I was listening to NPR late on Saturday night and one of my favorite programs, "Tent Show Radio" came on. This show features live performances (in the summer...the rest of the year, recordings of shows) from the Big Top Chataqua in Bayfield, WI - on the shores of Lake Superior.

Usually the programming is folksy in nature. But this weeks (recorded) guests were Three Dog Night...largely forgotten mega-group from the early 70's.

WOW. I was amazed at how great they sounded live, all these years later, as they ran through their hits to a packed tent of about 1000. Great performance.

They are on my list of Hall of Fame oversights. Underrated for sure. "Eli's Coming" always gets a volume bump when it's on the classic rock station. TDN had a great five-year chart run from 1969-74, which is considerably longer than a lot of HOF inductees can claim.

I have always liked 3 Dog Night. My second album (I was 8) was TDN "Naturally" Played it on a GE record player with SEPAERATE 4'' SPEAKERS..wow. My favorite song was "Out in the Country" They were a very good harmonizing band.

I agree that TDN is not just some one hit wonder. They had a continuous run with some really fine songs. Alotta top tens, too, iirc. Didn't they write "One" (One is the lonliest number...?) That's a great song.

It always seemed like 3DN always found good songs from great young songwriters(Paul Williams,Randy Newman,Nillson,Hoyt Axton).
Jimmy

I agree that TDN is not just some one hit wonder. They had a continuous run with some really fine songs. Alotta top tens, too, iirc. Didn't they write "One" (One is the lonliest number...?) That's a great song.

I think Nillson wrote that one.Thats a great song,for sure.
JImmy

Didn't they write "One" (One is the lonliest number...?) That's a great song.

NO indeed. The genius Harry Nilsson wrote that.

LIAR!


Great song... One of my favorite bands. They were featured on Austin City Limits not too long ago. It was a great show.

NO indeed. The genius Harry Nilsson wrote that.

TDN did not write any of the lyrics to their songs.

They had a lot of good hits regardless of who wrote them....

I've got their live album from about 1970. Good album.

Snade

Naturally... was the 1st Three Dog Night album I bought in the 6th grade.

"Singing joy to the world..."

Naturally... was the 1st Three Dog Night album I bought in the 6th grade.

"Singing joy to the world..."

Did it help you drink your wine? :D

:music:

They had a lot of good hits regardless of who wrote them....

I've always loved 3DN! As a kid growing up in the 70's, what choice did I have!?? :thmbsp:
Laura Nyro wrote 'Eli's Coming', and Randy Newman wrote 'Mama Told Me Not To Come', and Hoyt Axton wrote 'Joy To The World'.

Hoyt Axton also wrote "Never Been To Spain." (He has a live version on My Snowblind friend where Skunk Baxter just rips it UP!)

A very early defining moment for me came one Christmas when I was maybe 4-5 (1971 or 72). One of my older brothers received a stereo for his big present. I remember it being an avacado and white all-in-one type deal with detached plastic speakers. I seem to recall it being Panasonic. At any rate, the first record he played was a Three Dog Night and I distinctly remember the stop-time a capella section of "Celebrate". I was struck by the quality of the harmonies and, simultaneously, by the crappy sound of the record player. (My dad had good stuff, but only listened to jazz.) More than 35 years later I have a boatload of music and way too many TT's and speakers.

Thank you, Three Dog Night!

Incidently, Paul Williams wrote "Old Fashioned Love Song." I'll always remember his appearance on the Odd Couple. (If anyone cares Neal Hefti wrote the theme for that show.)

A friend and I saw Three Dog Night in concert in Roanoke, Va in 1971. They opened the show with "One Man Band". At the time of the concert, "Joy to the World" was starting to move up the charts. We were disappointed when they did not play it, but they came back on stage for an encore and played it then. It was a good night.

My favorite TDN songs are One, One Man Band, Eli's Coming, Mama Told Me Not to Come, Try A Little Tenderness and Joy to the World.

When Old Fashioned Love Song, Pieces of April and others came out, my taste moved on to other bands.

..... Skunk Baxter just rips it UP!

What a great name!

I saw Three Dog Night one summer evening in the late 80's - they put on one fantastic show on Mud Island in Memphis, TN. I had heard their music on the radio growing up and new almost every tune that they played. I was very impressed by their body of work.

