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Cory Wells (born Emil Lewandowski; February 5, 1941 – October 20, 2015) was an American singer, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band
Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup ...
.


Early life

Wells came from a musical family and began playing in
Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
-area bands in his teens. His biological father, who was married to someone other than his mother, died when Cory was a small child, leaving his mother to struggle financially until she eventually married. She gave Cory her birth surname, although Cory eventually changed his surname to Wells (a shortened version of his birth father's surname, Wellsley). His full stage name "Cory Wells" was suggested by The Enemys' first manager, Gene Jacobs, who had a son named Cory. Having survived childhood in a low-income, blue-collar neighborhood and an even more brutal home environment fueled by an abusive stepfather, this according to manager Joel Cohen's band biography, ''Three Dog Night And Me,'' Wells joined the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
directly out of high school. While in the Air Force, he formed a band of interracial musical performers, inspired by his boyhood love of a similar popular band called
The Del-Vikings The Del-Vikings (also known as The Dell-Vikings) were an American doo-wop musical group that recorded several hit singles in the 1950s and continued to record and tour with various lineups in later decades. The group is notable for the hit song ...
, who had a national hit with the
doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...
song, "
Come Go with Me "Come Go With Me" is a song written by C. E. Quick (a.k.a. Clarence Quick), an original member (bass vocalist) of the American doo-wop vocal group the Del-Vikings. The song was originally recorded by The Del-Vikings (leadsinger Norman Wright) in ...
".


Career

Following his military tour of duty, Wells returned to Buffalo and was asked to join a band named the Vibratos. Gene Jacobs, the brother-in-law of the Vibratos guitar player, Mike Lustan, suggested to him that the Vibratos travel to California if they were serious about making it in music. They took his advice and changed the name of the band to " The Enemys." They soon began working the clubs in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Sacramento, and they became the
house band A house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play at an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to bands which ...
at the
Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...
. They were also featured in the television shows ''
The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...
'', '' Burke's Law'', ''
Riot on Sunset Strip ''Riot on Sunset Strip'' is a 1967 counterculture-era exploitation movie, released by American International Pictures. It was filmed and released within four months of the late-1966 Sunset Strip curfew riots. The film stars Frank Alesia, Aldo Ra ...
'', and the film ''
Harper Harper may refer to: Names * Harper (name), a surname and given name Places ;in Canada * Harper Islands, Nunavut *Harper, Prince Edward Island ;In the United States *Harper, former name of Costa Mesa, California in Orange County * Harper, Il ...
'', with Paul Newman. While at the Whisky a Go Go,
Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
asked the band to tour with
Sonny & Cher Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of husband and wife Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector. The pair f ...
. It was on this tour that Wells met
Danny Hutton Daniel Anthony Hutton (born September 10, 1942) is an Irish-American singer, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night. Hutton was a songwriter and singer for Hanna-Barbera Records from 1965 to 1966. Hutton had a ...
, a former songwriter/performer for
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ) was an American animation studio and production company which was active from 1957 to 2001. It was founded on July 7, 1957, by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera following the decision of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to c ...
Productions who became his future partner in the rock band Three Dog Night. The Enemys had minor hits with
recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
of "Hey Joe" and "Sinner Man". Wells moved to Phoenix in 1967 where he formed The Cory Wells Blues Band, whose bass player was future Three Dog Night bass player, Joe Schermetzler (stage name Joe Schermie). In 1968, Wells returned to Hollywood where he "couch-surfed" while Danny Hutton worked to convince him of the feasibility of forming a group with three lead singers and a back-up band.


