Three Dog Night

Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sneed (drums). The band had 21 Billboard Top 40 hits between 1969 and 1975, with three hitting number one.[3] Three Dog Night recorded many songs written by outside songwriters, and they helped to introduce mainstream audiences to writers such as Paul Williams ("An Old Fashioned Love Song") and Hoyt Axton ("Joy to the World").

Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night, 1972. Back L-R: Joe Schermie, Floyd Sneed, Michael Allsup and Jimmy Greenspoon. Front L-R: Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron
Background information
Also known as	Redwood (1967–1968)
Origin	Los Angeles
Genres	Pop rock[1] boogie rock hard rock soft rock blue-eyed soul[2]
Years active	1967–1976, 1981–present
Labels	Dunhill, MGM, MCA, Epic, Columbia
Associated acts	The Enemys, Cory Wells Blues Band, SS Fools
Members	Danny Hutton Michael Allsup Paul Kingery Pat Bautz David Morgan Howard Laravea
Past members	Cory Wells Chuck Negron Jimmy Greenspoon Floyd Sneed Joe Schermie Ron Morgan Jack Ryland Skip Konte Mickey McMeel James "Smitty" Smith Dennis Belfield Al Ciner Jay Gruska Ron Stockert Mike Seifrit Richard Grossman John Mrowiec Mike Keeley Scott Manzo Steve Ezzo Gary Moon T.J. Parker Richard Campbell Mike Cuneo

Name origin

The official commentary included in the CD set Celebrate: The Three Dog Night Story, 1965–1975 states that vocalist Danny Hutton's girlfriend, actress June Fairchild (best known as the "Ajax Lady" from the Cheech and Chong movie Up In Smoke) suggested the name after reading a magazine article about Aboriginal Australians, in which it was explained that on cold nights they would customarily sleep in a hole in the ground while embracing a dingo, a native species of wild dog. On colder nights they would sleep with two dogs and, if the night were freezing, it was a "three dog night".[4]

Musician Van Dyke Parks, an arranger at Warner Bros Records, disputed the above story and claimed that he coined the name. He wrote, "I wuz nuts about Hutton's girlfriend. Quite a dancer. Yet, she didn’t read Mankind magazine, nor have an inkling of anthtopology [sic] and the cold aboriginal nights that inspired my suggestion."[5]

Background

Early years

Negron, Wells and Hutton in 1969

The three vocalists, Danny Hutton (who got his start with Hanna-Barbera Records in 1964), Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells (who landed a recording contract with Dunhill Records) first came together in 1967. They initially went by the name of Redwood and made some recordings with Brian Wilson while the Beach Boys were working on the album Wild Honey. Shortly after abandoning the Redwood moniker in 1968, the vocalists hired a group of backing musicians – Ron Morgan on guitar, Floyd Sneed on drums, Joe Schermie from the Cory Wells Blues Band on bass, and Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards – and soon took the name Three Dog Night. Morgan left the band before its first album was recorded and subsequently joined the Electric Prunes. Michael Allsup was quickly recruited to replace Morgan on guitar.[6]

Success

Three Dog Night earned 12 gold albums and recorded 21 consecutive Billboard Top 40 hits, seven of which went gold. Three Dog Night became one of the most successful bands in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Their first gold record was "One" (US #5), which had been written and recorded by Harry Nilsson. The group had three US #1 songs, each of which featured a different lead singer: "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (Cory Wells on lead), which was also their only Top 10 hit in the UK; "Joy to the World" (Chuck Negron on lead); and "Black and White" (Danny Hutton on lead). Dunhill Records claimed that 40 million record albums were sold by the band during this time.

