Three Dog Night and Little River Band

Before the formation of Three Dog Night, the band’s three singers, Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells, were in a band called Redwood and were making recordings with Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. The band decided to change their name to Three Dog Night after hiring the backing musicians: Michael Allsup on guitar, Floyd Sneed on drums, Joe Schermie on bass, and Jimmy Greenspoon on keyboards.

Three Dog Night’s live performances were a success around the Los Angeles area and gained them the attention of the record label Dunhill, who signed them and released their debut self-titled album in 1968. The single “One” from the album was a great success and reached No. 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Like most of their other albums their debut album consisted mostly of cover songs including their hit song “One”, which was written by Harry Nilsson.

The band was quick to release their second studio album “Suitable for Framing”, which came out in 1969. The album was a commercial success rising high on the Billboard charts and becoming certified gold. The band’s 1970 album “Naturally” was also a huge success producing two top ten hits: “Joy to the World” and “Liar”.

Three Dog Night was an incredibly hardworking band during their prime and from the year 1968 to the year 1976 they released at least an album per year. Each album they released was loaded with hits and reached to high levels on the charts. Some of the singles they released during this time included “Easy to be Hard”, “Mama Told Me (Not to Come)”, “Never Been To Spain”, “Your Song”, and “Black and White”. By 1976 Three Dog Night had released a multitude of hit singles, but they were showing signs of slowing things down, which resulted in the band breaking up after playing their final show at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles.

To the glee of fans, Three Dog Night reunited in 1981 and released an album titled “It’s a Jungle” in 1983. The album conveyed elements of the ska genre and appealed to the fad of new wave that was becoming popular at this time. In 2002 the band released the album “Three Dog Night With the London Symphony Orchestra”, which featured two new songs: “Sault Ste. Marie” and “Overground”.

Three Dog Night has already gained worldwide recognition as being a legendary pop group and the group was honored with being inducted into The Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2000. As of 2014 the band consists of almost all original members, which include Cory Wells, Danny Hutton, Jimmy Greenspoon, and Michael Allsup. Bass guitarist Paul Kingery and drummer Pat Bautz have also joined the band’s lineup. Three Dog Night is still actively touring and have been known to play up to 80 gigs per year.

Through the ’70s and ’80s, LRB enjoyed huge chart success with multiplatinum albums and chart topping hits like: “Reminiscing”, “Cool Change”, “Lonesome Loser”, “The Night Owls”, “Take It Easy On Me”, “Help Is on Its Way”, “Happy Anniversary”, “We Two”, “Man On Your Mind”, “The Other Guy”, and It’s A Long Way There”.

A worldwide album, CD sales, and digital downloads now top 30 million and LRB has set a record for having had Top 10 hits for 6 consecutive years - In fact, they were the very first band to achieve that remarkable status! According to BMI, “Reminiscing” has garnered rare status with over 5 million airplays on American radio, and “Lady” is close behind with over 4 million airplays.

Bassist/vocalist Wayne Nelson joined the band in 1980 and worked alongside founding members with some of the most distinctive harmonies and vocal abilities, creating the unique LRB sound. I 1981, Nelson was recognized by world-renowned Beatles producer Sir George Martin whom, while producing ‘Time Exposure’, chose Nelson to record lead vocals on two of the band’s biggest hits, “The Night Owls” and “Take It Easy On Me.” Later that same year, guitarist extraordinaire Stephen Housden joined LRB bringing a rock element into the band’s sound and helped contribute to their string of Top 10 hits. As band members departed, both Housden and Nelson worked together to bring LRB into the new millennium.

To date, lead singer/bassist Wayne Nelson has contributed his vocal and bass guitar talents on 22 Little River Band Albums/CDs. LRB continues to perform to sold-out audiences, and Stephen Housden continues to write and participate in all things Little River Band.

In 2004 LRB was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual ARIA Music Awards and in September 2015 the band was awarded Casino Entertainer of the Year at the G2E Gaming Expo in Las Vegas Nevada.

Turning the page brings us to the current lineup of Little River Band…

Keyboardist Chris Marion is a Dove Award-winning producer. Chris is the creator of all the orchestral arrangements and charts on The Big Box. It is amazing to watch him play, sing, and conduct from his riser!

Lead Guitarist Rich Herring is a highly skilled player, singer, and producer of many Nashville artists…not to mention a great songwriter. He and Wayne have co-produced every LRB project since he joined the band.

Drummer Ryan Ricks has locked down the rhythm section and rounds out the vocals with his incredible range. Great singing drummers are rare…and LRB is lucky to have Ryan as part of that all-important vocal blend.

Nashville Guitarist Colin Whinnery plays rhythm and leads guitar, and shares lead vocal duties with Wayne. He brings a brand new voice and a fresh outlook to the rhythm section.

Early 2014 saw the release of Little River Band’s, ‘Cuts Like a Diamond,’ on Frontiers Records. “What If You’re Wrong,” went to #1 and stayed there for 3 weeks says Jim Shoe of CLASSX Radio. “Forever You, Forever Me,” and “You Dream, I’ll Drive,” both climbed into the station’s TOP 3.

In November of 2016, LRB released, ‘The Hits…Revisited,’ on World Records - a CD consisting of 9 re-recorded hits along with 2 new songs.

May of 2017 brought the release of ‘The Big Box’ - a box set consisting of 6 discs’s featuring a DVD with live footage from their 40th Anniversary Tour. It Easy On Me were hits in 5th and 6th y

Bringing their vocal and musical energy along with great arrangements to their timeless classic hits, each show creates new memories for the audience. The band enjoys watching their fans fall in love with the songs all over again as they are swept up by the show’s powerful performance and the volume of hits from LRB’s history.

With 90 -100 dates scheduled for their 2019 tour, Little River Band is hotter than ever selling out shows and making music from coast to coast nationwide continuing their legacy of being “the best singing band in the world.”