Three Dog Night Keeping it fresh

January 21, 2016 at 12:05a.m.

Every once in a while, you just have to have fun.

Those words of wisdom come from Danny Hutton, who more than 45 years ago helped form Three Dog Night. These days, such fun comes in many forms for the singer, who is currently having a ball performing the band’s new song, “Prayer of the Children.”

Granted, releasing new material can be a tricky affair for nostalgia acts. Performing unreleased tunes is even more perilous. Can you say bathroom break?

While acknowledging the familiar dynamic, Hutton said the band – which will perform at Stambaugh Auditorium in Youngstown this Sunday – took the risk and now relishes the reward.

“We’ve never done a song like ‘Prayer of the Children’ before,” Hutton said. “It’s slow and a cappella. It’s so surprising because we did this song and thought, ‘Where are we going to stick this in the set?’ You don’t want to stop the flow.

“We tried it in the middle of the set, and it went over so well it’s now an encore song. And you know how dangerous that is. You see an act, they’ve done great, you call them back, and all of a sudden you’re like, ‘What the heck are they doing as an encore?’ But this song just goes over incredibly well. It’s amazing.”

The new tune is a sneak peek to an eventual new album release; however, Hutton and company have been talking about a new CD for years. Even if a full-length doesn’t see the light of day, it won’t matter to fans of Three Dog Night.

Originally formed in 1968 by Hutton and Cory Wells, who died in October, the pop group enjoyed 12-straight gold albums and 21 consecutive top-40 hits. The band, which recorded material from then-unknown songwriters such as Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, Elton John, Laura Nyro and Paul Williams, is known for its radio singles such as “Mama Told Me [Not To Come],” “Joy to the World,” “Shambala,” “One,” “Black and White” and “An Old Fashioned Love Song.”

The group disbanded in 1975. Yet, within a decade, it regrouped and has been at it nonstop ever since. In fact, in 2000 Three Dog Night, which has sold more than 50 million albums, was inducted into Sharon, Pa.’s Vocal Group Hall of Fame.

Last year, the outfit suffered a great loss when its longtime keyboardist, Jimmy Greenspoon, passed away after battling cancer.

“It was just awful,” Hutton said. “He’s my oldest friend in the band. I knew him since we were kids. It was melanoma on the back. A little mole he didn’t check soon enough, and that was it. He was such an inspiration and a wonderful guy. He was a great talent.”

Three Dog Night is dedicating its current tour to Greenspoon. Hutton said that every now and then the band’s replacement keyboardist will have technical issues, and the band jokes it’s just Greenspoon having a laugh.