Songs

The band members composed only a handful of songs, and most songs Three Dog Night recorded were written by outside songwriters. Notable hits by other composers include Harry Nilsson's "One" (US #5), the Gerome Ragni–James Rado–Galt MacDermot composition "Easy to Be Hard" (US #4) from the musical Hair, Laura Nyro's "Eli's Comin'" (US #10), Randy Newman's "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (US #1), Paul Williams' "Out in the Country" (US #15), "The Family Of Man" (US #12), and "An Old Fashioned Love Song" (US #4), Hoyt Axton's "Joy to the World" (US #1) and "Never Been to Spain" (US #5), Arkin & Robinson's "Black and White" (US #1), Argent's Russ Ballard's "Liar" (US #7), Elton John and Bernie Taupin's "Lady Samantha" and "Your Song", Daniel Moore's "Shambala" (#3), David Loggins's "Pieces of April" (US # 19), and "Til The World Ends" (US #32), Leo Sayer's "The Show Must Go On" (US #4), John Hiatt's "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" (US #16), Bush's "I Can Hear You Calling", and Allen Toussaint's "Play Something Sweet" (US #33).

History

1967–1972

Three Dog Night made its official debut in 1968 at the Whisky a Go Go, at a 5 p.m. press party hosted by Dunhill Records. They were still in the process of making their first album Three Dog Night when they heard the favorable reactions from the hypercritical audience.[7]

The album Three Dog Night was a success with its hit songs "One", "Try A Little Tenderness", and "Nobody" and helped the band gain recognition and become one of the top drawing concert acts of their time.[7]

In December 1972, Three Dog Night hosted Dick Clark's first New Year's Eve special, which was then entitled Three Dog Night's New Year's Rockin' Eve.[8]

1973–1976

In 1973, Three Dog Night filed a $6 million lawsuit against their former booking agent, American Talent International (ATI), for continuing to advertise in the media that the band was still with their agency when in fact they signed with William Morris Agency in October 1972. Other damages were sought due to ATI taking deposits for booking Three Dog Night, whom they no longer represented.[9]

Joe Schermie left in early 1973 due to "problems arising that were apparently unresolvable".[10] His replacement was Jack Ryland in 1973, and the band then became an eight-piece with the inclusion of a second keyboard player, Skip Konte (ex-Blues Image), in late 1973. In late 1974, Allsup and Sneed left to form a new band, SS Fools, with Schermie and Bobby Kimball of Toto. New guitarist James "Smitty" Smith and drummer Mickey McMeel were recruited, but by 1975, Smith was replaced by Al Ciner from Rufus and the American Breed, and Ryland by Rufus bassist Dennis Belfield.

By 1973, Danny Hutton was sick on a regular basis and had developed jaundice from incessant and uncontrolled drug abuse. The band was forced to hire a registered nurse to administer Vitamin B12 shots to Hutton and take care of him so the band could continue touring. For the albums Cyan, Hard Labor, and Coming Down Your Way, Hutton did not show up for many of the recording sessions and would be present only long enough to record one song. Cory Wells became fed up with his frequent absence and Hutton was fired from the band in late 1975. He was replaced by Jay Gruska.[11]

Hours before the first concert of their 1975 tour, Chuck Negron was arrested for the possession of narcotics but was soon released on $10,000 bond.[12]

Coming Down Your Way, released in May 1975, failed to sell well in the United States, likely due to poor promotion on account of the bands recently switched label, ABC, and the growing popularity of disco music. Disappointed by this, the band decided "Til The World Ends" would be the only single released off the album, which ended up being the group's last Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hit.

Jay Gruska toured with the band to promote their last album, American Pastime, released in March 1976. Still, the album did not sell well for the same reasons as before. However, the only single released off the album, "Everybody Is a Masterpiece" became an Adult contemporary hit.[13][14] Another former Rufus band member, Ron Stockert, was recruited as second keyboardist after Konte left in the first half of 1976. The group played their final show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on July 26, 1976.[6]

1981–1990s

In 1981, Three Dog Night reunited and released the ska-inspired It's a Jungle in 1983 on the small Passport Records label, which garnered some airplay on the new wave circuit. The EP failed to sell after Passport went bankrupt. The reunion featured all of the original members, except Joe Schermie, who was succeeded by Mike Seifrit until 1982, and then by Richard Grossman, who stayed until 1984. Two guitarists, Paul Kingery and Steve Ezzo, occasionally played with the band, filling in for Allsup on dates he was not able to make between 1982 and 1984. Ezzo replaced Allsup when he departed in late 1984 to take care of some personal and family matters. Sneed was let go from the band at the same time. In early 1985, keyboardist Rick Seratte (formerly of Poco and later with Whitesnake and others) filled in for Greenspoon, who was ill, and the band hit the road with a revised lineup that included Seratte, Steve Ezzo, bassist Scott Manzo and drummer Mike Keeley.[15] The band toured all through 1985, but in late '85, Negron was forced back into rehab. Seratte left the band to pursue other offers and Greenspoon rejoined the band with Negron in late 1985 and were back touring with the group.

