54 years ago on June 27, 1970, Three Dog Night’s ‘Mama Told Me (Not To Come)’ was No. 2 on the US pop singles chart. The No. 1 hit was the Jackson 5’s ‘The Love You Save,’ but there’s not a single Buffalonian in that bunch as Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael (top right) all hail from Gary, IN, so Three Dog Night it is. Randy Newman (top center) (born November 28, 1943 in LA) wrote ‘Mama Told Me (Not To Come)’ about LA’s party scene in the 1960s. Newman and many others recorded this song, but Three Dog Night gave us the definitive version. I think Classic Rock’s Dave Everley was hilariously accurate in his explanation of how this rendition distinguishes itself: “Where Randy Newman sounded like he really was regretting coming to that party, Three Dog Night absolutely did not. If Newman’s original had its back pressed against the wall, nervously looking for the exit, Three Dog Night’s version had its pants around its ankles and was one toke away from diving head-first into the punch bowl.” Three Dog Night’s Cory Wells (pictured lower left in the center)(February 5, 1941-October 20, 2015) sang lead on this track, so it is his voice you hear singing: “Want some whiskey in your water? Sugar in your tea? What's all these crazy questions they're askin' me?” Wells was born Emil Lewandowski on Buffalo’s East Side where he was raised by a single mom. He joined the Air Force after high school and moved to LA in the mid-1960s where he became a founding member of the band named after a phrase coined by Australian hunters who would huddle with their dogs for warmth on cold nights in the outback; the coldest being a “three dog night.” The band was a big deal. Between 1969 and 1974, no other act had more top 10 hits or sold more concert tickets. Also kind of cool is that 5 years before her breakthrough hit, ‘Love To Love You Baby’, a 22 year old Donna Summer (December 31, 1948 – May 17, 2012) sang background vocals on this song. On July 11, 1970, the song hit No. 1 where it stayed for 2 weeks. It was the very first No. 1 hit on the American Top 40 syndicated radio show hosted by Casey Kasem. Wells died on October 20, 2015 in Dunkirk, NY, 45 miles outside of Buffalo. Dunkirk is the birthplace of Van Miller (November 22, 1927 – July 17, 2015) who was the play-by-play commentator for the Buffalo Bills for 37 years with signature calls like "Fandemonium!" and "Do you believe it?!?" He also called the Buffalo Braves, Buffalo Bisons baseball, Buffalo Stallions soccer, and here he is hanging out with the Buffalo Sabres’ French Connection (lower right). Cory Wells was 74 years old. Van Miller’s headset and spotter boards from his final game are preserved in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, OH.
Jesse Cooke
2w
The version ‘one toke away from diving head-first into the punch bowl”: https://youtu.be/9DZvJQ0PTEg?si=4iEcasQD7bWzDOHK
Matt Nichols
2w
"Between 1969 and 1974, no other act had more top 10 hits or sold more concert tickets." Is that really true? I find that hard to believe when you consider the run of 5 incredible albums Led Zeppelin released during those 5 years. But maybe they didn't have the popular appeal of a band like Three Dog Night.
Richard Fink
2w
I don't know why so many diss them because they didn't write their own songs. Randy Newman and Laura Nero, for example, were highly complementary about how they helped popularize their tunes.
Jesse Cooke, this is a great post! Iconic Music Stars!
Phil Smith
2w
My mind exploded and stopped processing at the Donna Summer fact
Sean Fodera
2w
I'd always heard it was "Eskimo" hunters who inspired the name.
Great post! Took me back to June 1972. End-of-year eighth-grade class trip to an amusement park and the end of the line for us at our Catholic elementary school. On the bus ride there, one of my classmates got everyone singing "99 Bottles of Beer." When we finally finished, someone tried for a repeat. The nun who was chaperoning jumped up and shouted, "Stop! Sing another song." You guessed it, everyone knew the hit song, "Joy to the World." Went on for about a half hour. Each time we reached, "Make sweet love to you," we really emphasized the line and looked over to the nun for a reaction. Alas, she just sat quietly. Did she get it? I don't know. Maybe she was simply sick of hearing "99 Bottles" every bus trip and was content with something new. Or perhaps she preferred wine to beer.
And yet Cleveland’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame won’t even entertain having them in the museum
Your reference to the Buffalo Sabres “French Connection” made me think of this one: https://thehockeynews.com/all-access/greatest-games-buffalo-sabres-bad-weather-and-a-dead-bat
NY and PA Insurance Defense Litigator / History Buff-alonian
2wThe version with “its back pressed against the wall, nervously looking for the exit”: https://youtu.be/zUmLAGEHB0U?si=kf1nzxRWPSAW_Z-t