Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

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THREE DOG NIGHT

Pop group formed in 1968, its name from an Australian expression referring to temperature and canine comforters: vocalist Daniel Anthony Hutton (b 10 September 1942, Buncrana, Ireland) had worked for many record labels, recorded voices for Hanna-Barbera cartoons; he recruited former Enemies vocalist Cory Wells (b Emil Lewandowski, 5 February 1941, Buffalo NY; d 21 October 2015, Dunkirk NY) and Charles (Chuck) William Negron (b 8 June 1942, NYC) to head a new group with three featured singers; hired Jim Greenspoon (b 7 February 1948, Los Angeles; d 11 March 2015) on organ, Floyd Chester Sneed (b 22 November 1943, Calgary, Alberta) on drums, Mike Allsup (b 8 March 1947, Modesto CA) on guitar, Joe Schermie (b 12 February 1948, Madison WI) on bass. They recorded for Dunhill and had 21 hit singles '69-75, 11 in top 10; they were derided for sticking to covers, but gave early breaks to little-known songwriters.

Their first eponymous) album '69 reached no. 11 with top 30 'Try A Little Tenderness' (hit by Otis Redding), top 5 with 'One' (by Harry Nillson). Suitable For Framing the same year was a no. 16 LP with no. 4 hit 'Easy To Be Hard' (from Hair), top 10 with 'Eli's Coming' (by Laura Nyro), also included 'Lady Samantha' (by Elton John). Live Captured At The Forum '69 and It Ain't Easy '70 were top 10 LPs, the latter with their first no. 1 single, Randy Newman's 'Mama Told Me (Not To Come)' (no. 3 in UK, almost their only hit there). Naturally '71 slipped to no. 16 with Russ Ballard's 'Liar' (no. 7) and 'Joy To The World' (no. 1) by Hoyt Axton. Compilation Golden Bisquits and Harmony '71 (latter with two top 5 hits) were followed by Seven Separate Fools '72 with no. 1 'Black & White' (a reggae hit by Greyhound, a UK band originally called the Rudies, written '55 by David Arkin and Earl Robinson to celebrate the end of legal segregation: Robinson d 20 July 1991 in a car crash in Seattle aged 81; he had also co-written 'The House I Live In' for Frank Sinatra '45 with Lewis Allen, who had written 'Strange Fruit' for Billie Holiday '39).

Other hit LPs were live Around The World '73, Cyan '73 (with no. 3 hit 'Shambalaya' by B.W. Stevenson); another hit was 'The Show Must Go On' (no. 14, by Leo Sayer). Coming Down Your Way slipped to no. 70, American Pastime out of top 100. Schemie left '73, replaced by Jack Ryland (b 7 June 1949); keyboardist Skip Konte (ex-Blues Image) was added; Hutton left '76, replaced by Jay Gruska and three ex-members of Rufus (see Chaka Khan) joined as the band left the charts. Sneed, Ryland and Allsup left to form S.S. Fools; Hutton, Negron and Wells re-formed '81 for a while.