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Three Dog Night scored a
succession of 21 hit singles, including eleven Top Tens, and
twelve consecutive gold albums from 1969 to 1975, thanks to the
slick, sometimes soulful vocal harmonies of singers Danny Hutton,
Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells and an excellent ear for quality
material. When Three Dog Night struck gold with "Joy To The World"
in 1971, fans worldwide acclaimed their driving pop/rock sound and
powerful harmonies. Today Three Dog Night delivers their signature
sound to audiences spanning generations. The current Three Dog
Night line up features founding members Cory Wells and Danny
Hutton on lead vocals as well as original keyboardist Jimmy
Greenspoon and Michael Allsup (lead guitar). Paul Kingery (bass),
and Pat Bautz (drums) have joined the group since it reformed in
1981 after a six-year hiatus. Brought together originally in 1968
by Danny Hutton, with the novel concept of show casing lead
singers who could also harmonize together, the group was
enormously successful right from the start. Hutton, who had
graduated from loading and unloading records at the Disney studio
to recording as a solo artist, had met Cory Wells, while Cory was
touring with Sonny and Cher; Danny met Chuck Negron through mutual
friends. The group had no hang-ups about 'doing only their own
songs.' They recorded the best new material from the best new
songwriters and wound up with fourteen gold albums, nine gold
singles and sold over forty million units. Three Dog Night toured
extensively during the seventies, breaking attendance records in
venues ranging from concert halls to football stadiums. In 1975,
however, the rigors of non-stop roadwork caught up with the group.
"We became disenchanted," Wells says today, "We just quietly
backed out of the picture. We have always had a sort of verbal
agreement that we were never going to exploit the public for our
own gain. We are not going to do four or five 'farewell tours'
just to rake in the money. We had come on the scene quietly and we
were going to leave the same way, with dignity." Hutton, the
black-haired Irishman, relaxed awhile at home in Los Angeles, then
left for Central America, England, and eventually his home town of
Buncrana, Ireland. Danny formed a management/booking agency which
thrived. Among those bands he managed was the 'premier punk band'
"FEAR" and he booked bands such as the "The Go-Go's" and "X."
Recently, he has recorded two songs for motion picture soundtracks
albums "Wouldn't It Be Good" for Pretty in Pink and "Brand New
Day" for American Flyers. Wells packed his family into an
automobile and leisurely toured the United States. An ardent and
expert fisherman, Cory traveled the world -- fishing as he went.
He is currently a field editor for "Outdoor Life" magazine and
writes articles for various sporting publications. Cory has
appeared on various television shows such as "American Sportsman"
and recently filmed a "Country Sportsman" episode in New Zealand.
Although each band member needed to 'get away' from the hectic
world of pop music, each began, eventually to feel the need to
return. From unfinished business involving the original group got
them together again. To their surprise, they found they all shared
the same feeling, a resurgence of interest in music and a growing
desire to try it all over again. As Danny Hutton puts it, "We just
had a test rehearsal and discovered the old magic was still
their." Three Dog Night was reborn. |