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Chuck Negron, founding member and lead vocalist of Three Dog Night.
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Obituaries: Three Dog Night Vocalist Chuck Negron, Television & Blondie Bassist Fred Smith
This week we also acknowledge the passing of Manitoban country artist and producer Dale Russell and Three Doors Down singer Brad Arnold.
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Dale Russell, a Winnipeg-based country singer/songwriter and producer, died on Feb. 5, at age 77.
Larry Delaney at Cancountry sent Billboard Canada this obituary: "Born in 1948 in St. Boniface, Manitoba, and raised in Portage La Prairie, Dale Russell enjoyed success in many music categories. As a recording artist he released his debut album She Don't Like The Highway in 1980 on Sunshine Records. A single release of the album's title track tune peaked at No. 28 on the RPM Country Charts. An earlier release, 'Feel It,' was a Top 50 chart hit in 1978."
As a record producer Dale Russell is credited on recordings by Harvey Henry, Angela Kelman, Darlene Wiebe, Barbara-Anne Sellman, Don Freed, Rae-Ann Paxton, Shelly-Lou Marie, Laurie Karr, Cindy Thompson and more. He was named producer of the year at the 1981 MACA Awards.
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As a songwriter Dale Russell's compositions have been recorded by Dennis T. Olson, Lori Kole, Angela Kelman, Rae-Ann Paxton, Drew Reid, Austin Church and more. During the late '70s Dale Russell was a regular on the CTV-Winnipeg TV show Sounds Country, hosted by Dennis T.Olson.
International
Chuck (Charles) Negron, a founding member of soul-rock hitmaking sensations Three Dog Night died on Feb. 2, at age 83, of complications from heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
A Billboard obituary notes that "Negron sang lead on such hits as' One' and 'Just an Old Fashioned Love Song' and hollered the immortal opening line 'Jeremiah was a bullfrog!' on the chart-topping 'Joy to the World.'"
Associated Press reports that "Negron and fellow vocalists Cory Wells and Danny Hutton were Los Angeles-based performers who began working together in the mid-1960s, originally calling themselves Redwood then settling on Three Dog Night, Australian slang for frigid outback weather. Between 1969 and 1974, they were among the world’s most successful acts, with 18 top 20 singles and 12 albums certified gold for selling at least 500,000 copies.
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"The group contributed little of its own material, but proved uniquely adept at interpreting others, reworking songs by such rising stars of the time as Randy Newman ('Mama Told Me Not to Come'), Paul Williams ('Just an Old-Fashioned Love Song') and Laura Nyro ('Eli’s Coming'). No matter the originator, the sound was unmistakably Three Dog Night: The trio of stars worked themselves into a raved-up, free-for-all passion, as if each singer were attempting to vault in front of the others. 'The Kings of Oversing,' the Village Voice would call them."
At the peak of their fame, Three Dog Night released four albums within 18 months. In December, 1972, the band hosted and performed on the inaugural edition of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
AP writes that "Negron himself stood out for his drooping mustache, in contrast to his clean-shaven peers, and for his multi-octave tenor. He helped transform 'One,' a Harry Nilsson ballad, from a breakup song to a cry of helpless solitude. And he helped convince Wells and Hutton not to pass on what became their most famous song. 'Joy to the World,' written by Hoyt Axton, shared the title and little else with the 18th century English hymn. According to Negron, the other singers had twice turned down 'Joy' to the World in his absence before Axton played him a demo.
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"No one seemed to care what 'Jeremiah was a bullfrog!' was supposed to mean; it became a catchphrase of the era. Joy to the World outsold all other songs in 1971, received two Grammy nominations and lived on through oldies radio stations and movie soundtracks, notably for The Big Chill and Forrest Gump. The song caught on so fast, and for so long, that Three Dog Night performed it at back-to-back Grammy ceremonies."
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Other Three Dog Night hits included "Black and White," "Celebrate," "Shambala" and "Easy to Be Hard," but by the mid-1970s, the band was burned out, feuding and self-destructing. They broke up in 1976 and later settled in as an oldies act, with Hutton the only remaining original singer. Negron had dropped out for good in the mid-1980s, when his drug problems led to his being fired.
Negron would call his memoir, published in 1998 and reissued 20 years later, Three Dog Nightmare. Chapter titles included Making Millions and Stoned All the Time and Threw Up My Guts and Loved It..
Associated Press reports that "In his post-Three Dog Night years, Negron released several solo albums, including Joy to the World and Long Road Back, a companion to his memoir, and otherwise dedicated himself to helping others struggling with substance abuse."