Three Dog Night

Hutton and Wells formed Three Dog Night in 1968. They found a third lead singer in
Chuck Negron Charles Negron II (born June 8, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the rock band Three Dog Night, which he helped form in 1968. Early life Chuck Negron was born on June 8, 1942, in M ...
, whom Hutton had met at a Hollywood party. Hutton, Wells, and Negron met
The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...
'
Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often called a genius for his novel approaches to pop composition, extraordinary musical aptitude, and m ...
, and they recorded
demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...
under the name "Redwood" with Wilson as producer. The sessions produced a potential single, "
Time to Get Alone "Time to Get Alone" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1969 album ''20/20''. Written by Brian Wilson and produced by Carl Wilson, it is a baroque pop waltz. Brian originally intended the song for Redwood, the band that ...
," but Beach Boy member
Mike Love Michael Edward Love (born March 15, 1941) is an American singer and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys with his cousins Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson and their friend Al Jardine. Characterized by his nasal tenor and occasional bass-bari ...
wanted to save the song for the next Beach Boys album. Having perfected their three-part
harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However ...
sound, Wells, Hutton and Negron added a four-piece backing group consisting of guitarist
Michael Allsup Michael Rand Allsup (born March 8, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a member of the rock and roll band Three Dog Night. Background Allsup's parents were originally from Oklahoma, but relocated to the small town of Empire, Californ ...
, organist
Jimmy Greenspoon James Boyd Greenspoon (February 7, 1948 – March 11, 2015) was an American keyboard player and composer, best known as a member of the band Three Dog Night. Early life and education Greenspoon was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in ...
, bassist
Joe Schermie Joseph Edward Schermetzler (February 12, 1946 – March 26, 2002), known as Joe Schermie, was an American musician, best known as the bass player for the 1970s American rock-pop group Three Dog Night. Biography Schermie was born in Madison, ...
, and drummer
Floyd Sneed Floyd Chester Sneed (November 22, 1942 – January 27, 2023) was a Canadian drummer, best known for his work with the band Three Dog Night. Born on November 22, 1942, in Calgary, Sneed grew up in a musical family (his parents were both musicia ...
. The group began performing as Three Dog Night in 1968, and became one of the most successful bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Wells sang the lead vocal on Three Dog Night's ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' No. 1 hit song "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)". He said that
Randy Newman Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern American English, Southern-accented singing style, early Americana (music), Americana-influenced songs (often ...
, who wrote the song, later called him on the phone and said: "I just want to thank you for putting my kids through college." Unlike many other rock musicians of the day, Wells managed to abstain from alcohol and other drugs. Also, he didn't squander his earnings on the lavish lifestyles of many other successful rock stars; rather, he chose to live a somewhat more moderate existence. After Three Dog Night broke up in 1976, Wells tried a solo career, recording the album '' Touch Me'' for
A&M Records A&M Records was an American record label founded as an independent company by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in 1962. Due to the success of the discography A&M released, the label garnered interest and was acquired by PolyGram in 1989 and began distr ...
in 1978. Wells helped re-launch Three Dog Night in the mid-1980s, recording an EP called "
It's a Jungle ''It's a Jungle'' is an EP by American rock band Three Dog Night, released in 1983. Track listing Personnel * Mike Allsup - guitar *Jimmy Greenspoon - keyboards * Richard Grossman - bass *Danny Hutton - vocals * Chuck Negron - vocals *Floyd ...
". A falling out with Negron left Hutton and Wells with the name "Three Dog Night" as an entity, and the pair (along with original member
Mike Allsup Michael Rand Allsup (born March 8, 1947) is an American guitarist, best known as a member of the rock and roll band Three Dog Night. Background Allsup's parents were originally from Oklahoma, but relocated to the small town of Empire, Californi ...
) toured regularly each year. Original member
Jimmy Greenspoon James Boyd Greenspoon (February 7, 1948 – March 11, 2015) was an American keyboard player and composer, best known as a member of the band Three Dog Night. Early life and education Greenspoon was born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in ...
also toured with Three Dog Night until his diagnosis of
metastatic melanoma Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye (u ...
in late 2014, which led to his death in October 2015.


Death

Wells died in his sleep on October 20, 2015, at Brooks Memorial Hospital in
Dunkirk, New York Dunkirk is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Dunkirk i ...
at the age of 74. His family later confirmed he was fighting
multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone pain, an ...
, a form of blood cancer.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, Cory 1941 births 2015 deaths Deaths from multiple myeloma Musicians from Buffalo, New York American male singers Three Dog Night members American people of Polish descent Singers from New York (state) United States Air Force airmen