Three Dog Night

For those of us of a certain age, music is a time machine Songs take us back to specific points in our lives, usually good points, and that's where the nostalgia kicks in. This is especially true of me, who is continually let down by music of today, which is dominated by the kind of music that either makes my head hurt or is geared toward teenage girls.

Three Dog Night had a great run right at the end of the '60s and beginning of the '70s. Of course, they are still active today (they played Vegas not too terribly long ago) but its their hits that they are known for. I'm sure anyone who sees them doesn't want to hear the dreaded, "This is from our latest album."

Three Dog Night had 21 top 40 hits, with three number ones. They were ever present on AM radio of the day. And, unusually, they did not write their hits, but interpreted songs by the cutting edge composers of the day, like Randy Newman, Laura Nyro, Paul Williams, Harry Nilsson, and Hoyt Axton.

Two songs take me back to a specific place. "Joy to the World," with its opening line, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog," no doubt has an effect on many of my age group. I distinctly remember it was a hit while I was in fifth grade, because a cute girl in my class did a dance routine to it. I don't remember her name, but I remember her choreography--when the line "straight-shootin' son of a gun" came up she did a little gunfighter stance.

That song was written by Axton. "Black and White" was written in 1954, as a response to the Brown v. Board of Education decision. It's a simple but powerful song about equality among the races. I remember it as being taught to us in my sixth-grade music class. I had an ancient music teacher, so it seemed unusual that we were learning a song that was an actual pop hit.

There were so many other hits. Another number one was "Mama Told Me Not to Come" (by Newman), "Eli's Coming" (by Nyro), "One," by Harry Nilsson, and "Never Been to Spain," (by Axton, which contains the great couplet, "I've never been to heaven, but I've been to Oklahoma, They tell me I was born there, but I really don't remember").

The band consisted mainly of its three singers, who traded vocals. They were Danny Hutton (who happened to be born on the exact same day as my mother); Chuck Negron (who has since left the group, but has recovered from drug and alcohol problems); and Corey Wells. It was a pleasure to listen to their greatest hits album for about a week, as I knew all of them and most of the words. I think my favorite, aside from those mentioned, is "The Show Must Go On," written by Leo Sayer, vocal by Negron, complete with circus calliope. Love it.