Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night was always about the vocals....the harmonies. Folks, They've STILL got it all. They just ROCK.
Four of the original members are still playing together...The two lead singers (Danny Hutton and Cory Wells), the Keyboard Player (Jimmy Greenspoon) and the Lead Guitarist (Michael Allsup)! THEY got it together in Laruel Canyon along with a third vocalist (Chuck Negron) back in the Sixties along with a lot of other groups including the Eagles who got started in that same canyon at that same time!
The line-up of 3DN changed a lot over the years, with different drummers, a second keyboard and seemingly constantly changing lead vocalists, but they always maintained "their sound". And they STILL have it!
I really didn't expect what I heard tonight. They took the stage and had thousands of people rattling the dome over Fremont St in Las Vegas Sept 6. They played for about an hour and 15 minutes and did a lot of their hits plus some that weren't hits. But whatever they did, they hit every high note without a quiver! If you watched the Jerry Lewis Telethon (broadcast from South Point or "M"...not sure which) you might have caught them doing "Joy To The World". I think that is the one they shot.
I've been to Vegas many MANY times and have listened to a lot of groups playing here including Paul Revere and the Raiders, but NEVER have I seen so many people packed in one place to listen to a band! I got there early and tried to stake out a good spot for Verna and I to listen to the band. Man, I got boxed in and had to call Verna and tell her to hustle on down or she wouldn't make it! An hour before the show, it was already packed almost to capacity in the intersection in front of the stage. Folks, it's still very much SUMMER in VEGAS. The temp was still up around 100* at 9pm and must have been a lot hotter than that with all those people packed together. Not much of a breeze at all either. It was HOT!
I had bought this white baseball hat with red flames in raised embroidery on it...can we say "gaudy!" Bought it because it was basically white and I needed something white for the golf courses. With Verna on the phone with me, I was waving that hat high over my head so she could spot me. She did and after stepping on a lot of toes and telling people she was trying to get to her husband, the crowd let her through....but she said that at one point, she was about ready to claim just about any man as husband at that time! Can't blame her...it was insane.
There was a couple in front of me...cute lady in a black dress and a smile that NEVER left her face. I think maybe she'd had about 6 too many beers. But she was really having fun. We were all moving to the music...you couldn't help it...infectious! She stepped on my foot and started to fall. I caught her before any damage was done but she was mortified. For the rest of the show, she was apologizing "I'm SO SORRY..." Heck, I didn't have to catch her. The crowd was so packed together she'd never have hit the ground! But I didn't mind catching her <evil grin>
Doesn't matter. I'm still spinning. If ever you get the chance to catch this group live, don't miss it. They are just awesome. STILL! I know I'll be watching for show dates and will definitely PAY to see them! There are groups who have had to change up their songs so they can still reach the notes they originally sang....not 3DN! They just nailed everything.
Two songs I'd liked for them to do that they didn't do were "Freedom For The Stalion" ad "Pieced Of April". But they did do "One" and they did "Moma Told Me" and "Celebrate" and "Joy To the World".
I'm definitely going to have to expand my collection of their works. I only have "Seven Separate Fools" plus a "Greatest Hits" that I haven't been able to find. Maybe they didn't write a lot of original music, but what they were successful at was recognizing the best of the best that was coming out of the developing genre of singer-songwriters back in the day. The list of "unknowns" whose works they recorded include folks like Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Elton John, Laura Nyro, Paul Williams and Hoyt Axton. Plus, they had this background female vocalist, LaDonna Adrian Gaines (Donna Summer!)
Triva: The unusual name "Three Dog Night":
In Australia, Aborigines would cuddle up with a digno (dog) for warmth on cold nights. If it was a really cold night, they'd bundle with two dogs. Well, you get the picture!
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. They do sound great though. Thanks for posting!! 
