"Pieces of April" is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

written by

Dave Loggins David Allen Loggins (born November 10, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Musical career Loggins is best known for his 1974 song composition "Please Come to Boston", which was a No. 5 popular music success (No. 1 Easy Listen ...

which became a Top 20 hit for

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 ...

in January 1973.

Three Dog Night version

First recorded by Loggins himself for his 1972 debut album ''Personal Belongings'', "Pieces of April" was recorded for the 1972 Three Dog Night album ''

Seven Separate Fools ''Seven Separate Fools'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Three Dog Night. Released in 1972, the album reached number six on the US ''Billboard'' 200, becoming the band's highest-charting album. The LP version of the album was rel ...

'' produced and arranged by

Richard Podolor Richard Allen Podolor (January 7, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter. His career started as a session musician in the 1950s, and he was best known as the producer of Three Dog Night. Life and career ...

with Three Dog Night themselves credited as co-arrangers. According to Three Dog Night vocalist

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 ...

, the group's two other vocalist

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 ...

and

Cory Wells 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. Early life Wells came from a musical family and began playing in Buffalo ...

left

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

where the ''Seven Separate Fools'' album was being recorded before the album was complete, necessitating Negron recording the album's final two tracks - which included "Pieces of April" - without them. As a result, "Pieces of April" would become the second of the two Three Dog Night single not to feature all three of the group's vocalists at least on background vocals (the first being their inaugural Hot 100 single: the 1969 release "

Try a Little Tenderness "Try a Little Tenderness" is a song written by Jimmy Campbell, Reg Connelly, and Harry M. Woods. Original version It was first recorded on December 8, 1932, by the Ray Noble Orchestra, with vocals by Val Rosing. Another version, also recorded ...

" sung by Wells). Released in October 1972 as the followup to the #1 hit "

Black and White Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

", "Pieces of April" was an atypically delicate Three Dog Night track, being particularly distinct from the rollicking "Black and White", and "Pieces of April" would not become one of Three Dog Night's biggest hits, rising no higher than #19 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

in ''

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 ...

'' magazine whose

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

hit ranking afforded "Pieces of April" a #6 peak. In Canada, "Pieces of April" ranked as high as #14 on the national hit parade featured in ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' magazine, whose Easy Listening survey ranked the track as high as #9.

Other versions

*The song's composer

had recorded "Pieces of April" for his 1972 debut album ''Personal Belongings'' from which it was single-released in January 1973 which month the Three Dog Night version reached the Top 20, Loggins' single evidently being an attempt (unsuccessful) to generate a C&W hit. Loggins would remake "Pieces of April" for his final album: the 1979 release ''Dave Loggins'', from which "Pieces of April" was single-released to become an Easy Listening hit, ranking as high as #22 on the

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

in ''

''Dave Loggins, "Pieces of April" Chart Position
Retrieved February 9, 2015 *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

recorded "Pieces of April" for his 1972 album, ''

Alone Again (Naturally) "Alone Again (Naturally)" is a song by Irish singer-songwriter Gilbert O'Sullivan. It was recorded in 1972 at the same time as his album '' Back to Front'' and was a worldwide hit. The single spent six non-consecutive weeks at number one on ''Bi ...

''. *

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

recorded "Pieces of April" in the 1972 sessions for his album ''

Me and Mrs. Jones "Me and Mrs. Jones" is a 1972 soul song written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert, and originally recorded by Billy Paul. It describes an extramarital affair between a man and his lover, Mrs. Jones. In the song, the two meet in secre ...

'': the track was shelved being unreleased until 2017 when it was issued as a bonus track on the CD release of ''Me and Mrs. Jones'' and also on the

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

entitled '' The Voice of Romance: The Columbia Original Album Collection''. *

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

recorded "Pieces of April" for her 1976 self-titled album.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pieces of April (song) 1972 songs 1972 singles 1979 singles Songs written by Dave Loggins Three Dog Night songs Andy Williams songs Dave Loggins songs Dunhill Records singles Epic Records singles