On the Charts 55 Years Ago, Three Dog Night Was on a 6-Week Run at No. 1 With a Filler Song Written by a Country Singer

On May 26, 1971, Three Dog Night was at No. 1 with “Joy to the World.” It held the top spot on the Hot 100 for six consecutive weeks and was Billboard’s No. 1 song of the year. Interestingly, the song was penned by country singer Hoyt Axton, who wrote it for an animated special that was scrapped before it aired.

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“Joy to the World” seemingly didn’t have the DNA of a Hot 100 No. 1. It was written for a canceled children’s show called The Happy Song, by a country artist whose name wasn’t Dolly Parton or Glen Campbell. At the same time, it was a little silly. The band didn’t even have faith in the track. However, it worked because it stuck out like a sore thumb. For instance, other songs that topped the chart in 1971 included Janis Joplin’s “Me and Bobby McGee,” George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord,” and the Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar.”

[RELATED: On This Day in 1970, Three Dog Night Topped the First-Ever ‘American Top 40’ Countdown with Their First No. 1 Single]

At the same time, Three Dog Night didn’t fit the mold of rock bands in the early 1970s. They had three lead singers and didn’t write any of their own material. However, they were incredibly successful, reliably launching hits to the upper reaches of the Hot 100.

How Three Dog Night Came to Record “Joy to the World”

According to Songfacts, the guys from Three Dog Night were familiar with Hoyt Axton. They previously had a hit with his song “Never Been to Spain.” He was opening for them on tour when he pitched “Joy to the World” to them.

After hearing the song, two of the group’s three singers–Cory Wells and Danny Hutton–passed on the song. However, Chuck Negron heard potential in the track. The other two finally came around while working on Naturally. They needed another song to fill out the album, and “Joy to the World” fit the slot. This was only the first time it was used as a filler track.

“Joy to the World” Accidentally Became a Hit

Larry Bergman, a DJ at Seattle’s KISW-FM, was the first to play “Joy to the World” on the air. Before that, it sat at the end of Three Dog Night’s 1970 album. “My job was to select odd cuts from albums by popular artists, not necessarily their hits, and record them on tape for on-air use,” he explained.

“I needed to find one more song to fill a tape I was producing and came across ‘Joy to the World.’ It was on the second side, last cut on their Naturally album,” Bergman recalled. “I put it on the tape and played it on the air,” he added. Less than an hour later, another DJ from KISW-FM’s AM sister station, KJR, came to Bergman and asked for a copy of the song. People heard it on the air and started calling the station.

“Within a few weeks, it went to No. 1 in Seattle. It wasn’t long after that that the song reached No. 1 on Billboard,” Bergman said. “The station got a gold record for it, and Three Dog Night came to Seattle to launch their next album.”

Featured Image by Jim McCrary/Redferns