By December 1985, after a relapse into his drug habit, Negron was let go, and the group continued with Wells and Hutton fronting the band and Paul Kingery was brought back on guitar to cover Chuck's vocal harmonies. In 1986, their song "In My Heart" was featured in Robotech: The Movie.

More changes in personnel occurred when guitarist T. J. Parker and vocalist and bassist Gary Moon replaced Kingery and Manzo in 1988, and were replaced themselves by Mike Cuneo and Richard Campbell during 1989.

Allsup returned to the group to replace Cuneo in the spring of 1991. Negron entered drug rehab, but did not return to the band.

Pat Bautz succeeded Keeley as drummer in 1993.

In 1993, Three Dog Night performed for The Family Channel show Spotlight on Country, filmed in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Kingery returned to the band as their bass player in 1996 following Campbell's departure.

2000–2012

Original bassist Joe Schermie died on March 26, 2002. In May 2002 the band released Three Dog Night with The London Symphony Orchestra. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and in London at Abbey Road Studios and includes two new songs: "Overground" and "Sault Ste. Marie". They also released a DVD of a filmed symphony performance from 2000 titled Three Dog Night Live With the Tennessee Symphony Orchestra in May 2002. In the summer of 2004, 80s bassist Scott Manzo returned briefly to fill in for Paul Kingery.

In October 2004, Three Dog Night released The 35th Anniversary Hits Collection Featuring The London Symphony Orchestra. The album includes live versions of "Eli's Coming", "Brickyard Blues", "Try a Little Tenderness", and "Family of Man". In August 2008, they released Three Dog Night Greatest Hits Live, a compilation of previously unissued live recordings from concerts in Frankfurt, Germany and Edmonton, London in 1972 and 1973.[16] On October 24, 2009, they released three new songs: "Heart of Blues", "Prayer of the Children", and "Two Lights In The Nighttime". They issued two new songs on their 35th Anniversary Hits Collection Featuring The London Symphony Orchestra.

2012–present

In the summer of 2012, guitarist Allsup was hospitalized for an intestinal disorder, forcing Kingery to move back to guitar, while Danny's son Timothy Hutton played bass. This happened again during the summer of 2015 when Allsup was forced to miss some shows. On March 11, 2015, Jimmy Greenspoon died from cancer, aged 67. His place at the keyboards was taken by Eddie Reasoner who had substituted for him when he took ill in mid-2014.[17]

On October 21, 2015, Cory Wells died at his home in Dunkirk, New York at age 74. In November 2015, the band announced that singer David Morgan would be joining them on the road. He was a member of the Association. In April 2017, Howard Laravea replaced Eddie Reasoner on keyboards. He was formerly with Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons.

On June 25, 2019, The New York Times Magazine listed Three Dog Night among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the 2008 Universal fire.[18]

Personnel

Members

Current members Danny Hutton – vocals (1967–1975, 1981–present) Michael Allsup – guitar (1967–1974, 1981–1984, 1991–present) Paul Kingery – bass, guitar, vocals (1985–1988, 1996–present; substitute – 1982–1983) Pat Bautz – drums, vocals (1993–present) David Morgan – vocals (2015–present) Howard Laravea – keyboards (2017–present)

