THREE DOG NIGHT

Iconic American band, THREE DOG NIGHT, now celebrating its 6th decade, boasts
some of the most astonishing chart statistics in popular music with 21 consecutive
Billboard Top 40 hits, including 3 #1 singles and 12 straight RIAA Certified Gold LPs.
Created in 1968 by Irish-born Danny Hutton, the group was conceived to feature three
strong vocalists who shared leads and also blended together in exquisite three-part
harmony, complemented by four ace instrumentalists, creating a self-contained unit. This
ultimately became Three Dog Night’s signature sound in the studio and live on the road.
Working with the studio duo of Richie Podolor and Bill Cooper at American Recording,
they identified and resurrected great songs, mostly from undiscovered new songwriters of
that time. The band’s eclectic taste and arranging talents, combined with the ability to
recognize and record hits in a distinctive style, resulted in Three Dog Night dominating
the charts for years, earning a Grammy nomination, performing at two Super Bowls and
pervading American culture with its music ubiquitous on the radio and in film and
television.
From their debut eponymous album, Three Dog Night went on to release 12 gold albums
and by 1975, driven by chart-topping songs like “One” “Easy to be Hard”, “Mama Told
Me (Not to Come),” “Joy to the World”, “Black and White”, “Shambala” and others, the
band had sold over 50 million records. During that time Three Dog Night also toured
relentlessly, quickly ramping up from smaller venues to selling out stadiums, virtually
establishing the modern concept of a “stadium tour”.
Hutton, a denizen of the Laurel Canyon and Sunset Blvd music scenes, was well
established as a songwriter, producer and recording artist. He worked as a
writer/producer for the label established by Hanna-Barbera animation studio where he
was also immortalized as a character on “The Flintstones”. Hutton had several regional
hits as a solo artist including “Roses and Rainbows” and was invited to join the Sonny
and Cher tour, where he met Cory Wells, lead singer of the Enemys. They recruited
Chuck Negron to complete the sound. Initially the trio planned to work with Danny’s
good friend and mentor, Brian Wilson, and record for the Beach Boys label Brother
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Three Dog Night
Records. Wilson had christened them “Redwood” and they began work on several tunes.
However, that project was abandoned when the Beach Boys objected to Brian’s songs
going to another band. After staging a showcase at Hollywood’s famous Troubadour and
garnering the attention of various label heads, Hutton eventually signed the group to ABC
Dunhill records.
They sought out talented musicians and formed their own self-contained band to both
tour and record – allowing them to hone a specific sound and giving them independence
from the labels and “Wrecking Crew” studio musicians that drove the sound of that
period. Also, at Hutton’s insistence, Three Dog Night recorded the best songs available,
by-passing the discord that comes from a band trying to write and promote their own
work. The band introduced large audiences to some little-known work of talented writers
and artists of the era, such as Randy Newman (“Mama Told Me Not To Come”), Harry
Nilsson (“One”), Laura Nyro (“Eli’s Coming”), Paul Williams (“Old Fashioned Love
Song”) and Hoyt Axton (“Joy To The World”) and many others. He also helped a young
songwriter named Reggie Dwight aka Elton John get established, encouraging and
supporting him through his early career. After meeting in London, where Dwight pitched
Hutton his songs, Three Dog Night recorded and released “Lady Samantha” and “Your
Song”, establishing Elton as an up and coming artist .
The band’s name –Three Dog Night is the now famous moniker that derives from the
tale of outback hunters who sleep with their dingoes on cold nights, the coldest being a
“three dog night”.
Still road warriors at heart, Three Dog Night hits stages 80+ times a year — reminding
the faithful why those songs became classics, and converting a whole new generation
who weren’t even born when it all began.
THREE DOG NIGHT’s Top 40 Hits include;
“Mama Told M (Not to Come)”, “Joy to the World”, “Black and White”, “Shambala”,
“Easy To Be Hard”, “An Old Fashioned Love Song”, “One”, “The Show Must Go On”,
“Never Been To Spain”, “Eli’s Coming”, “The Family of Man”, “Liar”, “Celebrate”,
“Out In The Country”, “Pieces of April”, “One Man Band”
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