The Three Dog Night singer Chuck Negron has died at the age of 83.
The singer-songwriter died at his Los Angeles home on Monday.
He had been living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease for decades and had also struggled with heart failure in his final months.
A statement from his publicist said Negron died peacefully at his home in Studio City, surrounded by his family. No exact cause of death was given in the statement.
The American rock band was founded in 1967 by Negron, Danny Hutton and Cory Wells.
They recorded material by acts including Randy Newman, Laura Nyro and Neil Young, among many others.
While they struggled with some audiences who had begun to expect bands to write their own songs, Three Dog Night had hits including Joy To The World (Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog) and One (Is the Loneliest Number).
‘I like different songs for different reasons,’ he told Rock Cellar in a 2018 interview.
‘I like One because it was our first million-selling record, that one really put us in the game. It has a special place in my heart for other reasons too, it was done in one take, and at the time I was in awe of what came out of me, I couldn’t believe I’d done that.
‘I loved Joy to the World because it became a signature song for us, and it’s still a hit to this day.’
Three Dog Night founding members
Vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton founded the band in 1967.
The lineup soon added Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sneed (drums).
The band’s debut album went platinum and their following seven releases all went gold on the US charts.
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The group disbanded from 1976 through to 1981, before they reunited until 1985. Then the group suffered another falling out, due in part to Negron’s addiction issues at the time.
Negron checked into rehab in 1991, telling Rock Cellar of the experience: ‘I wanted to cry help, and they took a spiritually and physically broken man, and they changed me with many tools and an unbelievable support group.’
Hutton and Wells continued to perform together as Three Dog Night. Wells died in 2015, while Hutton still tours today as the sole original member.
An obituary provided to Variety stated that while Negron and Hutton had been estranged for decades, they met last year in what was described as ‘a timely effort to exchange apologies and bury the hatchet’.
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