No Reservations" theme song was written and recorded by New York City rock trio The John Spencer Blues Explosion. More research told another user the entire story about how the song came to be, which they relayed in detail on the thread. According to this superfan, the band had "toured the world several times" and had won the approval and friendship of Anthony Bourdain, who called them up when his new show needed a song.
The Reddit user links to an article in Revue in which the band touches on its relationship with the late food host. "He contacted us through mutual friends and he wanted a cool punk rock song," said drummer Russell Simins, adding that the call came "before [Bourdain] was as famous as he is now." They recorded the song in a pinch before heading to a tour stop in Australia, and Bourdain "loved it."
The article claims that Simins is known as somewhat of a "gourmand," which might be how he and his band earned their way into Bourdain's heart. "We eat everything as long as it's got local flavor," Simins said in the interview. As viewers know from his globe-trotting oeuvre, the late Bourdain lived by a similar principle.