''Three Dog Night'' (also known as ''One'') is the debut album by American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
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 A ...
. The album was originally released by Dunhill Records on October 16, 1968. The album is known for featuring the band's Top 5 hit
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
, their cover of Harry Nilsson's song " One".
The album made the Top 20 on the albums charts in the United States and Canada. It has been reissued multiple times by Dunhill, MCA, and Geffen record labels.
Background, recording, and production
In 1967, Three Dog Night was founded by
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 m ...
,
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 ...
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, ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
, and Michael Allsup. The group was a successful live act in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
and gathered considerable attention by several record labels. After a show at the Troubadour, the group was signed to the Dunhill
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
label, and the band started work on their first studio album.
''Three Dog Night'' was recorded at American Recording Company. Producing the sessions was
Gabriel Mekler
Gabriel Mekler (2 December 1942 – 4 September 1977) was an American songwriter, musician, and record producer who attained fame in the 1960s, helming albums for Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, and Janis Joplin. He also collaborated with R&B sing ...
, who had previously worked with Steppenwolf, and was engineered 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 caree ...
– who would later become the band's producer – and Bill Cooper.
Singles and artwork
The first single to be released from ''Three Dog Night'' was "Nobody" b/w "
It's for You
"It's for You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles for Cilla Black for whom it was a UK Top Ten hit in 1964. The song is mainly a McCartney composition.
Background Composition
Paul McCartney, who had been presen ...
" in November 1968, followed by "Try a Little Tenderness" b/w "Bet No One Ever Hurt This Bad" in January 1969. The last single released from the album was "One" b/w "
Chest Fever
"Chest Fever" is a song recorded by the Band on its 1968 debut, ''Music from Big Pink''. It is, according to Peter Viney, a historian of the group, the album track that has appeared on the most subsequent live albums and compilations, second only ...
" in April 1969.
The album's cover art, designed by
Gary Burden
Gary Burden (May 23, 1933 – March 7, 2018) was an American artist specializing in the field of album covers. He is considered one of the pioneers of the concept of album cover art.
Early life
Gary Burden was born on May 23, 1933, in Cleveland ...
, originally only had the name of the group on the front cover. After "Nobody" and "Try a Little Tenderness" were released as singles to only moderate success, the band began work on a follow-up album, ''
Suitable for Framing
''Suitable for Framing'' is the second studio album by American rock band Three Dog Night. The album was released on the Dunhill record label on June 11, 1969 and was the first of two albums released by the band that year (see 1969 in music).
T ...
''. During planning for ''Suitable for Framings release, however, Three Dog Night singer Chuck Negron approached Dunhill ABC executives asking that "One" (which Negron sang lead on) be considered as the band's next single. The label released "One" as a single in several test markets, and the record quickly became Three Dog Night's first bona fide hit, ultimately peaking at #5 on the US charts. The title "One" was added under the group's name on the album's cover to capitalize on the song's popularity.
Critical reception
Writing for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' in 1969, Robert Christgau regarded ''Three Dog Night'' as a successful attempt at rock music interpretation:
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ov ...
) – 3:00
#"Nobody" (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:18
#"Heaven Is in Your Mind" (
Jim Capaldi
Nicola James Capaldi (2 August 1944 – 28 January 2005) was an English singer-songwriter and drummer. His musical career spanned more than four decades. He co-founded the progressive rock band Traffic in 1967 with Steve Winwood with whom he co ...
It's for You
"It's for You" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles for Cilla Black for whom it was a UK Top Ten hit in 1964. The song is mainly a McCartney composition.
Background Composition
Paul McCartney, who had been presen ...
" (
Lennon–McCartney
Lennon–McCartney was the songwriting partnership between English musicians John Lennon (1940–1980) and Paul McCartney (born 1942) of the Beatles. It is the best-known and most successful musical collaboration ever by records sold, with the ...
) – 1:40
#"Let Me Go" (
Danny Whitten
Danny Ray Whitten (May 8, 1943 – November 18, 1972) was an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with Neil Young's backing band Crazy Horse, and for the song "I Don't Want to Talk About It", a hit for Rod Stewart and Every ...
) – 2:24
#"
Chest Fever
"Chest Fever" is a song recorded by the Band on its 1968 debut, ''Music from Big Pink''. It is, according to Peter Viney, a historian of the group, the album track that has appeared on the most subsequent live albums and compilations, second only ...
Tim Hardin
James Timothy Hardin (December 23, 1941 – December 29, 1980) was an American folk and blues musician and composer. As well as releasing his own material, several of his songs, including " If I Were a Carpenter" and "Reason to Believe", beca ...
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...
) – 2:32
#"
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 recorde ...
Harry M. Woods
Henry MacGregor WoodsIMDb bio for Harry M. Woods (November 4, 1896 – January 14, 1970) was a ) – 4:05 (timing mistakenly listed at 3:05 on album labels and cover)
Personnel
The following people contributed to ''Three Dog Night'':
*
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 ...
– lead vocals (tracks 2-8, 11), background vocals
* Chuck Negron – lead vocals (tracks 1, 9), background vocals
*
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 m ...
– lead vocals (track 10), background vocals
* Michael Allsup –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
s
*
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, ...
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 ...
percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...
*
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 ...
–
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
s
;Technical
*
Gabriel Mekler
Gabriel Mekler (2 December 1942 – 4 September 1977) was an American songwriter, musician, and record producer who attained fame in the 1960s, helming albums for Steppenwolf, Three Dog Night, and Janis Joplin. He also collaborated with R&B sing ...
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 caree ...
–
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...