Former members Cory Wells – vocals, rhythm guitar (1967–1976, 1981–2015; his death) Chuck Negron – vocals (1967–1976, 1981–1985) Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards (1968–1976, 1981–2015; his death) Floyd Sneed – drums (1968–1974, 1981–1984) Joe Schermie – bass (1968–1973; died 2002) Jack Ryland – bass (1973–1975; died 1996) Skip Konte – keyboards (1973–1976) Mickey McMeel – drums (1974–1976) James "Smitty" Smith – guitar (1974–1975) Dennis Belfield – bass (1975–1976) Al Ciner – guitar (1975–1976) Jay Gruska – vocals (1976) Ron Stockert – keyboards (1976) Mike Seifrit – bass (1981–1982) Richard Grossman – bass (1982–1984) Rick Seratte – Keyboards (1985) Mike Keeley – drums (1985–1993) John Mrowiec - drums ( 1979- 1980) tour Scott Manzo – bass (1985–1988, 2004) Steve Ezzo – guitar (fill-in for Allsup 1983–1984, 1985) Gary Moon – bass, vocals (1988–1989) T.J. Parker – guitar (1988–1989) Richard Campbell – bass, vocals (1989–1996) Eddie Reasoner – keyboards (2015–2017; substitute – 2014–2015) Mike Cuneo – guitar (1989–1991)

Timeline

Lead vocal credits

• "An Old Fashioned Love Song" – Negron
• "Black and White" – Hutton
• "Celebrate" – Hutton (Verse 1), Negron (Verse 2), Wells (Verse 3), who sings melody through the end refrain
• "Easy to Be Hard" – Negron
• "Eli's Coming" – Wells
• "Joy to the World" – Negron
• "Let Me Serenade You" – Wells
• "Liar" – Hutton
• "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" – Wells
• "Never Been to Spain" – Wells
• "One" – Negron
• "One Man Band" – Hutton sings melody with Negron on harmony on verses, then Negron takes the lead through the end refrain
• "Out in the Country" – Group vocal in unison
• "Pieces of April" – Negron
• "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)" – Wells
• "Shambala" – Wells
• "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" – Wells
• "The Family of Man" – Hutton (Verse 1), Negron (Verse 2), Wells (Verse 3)
• "The Show Must Go On" – Negron
• "Til the World Ends" – Negron
• "Try a Little Tenderness" – Wells
• "Your Song" – Hutton

Lineups

1967–1968 (Redwood)	1968–1973 (Three Dog Night)	1973	1973–1974
Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Henry Vestine – guitar Goldy McJohn – keyboards Larry Taylor – bass Frank Cook – drums	Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Michael Allsup – guitar Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Joe Schermie – bass Floyd Sneed – drums	Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Michael Allsup – guitar Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Floyd Sneed – drums Jack Ryland – bass	Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Michael Allsup – guitar Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Floyd Sneed – drums Jack Ryland – bass Skip Konte – keyboards
1974–1975	1975	1976	1976
Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Jack Ryland – bass Skip Konte – keyboards Mickey McMeel – drums James "Smitty" Smith – guitar	Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Skip Konte – keyboards Mickey McMeel – drums Dennis Belfield – bass Al Ciner – guitar	Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Skip Konte – keyboards Mickey McMeel – drums Dennis Belfield – bass Al Ciner – guitar Jay Gruska – vocals	Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Mickey McMeel – drums Dennis Belfield – bass Al Ciner – guitar Jay Gruska – vocals Ron Stockert – keyboards
1976–1981	1981–1982	1982–1984	1985
Disbanded	Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Michael Allsup – guitar Mike Seifrit – bass Floyd Sneed – drums	Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Michael Allsup – guitar Floyd Sneed – drums Richard Grossman – bass Paul Kingery – guitar, vocals (fill in for Allsup 1982–1983) Steve Ezzo – guitar (fill in for Allsup 1983–1984)	Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Rick Seratte – keyboards Mike Keeley – drums Steve Ezzo – guitar Scott Manzo – bass
1985	1985–1988	1988–1989	1989–1991
Danny Hutton – vocals Chuck Negron – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Mike Keeley – drums Steve Ezzo – guitar Scott Manzo – bass	Danny Hutton – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Mike Keeley – drums Paul Kingery – guitar, vocals Scott Manzo – bass	Danny Hutton – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Mike Keeley – drums Gary Moon – bass, vocals T.J. Parker – guitar	Danny Hutton – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Mike Keeley – drums Richard Campbell – bass Mike Cuneo – guitar
1991–1993	1993–1996	1996–2015	2015
Danny Hutton – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Mike Keeley – drums Richard Campbell – bass Michael Allsup – guitar	Danny Hutton – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Richard Campbell – bass Michael Allsup – guitar Pat Bautz – drums	Danny Hutton – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Jimmy Greenspoon – keyboards Michael Allsup – guitar Pat Bautz – drums Paul Kingery – bass, vocals	Danny Hutton – vocals Cory Wells – vocals Michael Allsup – guitar Pat Bautz – drums Paul Kingery – bass, vocals Eddie Reasoner – keyboards
2015–2017	2017–present
Danny Hutton – vocals David Morgan – vocals Michael Allsup – guitar Pat Bautz – drums Paul Kingery – bass, vocals Eddie Reasoner – keyboards	Danny Hutton – vocals David Morgan – vocals Michael Allsup – guitar Pat Bautz – drums Paul Kingery – bass, vocals Howard Laravea – keyboards

