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Chuck Negron

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Chuck Negron
Chuck Negron onstage
Negron performing live in 2017
Background information
Birth nameCharles Negron
Born (1942-06-08) June 8, 1942 (age 82)
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active1960–present
LabelsDunhill
Websitechucknegron.com

Charles Negron II (born June 8, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter. He is best known as a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Three Dog Night.

Early life

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Chuck Negron was born on June 8, 1942, in Manhattan, New York City, to Charles Negron, a Puerto Rican nightclub singer, and Elizabeth Rooke.[4] When Negron was five years old, his parents divorced. Negron and his twin sister, Nancy, were raised by their mother, who placed them in a daycare facility while she supported her young children. Though Negron refers to this facility as an orphanage, it was a mansion in the Bronx that contained a swimming pool, gymnasium, arts and crafts and more. The facility did house some long-term residents, though this did not include Negron and his sister.

Negron grew up in the Bronx, where he sang in local doo-wop groups and played basketball both in schoolyard pick-up games and at William Howard Taft High School. He was recruited to play basketball at Allan Hancock College, a small community college in Santa Maria, California and played later at California State University, Los Angeles.[5]

Career

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Negron performing in 2008

In 1967, singer Danny Hutton invited Negron to join him and Cory Wells to found the band Three Dog Night. The group became one of the most successful bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s, selling approximately 60 million records and earning gold records for singles that featured Negron as lead singer, including "One," "Easy To Be Hard," "Joy to the World," "Old Fashioned Love Song" and "The Show Must Go On."[6]

Negron developed a serious heroin addiction, which began in the early 1970s. In July 1975, the British music magazine NME reported that Negron had been arrested for cocaine possession in Kentucky.[7] Three Dog Night disbanded in 1976.

After many attempts at rehabilitation, Negron overcame his addiction in September 1991 and embarked on a solo career, recording the albums:

  • Am I Still in Your Heart? (1995)[8]
  • Joy to the World (1996), a Christmas CD[9]
  • Long Road Back (1999)[10]
  • Chuck Negron – Live in Concert (2001), a double CD set[11] recorded at Southern Methodist University (Dallas) and released on Sindrome Records, with sidemen Richard Campbell on bass guitar; Danny Mishkit on guitar, keyboards and saxophone; Frank Reina on drums; and Terence Elliott on lead guitar
  • Live and In Concert (2005)[12]
  • The Chuck Negron Story (2005)[13]
  • Negron Generations (2017)[14]

Negron wrote his autobiography, Three Dog Nightmare (1999), in which he describes his life as a high school athlete and a member of a successful rock band. He writes about his descent into drug abuse and attributes his recovery from heroin addiction to his turning to God in desperation after dropping out from more than thirty drug treatment facilities. A revised edition with several new chapters was released in 2008 and an updated version was released in 2018.[15]

Personal life

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In 2006, Negron was featured in an episode of the A&E reality show Intervention about his son, Chuckie, and grandson, Noah.[16]

Negron has been married four times. He married Paula Louise Ann Goetten in 1970 and they divorced in 1973. Together they had a daughter, Shaunti Negron-Levick. In 1976, he married Julia Densmore, the former wife of The Doors drummer John Densmore.[17] They were married for twelve years and divorced in 1988. Together they had a son, Charles "Chuckie" Negron III (she has a son, Berry Duane Oakley Jr.,[18] from a previous relationship with Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley). In 1993, Negron married Robin Silna. They had a daughter, Charlotte Rose,[19] and divorced in 2001. He married his manager, Ami Albea, on May 9, 2020.[20][21] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the wedding took place on the balcony of their home, with his two youngest daughters and the minister on the street below.[22]

Negron has a daughter, Annabelle Negron, with actress Kate Vernon.[23]

Actor Taylor Negron was Negron's cousin.[24]

References

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  1. ^ George-Warren, Holly; Romanowski, Patricia, eds. (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (3rd ed.). Fireside. p. 990. ISBN 0-7432-9201-4.
  2. ^ Hoffmann, Frank, ed. (2005). "Soft Rock And Related Styles". Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Vol. 2. Routledge. pp. 1011–12. ISBN 0-415-93835-X.
  3. ^ Negron, Chuck (2008). Three Dog Nightmare: The Continuing Chuck Negron Story. Literary Architects. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-933669-13-7.
  4. ^ "The Opioid Crisis, Clean Living and Three Dog Night: Chuck Negron Q&A – Rock Cellar Magazine". August 3, 2018.
  5. ^ "Chuck Negron biodata". Ask.com. Archived from the original on July 10, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  6. ^ Freeman, Paul (August 15, 2012). "The dark, one-dog night of Chuck Negron". San Jose Mercury News.
  7. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London, UK: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 278. CN 5585.
  8. ^ Negron, Chuck (1995). Am I Still In Your Heart?. Viceroy.
  9. ^ Negron, Chuck (1996). Joy to the World. Viceroy.
  10. ^ Negron, Chuck (1999). Long Road Back. Hip-O.
  11. ^ Negron, Chuck (2001). Chuck Negron – Live In Concert. Sin-Drome Records.
  12. ^ Negron, Chuck. Live and In Concert. Delta Distribution.
  13. ^ Negron, Chuck. The Chuck Negron Story. Delta Distribution.
  14. ^ "OFFICIAL SITE for Chuck Negron – Formerly of Three Dog Night – Shop". www.chucknegron.com.
  15. ^ Negron, Chuck & Blatchford, Chris (June 1999). Three Dog Nightmare: The Chuck Negron Story (Hardcover, First ed.). Renaissance Books. ISBN 1-58063-040-5.
  16. ^ "Intervention Episode Guide". A&E Television Networks, LLC. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  17. ^ "She survived drug abuse, and now helps others". Herald Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  18. ^ "Berry Duane Oakley". Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  19. ^ Peter Castro. "Three Dog Nightmare". People Magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  20. ^ "Joy To The World! Chuck Negron Proposes To Long-Time Girlfriend And Manager, Ami Albea". 117group.com. August 6, 2019.
  21. ^ "Today's the day❤️ Ami Albea and I are getting married💥🎉🌟☀️❤️☮️". facebook.com.
  22. ^ "Chuck Negron & Ami Albea's Safer at Home Wedding in Quarantine". youtube.com.
  23. ^ Zach Farnum (June 16, 2017). "Chuck Negron Releases New Album Negron Generations June 30, Features Unreleased Three Dog Night Tracks". 117 Entertainment Group.
  24. ^ Looseleaf, Victoria (April 27, 2001). "For Negron, It's Totally Cool to Be Unhip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2015.

Sources

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  • Negron, Chuck; Chris Blatchford (2000). Three Dog Nightmare: The Chuck Negron Story. Renaissance Books. 158063155X.
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