Three Dog Night brings 40 years of joy to the Benton County Fair

Corvallis - The Benton County Fair's 2008 Main Stage music lineup kicks off at 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 30, when local act Joe Shinkle and 99 West open up for rocking country powerhouse Sawyer Brown.

The action will really heat up, however, at the same time Friday night, Aug. 1, when local blues-rocker David Samuel opens for classic rockers Three Dog Night.

Best known for hits such as "Joy to the World," "One," "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" and "Eli's Coming," the Southern California-based band earned a total of 13 gold albums and recorded 21 Billboard Top 40 hits, seven of which went gold.

Formed around the nucleus of singers Danny Hutton, Cory Wells and Chuck Negron, the group was one of the most popular concert draws in the country between 1969 and 1975, and its songs continue to receive massive airplay on classic rock radio.

"It permeates the air," Hutton says of the band's ubiquitous nature at the time.

Like many bands who found success in that era, however, Three Dog Night experienced its share of ups and downs. Hutton left the band in 1976, citing burnout caused by incessant touring and his hard-partying ways. The band's popularity had begun to wane around that time, as well. Eventually, under Negron's leadership, the group petered out and called it quits.

But in 1983, the group got back together. They've been touring regularly, playing roughly 80 to 90 concerts per year.

In the early '80s, Hutton was managing punk rock band Fear and living in Alice Cooper's old mansion in the Hollywood Hills. Add to that his emergence in the music industry via befriending Beach Boys mastermind Brian Wilson - Hutton was hanging out at Wilson's house, laying down vocal tracks and listening eagerly during the recording of "Pet Sounds" - and you have a picture of a man whose life has mirrored the curvy history of rock itself.

Still, in an era of classic rock bands touring with one original member, it's refreshing to see that Three Dog Night still has four of its own. In addition to Hutton and Wells, they are keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon and guitarist Michael Allsup.

"The majority of the guys in the group are the original guys that played on all the records," Hutton says from Colorado, where the band's just taken a couple of days off to relax before heading to Las Vegas and then up toward Oregon. "I like to joke that it's more than The Who and more than The Rolling Stones."

When Three Dog Night plays the Benton County Fair, it will bring with it not just two of the original three vocalists, but also the keyboard and guitar sounds that were so prevalent on "Mama," "One" and many of the band's big hits.

Another interesting facet of the band's music is the fact that nearly all of its hits were arrangements of material by other artists, such as Harry Nilssen, Laura Nyro and Randy Newman. Yet the band developed not only its own following, but a true voice of its own.

Although, as Hutton points out, sometimes that voice is defined by being indefinable. He likens the band's sound to an iPod, capable of jumping from style to style in a matter of seconds.

"What I'm most proud of ... is that we were almost unrecognizable at times," he says. "We were on the pop charts and the easy listening charts, but we were also on the R&B charts and the country charts. We went to Abbey Road Studios and recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra."

"The diversity of what we do is what I'm very proud of."

To hear more of the interview with Hutton, see www.gazettetimes.com and click on the blue GT to Go logo.

Check It Out

What: The 2008 Benton County Fair & Rodeo

When: Wednesday, July 30, through Sunday, Aug. 3

Where: The Benton County Fairgrounds

Information: To find out more about the fair, including admission, a full schedule and additional costs, see the special section in Friday's Gazette-Times or www.bentoncountyfair.com.

Local Music rocks

A variety of local acts besides Joe Shinkle and David Samuel will also fill the fair with a diversity of sounds. From the hard-edged funk of The Manimals to the progressive indie-rock of Norman to acts from MusiCafe Rock School, each day will feature something different on the Oak Grove Family Fun Stage and elsewhere. In addition, magicians, clowns, hypnotists and more will be on hand. For more information on all this entertainment, see the Benton County Fair Web site.