Billboard noted that "Despite long-term health challenges, Negron continued touring for many years, developing methods to preserve his voice while managing COPD. He remained proud of his vocal ability until his final performances, stepping away from touring during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the risks posed by his condition."
On Facebook, Toronto musician-producer Derek Downham posted this tribute: "One of the greatest shows I’ve had the honour to play was a triple bill with Andy Kim, Tommy James & The Shondells and Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night in NY. Going in I had heard of Chuck’s public battle with addiction and his inspiring 26 year sobriety journey. This is well before my own sobriety...
"He was cordial, complimentary and kind. He and his band took vocal performance to an entirely new level for me. They each took these jaw-dropping 'vocal solos' wherein they held high and extended notes showcasing exceptional vocal prowess and lung power while they played a beautiful slow jam underneath. For an man diagnosed with emphysema, his abilities seemed barely marred. I will never forget how impressive and otherworldly it was."
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Condolences to his family & band. His son was his longtime bassist who also overcame addictions. Rest, Chuck. Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea. Joy to you and me."
Fred Smith, an American bassist best known for his work in proto-punk pioneers Television, died on Feb. 5, at age 77.
Rolling Stone reports that "though a cause of death was not given, a statement said that he had fought an unspecified 'illness long and hard these last few years.'"
Smith's musical journey began as the original bassist for Angel and the Snake, a group which would later become Blondie. After a short stint in Blondie, he left the band in 1975 to join Television, replacing co-founder Richard Hell. He remained their bassist until the group split in 1978, appearing on their seminal albums, 1977’s Marquee Moon and 1978's Adventure.
After the group’s breakup, Smith featured on solo albums for fellow bandmates Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, as well as for other artists including the Roches, Willie Nile, Peregrins and the Revelons. He also performed with rockers The Fleshtones, Holly and the Italians, The Eve Moon Band and Kristi Rose and the Midnight Walkers.
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Television reunited in 1992, with Smith on board, and they released a third self-titled album that year. Television continued to perform sporadically throughout the 2000s.
In later years, Smith and his wife, Paula Cereghino, founded an artisanal winery Cereghino Smith that was based in Bloomington, New York
Television guitarist Jimmy Rip wrote this tribute on Instagram, “The legendary bassist for Television, Tom Verlaine and many others, Fred Smith, was not only my bandmate for 46 years — he was my true friend.
"In 1981 when Tom Verlaine was preparing to tour for his disc Dreamtime, which Fred and Jay Daugherty had performed on, they recommended me as second guitar, leading to very long and rich musical, and personal friendships. If you are a lover of melodic bass lines and counterpoint, you could go to school on what Fred created so effortlessly. He was a natural — never flashy, always essential — always serving the song in ways that only the greatest musicians can…
"He was a great running buddy and exactly the guy you wanted around when road life got wearisome. His sense of humor, much like his musical voice, was dry, subtle, to the point, hilarious and always left you wanting a more. Yesterday, he left this world, leaving so many who loved him wanting so much more…of him."
Brad (Bradley Kirk) Arnold, the lead singer and a founding member of the Mississippi-based rock band 3 Doors Down, died on Feb. 7, at age 47, of renal cancer.
An NBC News obituary reports that "Arnold was a founding member of 3 Doors Down as both its lead singer and original drummer. The band had major chart success in the 2000s and was known for hits including 'Here Without You,' 'It’s Not My Time,' 'When I'm Gone' and 'Kryptonite' — which he wrote at the age of 15. Those latter two songs each received Grammy nominations.
In a tribute, the band said, “His music reverberated far beyond the stage, creating moments of connection, joy, faith, and shared experiences that will live on long after the stages he performed on." He was remembered as a “devoted husband” and for his “kindness, humor, and generosity.”
3 Doors Down's first studio album, The Better Life, was released in February 2000 and went on to be certified 7 times platinum. Released in April of that year, the single "Kryptonite" reached number three on the charts and became the band's breakout hit.
Away from the Sun, the band's second studio album, was released in November 2002 and peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard 200. It eventually went multi-platinum.
The band's third studio album, 2005's Seventeen Days, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum. 3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album in 2008. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 154,000 copies in its first week. It became the band's second consecutive No. 1 album on the chart after Seventeen Days, as well their fourth album to reach the top 10.
3 Doors Down released their fifth studio album, Time of My Life, in 2011, followed by a greatest hits collection the following year. On January 19, 2017, 3 Doors Down performed at the pre-presidential inauguration concert of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.
In 2020, Arnold released a solo single entitled "Wicked Man."
Read some tributes from musical peers here.
Head here to read an obituary for Greg Brown, founding guitarist of Cake and writer of the band’s hit song “The Distance," whose death was announced on Saturday (Feb. 7).
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