September 20, 2024      —–     Chart #264

Hello Music Friends,

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Going way back in years for me today.  “Out in the Country” is a song written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols and performed by Three Dog Night. It was produced by Richard Podolor, and was featured on their 1970 album, It Ain’t Easy. In the US, “Out in the Country” peaked at number 11 on the US adult contemporary chart, and number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on October 17, 1970. Outside the US, the record reached number 9 in Canada. Released in the first year of Earth Day, “Out in the Country” was an early environmental advocacy song. The lyrics are about finding solace outside the city, “before the breathing air is gone…”

Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, founded by vocalists Chuck Negron, Cory Wells, and Danny Hutton. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael Allsup (guitar), and Floyd Sneed (drums). The band had 21 Billboard Top 40 hits between 1969 and 1975, with three hitting number one. Three Dog Night recorded many songs written by outside songwriters, and they helped to introduce mainstream audiences to writers such as Randy Newman (“Mama Told Me Not to Come”), Paul Williams (“An Old Fashioned Love Song”), Laura Nyro (“Eli’s Comin'”) and Hoyt Axton (“Joy to the World”, “Never Been to Spain”).

This band has lots of songs from my early years, all of them full of memories for me. Enjoy this tune and play along.

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw