Facts About "Three Dog Night"

They were probably the hottest group in the world when I was in high school.

Three Dog NightPhoto byCreative Commons: brohill

When -I listen to satellite radio, the station I’m most likely to listen to is the 70s channel. Or maybe Yacht Rock, but I digress. Yacht Rock played a lot of 70s music. The point of this is Three Dog Night might have been the kings of 70s music. They were so popular, I even had some of their records.

I knew there were three lead singers in the group, and I also knew a little bit about the origin of the group’s name. It came from Australian aborigines sleeping with a dog or dingo for warm on a cold night. If a night was particularly cold, it might be a three-dog night. That wasn’t a deep well of knowledge to draw from. So, after doing some more reading, here are some things you didn’t know about Three Dog Night.

1: The original members of the group disbanded in 1976, but they did due some reunion tours.

They mostly did warm weather locations since it was hard to get all three of the lead singers together. Sometimes it was Two-Dog Night, and sometimes even a One-Dog Night.

2: One of the lead singers, Cory Wells, was named Emil Lewandowski at birth.

Jeff Bridges starred in his biography called, The Big Lewandowski. Hold on, I’m being told that was the wrong movie title and there isn’t a biographical movie about Cory Wells.

3: Unlike many music stars of the era, Wells didn’t indulge in alcohol or drugs, and didn’t lead an extravagant lifestyle.

Apparently, when it came to wild parties, Cory’s momma told him not to go.

4: Before playing with Three Dog Night, Wells played with a band called the Vibratos while in Buffalo. The band moved to California and changed their name to The Enemies.

The Enemies made a few appearances on TV shows, including that musical powerhouse, The Beverly Hillbillies. I'm not sure Jed did the Bugtussle Stomp to their music or not.

5: Cory Wells and Danny Hutton formed Three Dog Night in 1968. They later met the group’s third lead singer, Chuck Negron at a Hollywood party.

They did some demos as The Redwoods. Obviously, that name didn’t take. It’s ‘like that game, “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” In this case, Three Dogs cover Redwoods.

6: The name “Three Dog Night” reportedly came at the suggestion of Danny Hutton’s girlfriend, June Fairchild.

Fairchild had heard of indigenous Australians digging a hole on cold nights and sleeping with a dog or dogs. Can you imagine a husband and wife having that conversation? The husband tells the wife, “It’s going to be a cold one. Put another dog in the sleeping hole.

7: The third lead singer of Three Dog Night, Chuck Negron, suffered from severe heroin addiction for years.

Negron’s autobiography was titled My Three Dog Nightmare. He reportedly dropped out of more than 30 rehab centers before successfully kicking his habit.

8: Three Dog Night was the original band in “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve special New Year’s Rockin’ Eve”, in 1972.

The band hosted and played during the event. Of course, one of the most difficult things about the gig was getting the band to stay sober on New Year's Eve.

9: In 1993 the band performed on The Family Channel’s “Spotlight on Country.”

When you compare where they were at in 1972 and where they were at in 1993, it seems like there career arc was definitely heading in a downward direction.

10: While Chuck Negron had notable substance abuse issues, he partied with some high-profile buddies.

Included were Brian Wilson of The Beachboys and Harry Nilsson. Those were some high-profile friends in low places.