One on One with Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night

 By Tom Bryant
 As in all of our ONE ON ONE series, we speak directly to the people that are responsible for the events, the history and the things that we look forward to.Today I was able to spend a few minutes speaking with Danny Hutton, the front man for the Rock Legend known as Three Dog Night.
 Three Dog Night, a legendary band that rates right up there with Kiss, John Fogerty, The WHO, and yes, even the Beatles. With so many top ten and number one hits, this band is a rock legend and the AV News was able to speak, ONE ON ONE with the front man and lead vocals, Danny Hutton.
 Like anyone else, I wanted to know, "what happened, where'd you go", "why disappear for so long and then reemerge". Well, to my surprise Danny never went anywhere. According to Danny he has continued performing, raising a family and not letting age get in the way.
 In the past years Danny has done several demo's which also involved Brian Wilson, the genius behind the Beach Boys, as well as Van Dyke Parks, another genius in his own right. Three Dog Night was on the soundtrack to Pretty in Pink and was touring up to 80 dates a year so you see, they never left, they changed gears and flew "under the radar" as Danny put it.
 
 Quoting from the Three Dog Night website, "From 1969-1974, nobody had more Top 10 hits, moved more records, or sold more concert tickets. In 2009 THREE DOG NIGHT continues to top the list of artists with the best Billboard Top 100 Chart average! During this period Three Dog Night was undoubtedly the most popular band in America with twenty-one consecutive Top 40 hits and twelve straight gold LPs. By late '75, they had sold nearly 50 million records.
 The show goes on... Since 1986, Three Dog Night has toured extensively. Their records continue to sell in great numbers and they receive regular airplay on radio stations around the world" This last statement holds true, there isn't a day go by here in the valley that you don't hear a Three Dog Night hit being played.
 
 "We kick butt" was the response I got from Danny when asked how the music they perform today echo's from the sounds of yesterday. "People don't think you'll sound like the records because you got older" said Danny. I asked if that was an obstacle and Danny was very quick to respond that it wasn't and their performances are well received.
 When asked if performing live today has the same feelings it did in the past Danny said "yes, on a good night". "We perform one night and can travel and rest up during the travel day". "We're rested up and ready for it" said Hutton when asked if he was ready for the concert at the Lancaster Performing Arts Center.
 When pressed as to the music that will be performed Hutton wasn't shy about saying that the band plays allot of the old songs because that's what the people want to hear. It reminded me of an old baseball saying, "go with what got you here". Danny told me a short story about George C. Scott who was performing a play with his wife and had to remind her that their performances were for the people, not themselves which clearly shows that Hutton knows the people come to hear the hits as well as the new singles. Hutton believes in nostalgia and doesn't think it's a cop out to go on stage and give the people what they came for.
 When asked if the style of music had changed in Three Dog Night Hutton pointed out, "You've got to remember, we were all over the musical charts, pop, rock, R&B, we were the IPOD sound of our times". "There was no one sound" said Hutton, and he was right, Three Dog Night could rock you one moment and serenade you with the next one.
 Any true Three Dog Night fan will remember that the tune from Three Dog Night was in fact, "all over the charts". From "Eli's Coming", "One, Black and White", "Jeremiah Was a Bull Frog", no one set pattern was obvious for this group, they performed what felt good.
 I pressed Danny as to Chuck Negron, the former band mate and vocals for the band. I was hoping I hadn't struck a sour note but Danny told me to "ask anything you
like" I asked Danny if there were any thoughts of Chuck coming back to the group. Danny said that he would "never say never" and that Chuck had been in the audience during a couple of their performances and he saw Chuck once at an event at Amoeba records in Los Angeles. Would Chuck come back? Time will tell I'm sure.
 Danny says that he believes Three Dog Nights music to be uplifting, filled with emotions, love and having a good time. With total support from his adult children, some are musicians as well, Hutton believes in the music of Three Dog Night and mentioned how his children were involved in bands, five bands if I recall Danny's exact words. son's have opened for such acts as "Sugar Ray" and Blink 182".
I guess you can say it runs in the family.
 Danny struck me as a down to earth guy who enjoys his past and looks forward to the future. He reminds me of John Fogerty who said that "it's all about the music and to those that hear it".

The AV Entertainment Weekly wishes Danny and the band the very best and raises a glass of "wine at dinner" to the success of Three Dog Night.