Three Dog Nightmare: The Chuck Negron Story

What a story of the drug era this is! I was only a child in that era but of course knew of the stars like Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix who died of drug overdoses. I actually came across this book while looking for another and decided to give it a whirl. This held my interest so well I had trouble getting other things done for a few days while I was reading it. It reads like a good novel. Chuck Negron tells the story of his shockingly bad childhood and years in the music business. While many autobiographies are self-serving and highly slanted, I did not get that impression here. Negron is very even-handed with all of the material, careful not to unduly blame others but also revealing the truth when it's right there. He started in the early 1960s in the music business, but of course, did not have success till the late 1960s. It was interesting to see the many slips and falls of getting to the top. Many rock books skip over that long climb, always making it seem like overnight success. Then the famous years were shocking. Just when I think, "Okay, this is the point where he gives up drugs because he's at his lowest," he reaches yet another low. It truly is remarkable, as others have said here, that he lived through it to tell this story. He does mention the many battles with other former band members Cory and Danny over the right to use the band's name, etc. It's ironic, but it seems they used him. Almost everyone recognizes Chuck Negron as the lead singer of Three Dog Night and wouldn't even know Cory and Danny if they saw their photos. In fact, many people think Negron sang the lead on all the songs. I did until I read this book! Sharing rusty needles, staggering around doped-up and filthy, driving his car into light poles--it's all so juicy that if someone wrote this stuff as a fiction book, it would be said that the story "went overboard" or that it's "too much." Negron almost ruined the lives of his ex-wives and children, spent millions upon millions of dollars over the years in heroin, and to see his recovery his both astonishing and heroic. I recommended this book to a friend who never cared about Three Dog Night but who wanted something captivating to read, and he liked it.

I just finished the book at the end of June. I had a very difficult time putting this book down. I actually finished it in three days. I have always been a fan of Three Dog Night.It amazes me that Chuck is still with us after all that he has been through. It seems as if he was always dodging death (Wonderland, etc.), and somehow managed to get through. Amazing!The story is a first hand account of how destructive drugs can be. This book does not hold anything back. It is reflective, remorseful and even humorous at points.I think that anyone who is battling any type of addiction would find this book uplifting. I will definitely be sharing this book with two drug abusers who are in my life.I had the recent benefit of seeing Chuck in concert twice. He looks and sounds great. When you see him in person it is hard to believe that this man was a heavy drug user for so many years. What a triumphant comeback!

I have been a fan of 3DN (especially Chuck) since 1969, saw them in concert many, many times over the years. I wondered what happened to Chuck when I saw the other two at an outdoor concert in Springfield IL in the mid-80's. Didn't realize what he was going through. Being a Gemini (also June 8) and a recovering alcoholic I found it quite amazing that we've gone through alot of the same things....being abandoned as a child, then as adult...you find your solace in something to deaden the pain. I understand. Thank you Chuck for sharing your life in such an honest, inspiring way....your story has helped me. I have "Am I Still in Your Heart?" it is beautiful and the answer to that question is "yes, Chuck you're still in my heart.....never really left. I thank God that your HP gave you your wonderful voice back. God bless you and your family. Oh by the way, I read the entire book in 2-1/2 days....and am going to read it again. Like the big blue books says, "We must be entirely honest with somebody if we expect to live or happily in this world."

More visible than ever these days, Chuck Negron takes a brutal look at himself in this uncomfortable yet riveting autobiography. Three Dog Night lovers have had very little printed matter on the band in recent years (only keyboardist Jimmy Greenspoon's book made the shelves, and then vanished quickly). This book covers not only Negron's harrowing experiences as a heroin junkie, but also a behind-the-scenes look at one of American pop music's most successful post-Beatles bands. Drugs and sex tales abound, at times almost continually, and though some might argue that Negron's past drug addiction history has caused him to misremember events as they actually happened, he comes off as being a forgiving and optimistic man. He gingerly avoids dishing too much dirt on his two lead singing partners, Cory Wells and Danny Hutton, who have toured since 1981 without Negron, and he even offers an olive branch towards the conclusion, hoping to make amends with the others, whose fortunes (and places in pop music history) would only benefit from regrouping with Negron.Whether or not the original band comes together once more for an album and/or tour, one thing's for sure: Chuck Negron is clean, determined, and for the first time in his life, happy to be alive. Read the book to find out why.