There was a thread here on AK regarding overlooked guitarists. Michael Allsup of Three Dog Night should definitely be on that list! His playing is fun to listen to recorded, but he is absolutely fantastic live!

I was at one of their concerts in Germany in 71-72 when they recorded their Live album at the Jahrhundert Halle in Frankfurt. Fun times.

Their rendition of "Try a Little Tenderness" is phenomenal :thmbsp:

I took a girl to a Three Dog Night concert in Calgary, Alberta in September 1975. It was our first date. We married in 1977 and will celebrate our 32nd anniversary this summer. (This close to Valentine's Day don't we need a love story?).
They weren't my favorite group but that was pre- Saddledome days and a lot of big acts didn't come to Calgary back then.
I only have one of their CDs. - The Best of Three Dog Night. It was a good value back in the Eighties as it had 20 songs. I like Mama Told Me Not to Come, One, and Liar.

I got to see Chuck Negron a few years ago at an outdoor festival near Cincinnati. If I recall he left the band in large part due to his heavy drug use? Awesome voice and he seems to be clean these days. :)

A TDN performance was also part of one of the most memorable movie openings - and also a movie with lots of great music -The Big Chill. Joy to the World is playing while the mortician is dressing a corpse for his funeral. That opening is followed up with a song at the funeral, the Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want. Fun movie - watch the video if you get a chance.

P.S. Kudos to fellow Okie, and author of Joy to the World, Hoyt Axton, who acknowledged that he was from "Oklahoma, the cultural center of the universe."

Regards,

D-Ray

A friend and I saw Three Dog Night in concert in Roanoke, Va in 1971. They opened the show with "One Man Band". At the time of the concert, "Joy to the World" was starting to move up the charts. We were disappointed when they did not play it, but they came back on stage for an encore and played it then. It was a good night.

My favorite TDN songs are One, One Man Band, Eli's Coming, Mama Told Me Not to Come, Try A Little Tenderness and Joy to the World.

When Old Fashioned Love Song, Pieces of April and others came out, my taste moved on to other bands.

I was there as well.

from the Big Top Chataqua in Bayfield, WI - on the shores of Lake Superior.


Hey thanks for bringing that up! I'll have to catch a few shows up there this summer, my lake place is between Cable and Hayward, only an hour or so from Bayfield.

Always liked this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjJ6UbdKBgg

Mama Told Me Not To Come

I have seen them Louie. I admit to it.

I got to see Chuck Negron a few years ago at an outdoor festival near Cincinnati. If I recall he left the band in large part due to his heavy drug use? Awesome voice and he seems to be clean these days. :)

Chuck Negron was featured in an episode of "Intervention."
But, it wasn't about Chuck Sr., it was Jr. who was in trouble with heroin.

It was a very sad story, and, it didn't end well. I have not seen a follow-up, and I don't know the situation with "Chuckie", as he's called.

I hope he's clean. Chuck Sr. has been clean and sober for quite some time.

Hoyt Axton also wrote "Never Been To Spain." (He has a live version on My Snowblind friend where Skunk Baxter just rips it UP!)

A very early defining moment for me came one Christmas when I was maybe 4-5 (1971 or 72). One of my older brothers received a stereo for his big present. I remember it being an avacado and white all-in-one type deal with detached plastic speakers. I seem to recall it being Panasonic. At any rate, the first record he played was a Three Dog Night and I distinctly remember the stop-time a capella section of "Celebrate". I was struck by the quality of the harmonies and, simultaneously, by the crappy sound of the record player. (My dad had good stuff, but only listened to jazz.) More than 35 years later I have a boatload of music and way too many TT's and speakers.

Thank you, Three Dog Night!

Skunk Baxter. Now you are talkin dude.

All these post about TDN - I enjoy listening to them, never owned any of their work...Paul Williams, yes, and like the way he does most of his songs. I think others like TDN do his songs really well....soooo...

