Three Dog Night performs their timeless songs in Beaver Creek Friday night

BEAVER CREEK — Three Dog Night’s height of popularity came during the ‘70s when they had a string of Top 40 hits and their live show was in high demand.

The band is known for its tight song arrangements, vocal harmonies and high-energy on-stage performances. One minute the band will perform an all out power-rock tune like “Joy To The World,” the next it’ll launch into a ballad like “One” without missing a beat or losing momentum. As a six-man group — three of them lead vocalists — they have a big sound.

“We are very loud singers,” said Danny Hutton, one of the lead vocalists for Three Dog Night. “We have the volume of opera singers, you know, big voices. The guys in the band — there’s nobody faking it there, everybody’s been playing for over 40 years.”

They’ve also had crossover success in other genres. Though they’re mainly a rock band, they’ve charted songs on country, R&B, pop and easy listening charts.

“We’re not in a musical ghetto as far as just one style of music. I think anybody coming to see the show, I guarantee within an hour and a half you’re going to hear some style of music that you like,” Hutton said.

Part of the show

Although the band has undergone several lineup changes during its 35-year existence, Hutton pointed out that four out of six are still original members. The most notable loss was Chuck Negron who was fired in 1985. Negron was one of the three core vocalists and founding members of the band, along with Hutton and Cory Wells.

“We’ve tried to get back together a couple of times ... (but) you never say never,” Hutton said.

Three Dog Night will rock the stage Friday night at the Vilar Center in Beaver Creek.

Madonna Nuckolls, manager of the official Three Dog Night fan club, said she plans on attending the show in an e-mail interview.

“Their stage presence just pulls you in until you feel like you’re part of the show too,” Nuckolls wrote. “It’s wonderful to see multi-generations from small children to adults singing along to the songs of our life. For us, the concerts are like a stress-buster from work and the things we all struggle through every day. You always walk away feeling better and happier ... and that’s a pretty good thing.”

‘All over the place’

But how does a band who started at the tail end of the ’60s, broke up once and played for nearly four decades stay on the radar?

“Basically they’re good songs,” Hutton said. “They’re songs that don’t have an expiration date. They don’t have an expiration date simply because most of our songs are about emotions. We weren’t really political and all that stuff kind of gets dated when you get too stylish. When you’re too much in vogue you go out of vogue and we concentrated on emotions, things that are universal that I don’t think ever go out of date.”

Hutton said Three Dog Night is working on a new album but no release date has been set yet. It will still have the same classic-rock appeal that fans of the band have come to expect, he said, but they’re taking their time to get it right.

“Our stuff is all over the place, always has been,” Hutton said. “It’s very important that the songs are really great, otherwise it’s karaoke.”

Having seen it all and played to all types of crowds — from shirtless hippies to biker clubs to well-dressed yuppies — Hutton said he couldn’t be happier with his life in Three Dog Night.

“It’s great. I’m working, I’m healthy, the band is playing great. I feel like it’s the best time in my life right now,” Hutton said.

High Life Writer Charlie Owen can be reached at 970-748-2939 or cowen@vaildaily.com.

If you go ...

What: Three Dog Night.

When: Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek.

Cost: $70, $85 or $100 depending on seating.

More information: Call 888-920-2787 or visit www.vilarpac.org.