{"id":2447879,"date":"2019-08-22T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-22T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=311631"},"modified":"2019-08-22T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-08-22T22:00:00","slug":"three-dog-nights-founder-and-lead-singer-danny-hutton-returns-to-belly-up-aspen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/three-dog-nights-founder-and-lead-singer-danny-hutton-returns-to-belly-up-aspen\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Dog Night\u2019s founder and lead singer, Danny Hutton, returns to Belly Up Aspen"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Three Dog Night will headline a sold-out Belly Up on Friday night.<\/strong>
Courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\u201cJeremiah was a bullfrog. Was a good friend of mine.\u201d More than likely, you can recite the next line of \u201cJoy to the World,\u201d one of the many hits that American rock band Three Dog Night has produced (it also happens to be the song played at the end of every Denver Broncos home victory).<\/p>\n

Danny Hutton, lead singer and founder of Three Dog Night, is returning to Belly Up for a sold-out show with his band on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re firing on all cylinders, and I\u2019m just thrilled to still be doing it,\u201d Hutton, now 77, said in a recent phone interview from his Laurel Canyon home in the Hollywood Hills.<\/p>\n

After 51 years together, Three Dog Night\u2019s longevity is no doubt impressive.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the key to our success is our songs,\u201d Hutton said. \u201cOur songs are universal because mood-wise, they are either about emotions which never get old, or they are party songs which also never get old.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hutton\u2019s early days as a live performer included going on \u201cAmerican Bandstand\u201d with The Lovin\u2019 Spoonful and going on the road with Sonny & Cher when they first released \u201cI Got You, Babe.\u201d That was the start of singing publicly for Hutton. Eventually, he broke off and started a band designed for three singers.<\/p>\n

Formed in 1967, the band\u2019s original three singers were Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. Popular hit songs include \u201cNever Been to Spain,\u201d \u201cMama Told Me Not to Come,\u201d \u201cOne,\u201d and \u201cJoy to the World.\u201d The band registered 21 Billboard Top 40 hits (with three hitting number one) between 1969 and 1975.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not lowered the keys in any of the songs. We go out to kick butt. I want to leave the stage and give them the finger and say, \u2018follow that\u2019 to whoever is up next!\u201d Hutton said.<\/p>\n

Brian Wilson, co-founder of The Beach Boys, acted as a mentor for Hutton through the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe bonded and became quick friends,\u201d Hutton recalled. \u201cHe taught me how to produce and arrange like no one else. He\u2019s like Mozart. When he did the \u2018Pet Sounds\u2019 album, I was there. When he did the \u2018God Only Knows\u2019 session, which Paul McCartney calls the best song ever written, I was there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJoy to the World\u201d was originally intended to be on a Saturday morning children\u2019s cartoon show and the band members first thought of it as a silly song for kids. The tune quickly turned into a smash Billboard no. 1 hit and became one of the best-selling singles of all time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought the song was just nuts,\u201d Hutton said. \u201cI never thought it was going to work. We ended up doing it and sticking it on the album. We had two hits off the album, and we were ready to move along, and the record company phoned and said, \u2018We\u2019re getting calls, crazy calls from everywhere, all over the country about that song\u2019 and we couldn\u2019t believe it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The single was out for less than two months before, on April 9, 1971, \u201cJoy to the World\u201d was certified gold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knew?\u201d Hutton said. \u201cIt\u2019s funny because everybody loves it. It makes me feel good, it makes everybody feel good. It\u2019s one of those universal songs. It\u2019s like lightning in a bottle. How do you plan that? It\u2019s wonderful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hutton went on to talk about one particular gig in England at the Marquee Club where he became good friends with a writer named Reggie Dwight. Turns out, it was a sold-out show and the guest list was full.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe snuck Reggie backstage as a roadie and he pretended to load equipment in the whole time,\u201d Hutton said.<\/p>\n

Reggie would eventually go on to change his name to Elton John.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Elton first came to the States, I brought him to his first restaurant,\u201d Hutton said. \u201cHe even sent me the demo for \u2018Your Song\u2019 before it was released.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the first time since 1986, Three Dog Night is now recording a new album\u2014six of the songs written by Hutton.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people are going to be so surprised,\u201d Hutton said. \u201cWe do at least one new song at every show. You must stick your toe in the water to see how it\u2019s going to go. I\u2019m telling you the truth\u2014the new songs get a standing ovation every night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hutton advises that the new album should be all wrapped up by mid-September.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have our fanbase, but we\u2019re picking up new people too,\u201d Hutton said. \u201cI love watching these college kids looking like, \u2018Okay, what are these old cats going to do now?\u2019 Then just going in, having their jaw dropped and say, \u2018Wow, man. They look old but damn, they sound good.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Three Dog Night will headline a sold-out Belly Up on Friday night.Courtesy photo \u201cJeremiah was a bullfrog. Was a good friend of mine.\u201d More than likely, you can recite the next line of \u201cJoy to the World,\u201d one of the many hits that American rock band Three Dog Night has produced (it also happens to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2447879","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-25 13:35:32","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447879\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}