Discography

• Three Dog Night (1968)
• Suitable for Framing (1969)
• It Ain't Easy (1970)
• Naturally (1970)
• Harmony (1971)
• Seven Separate Fools (1972)
• Cyan (1973)
• Hard Labor (1974)
• Coming Down Your Way (1975)
• American Pastime (1976)
• It's a Jungle (1983)

Awards and recognition

• Three Dog Night was inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000.

References

1. George-Warren, Holly; Romanowski, Patricia, eds. (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (3rd ed.). Fireside Books. p. 990. ISBN 0-7432-9201-4.
2. Negron, Chuck (2008). Three Dog Nightmare: The Continuing Chuck Negron Story. Literary Architects. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-9336-6913-7.
3. "Three Dog Night". Billboard.
4. Chawkins, Steve (February 18, 2015). "June Fairchild dies at 68; former actress lived on skid row". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
5. Van Dyke Parks [@thevandykeparks] (September 10, 2018). "I wuz nuts about Hutton's girlfriend. Quite a dancer. Yet, she didn't read Mankind magazine, nor have an inkling of anthtopology and the cold aboriginal nights that inspired my suggestion. Wiki duz need an edit" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. Jimmy Greenspoon; Mark Bego (1991). One Is the Loneliest Number: On the Road and Behind the Scenes With the Legendary Rock Band Three Dog Night. ISBN 9780886876470.
7. Orloff, Kathy. "Three Dog Night—A Howling Success Story". Los Angeles Times, May 23, 1971, pp. 1-q16.
8. Echazabal, Gabe. "Dick Clark's New Year's Eve special first aired on this day in 1972". Creative Loafing. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
9. "Billboard". February 3, 1973. Retrieved August 26, 2015 – via Google Books.
10. "Michael Allsup Website". Retrieved February 14, 2019.
11. "Chuck Negron Michael Artsis Show Interview". Retrieved February 14, 2019.
12. Wirephoto, A. P. "Arrested just before Concert Tour." Chicago Tribune, Jul 4, 1975, p. 5.
13. "Three Dog Night Chart History – Adult Contemporary". Retrieved December 13, 2018.
14. "Three Dog Night Chart History – Billboard 200". Retrieved December 13, 2018.
15. Jimmy Greenspoon; Mark Bego (1991). One Is the Loneliest Number: On the Road and Behind the Scenes With the Legendary Rock Band Three Dog Night. ISBN 9780886876470.
16. "Three Dog Night – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
17. Vanmetre, Elizabeth (March 11, 2015). "Jimmy Greenspoon of Three Dog Night has died from cancer at age 67". Daily News. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
18. Rosen, Jody (25 June 2019). "Here Are Hundreds More Artists Whose Tapes Were Destroyed in the UMG Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2019.

Sources

• Three Dog Nightmare. Chuck Negron. Renaissance Books 1st edition (June 1999) ISBN 1-58063-040-5
• One Is the Loneliest Number: On the Road and Behind the Scenes With the Legendary Rock Band Three Dog Night. Greenspoon, Jimmy and Bago, Mark. Pharos Books (January 1991). ISBN 0-88687-647-8
• Lawrence, Guy (2006). "Yogi Bear's Nuggets: A Hanna-Barbera 45 Guide". Spectropop.com
• Bubblegum University

External links

• Three Dog Night official website
• Three Dog Night at IMDb
• Three Dog Night at AllMusic
• 'Three Dog Night Vocal Group Hall of Fame