Today while prowling a flea mart I happened on Three Dog Night - Was Captured Live At The Forum. Looked to be in good shape, was $3.00, going to clean it right after this post and play it:music:. Preston

I always tell people when talking about past concerts that Three Dog Night was one of the best and most memorable concerts I have ever seen . I saw them around `82 or `83 in a refurbished movie theater turned into a nightclub called The Forum in Winston-Salem ,NC . They were kind of on a comeback tour then and played all of their hits . They were just awesome that night , I will never forget it . Did anyone mention Black and White , it is a great song that kind remindes me of what we as a nation are accepting now .

The ink is black, the page is white
Together we learn to read and write
A child is black, a child is white
The whole world looks upon the sight, a beautiful sight

And now a child can understand
That this is the law of all the land, all the land

The world is black, the world is white
It turns by day and then by night
A child is black, a child is white
Together they grow to see the light, to see the light

And now at last we plainly see
We'll have a dance of Liberty, Liberty!

The world is black, the world is white
It turns by day and then by night
A child is black, a child is white
The whole world looks upon the sight, a beautiful sight

The world is black, the world is white
It turns by day and then by night
A child is black, a child is white
Together they grow to see the light, to see the light

The world is black, the world is white
It turns by day and then by night
A child is black, a child is white
The whole world looks upon the sight, a beautiful sight

The world is black, the world is white
It turns by day and then by night
A child is black, a child is white
Together they grow to see the light, to see the light

C'mon, get it, get it
Ohh-ohhhh, yeah, yeah
Keep it up now, around the world
Little boys and little girls
Yeah, yeah-eah, oh-ohhh

A TDN performance was also part of one of the most memorable movie openings - and also a movie with lots of great music -The Big Chill. Joy to the World is playing while the mortician is dressing a corpse for his funeral. That opening is followed up with a song at the funeral, the Rolling Stones' You Can't Always Get What You Want. Fun movie - watch the video if you get a chance.

P.S. Kudos to fellow Okie, and author of Joy to the World, Hoyt Axton, who acknowledged that he was from "Oklahoma, the cultural center of the universe."

Regards,

D-Ray

The corpse was played by Kevin Costner...

Always liked this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjJ6UbdKBgg

Mama Told Me Not To Come

Thank you. I watched all of them. I always liked TDN, but never ever saw them perform even on a video.

The corpse was played by Kevin Costner...
The Director of the Big Chill kind of owed Costner for editing him out of the film, so he gave him his big break with Silverado.

I was there as well.

I thought I remembered seeing you there!:D:D:D

Small world!:yes:

I liked them-I graduated from jr. high in 1973.
(That's what we used to call middle school, kids)
I think John Hiatt wrote "Sure as I'm Sittin' Here."
They did a lot of good songs written by a lot of great songwriters.
I like them as a nostalgia thing.
Three Dog Nightmare, by James A. Gardner, is an excellent book about Chuck Negron for fans of the band.
I'm fairly sure it's out of print, but not impossible to find.
Here's a review-
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/04/29/141320.php
(No, I'm not James A. Gardner) :D

Just got TDN's Seven Separate Fools and listening to it now. Preston

I have always liked 3 Dog Night. My second album (I was 8) was TDN "Naturally" Played it on a GE record player with SEPAERATE 4'' SPEAKERS..wow. My favorite song was "Out in the Country" They were a very good harmonizing band.

That is one of my favorites also. I also love "Black and White", "Shambala", and "Celebrate", just to name a few.

Maybe it's just me but, I always thought of 3DN as bookended with the other big ABC-Dunhill Records band of the same era, The Grass Roots. :yes:

The Mamas and Papas were on Dunhill too weren't they?

The Mamas and Papas were on Dunhill too weren't they?

Yes they were and so were Steppenwolf.

Yes they were and so were Steppenwolf.

:thmbsp:
Quite a nice little roster!

So were Hamilton, Joe, Frank & Reynolds, and Jim Croce.:thmbsp:

Just to chime in. I heard them in the late 60's in a small college gym with about 75 other students. Noone knew who they were. Upon hearing their material for the first time. we didn't know what to think. :banana:

Saw them in the summer of 1973 in Lincoln, NE. The opening band was T.Rex. Talk about an odd pairing, but it was a fine concert. Still remember that whole night vividly as when I arrived home, my mother greeted with the news that a buddy of mine and his cousin had been killed in a car crash.