Cory Wells

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Cory Wells (born Emil Lewandowski; February 5, 1941 – October 20, 2015) was an American singer best known as one of the three leading vocalists in the band Three Dog Night.

Early life

Wells grew up from a musical family and began playing in Buffalo, New York, area bands in his teens. Cory's biological father, who was married to someone other than his mother, died when she was a young child, leaving his mother to struggle financially until she married. Cory gave Cory her birth surname, but Cory later changed his surname to Wells (a shortened version of his birth father's surname, Wellsley). Gene Jacobs, the Enemys' first boss, had a son named Cory, suggested that Cory Wells.

Wells joined the United States Air Force directly out of high school after growing up in a poor, blue-collar neighborhood and an even more challenging home environment fueled by an unhealthy stepfather, according to manager Joel Cohen's band biography, Three Dog Night And Me. When he was in the Air Force, he formed a band of interracial musicians, inspired by his youth admiration of a similar popular band, The Del-Vikings, who had a national success with the doom hit, "Come Go With Me."

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Career

Wells returned to Buffalo and was invited to join the Vibratos, a military tour of service. Gene Jacobs, Mike Lustan's brother-in-law, told him that the Vibratos would fly to California if they were serious about making it in music. The band took his advice and changed the band's name to "The Enemys." They soon began working in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Sacramento, and became the house band at the Whisky a Go Go. They were also included in the television series The Beverly Hillbillies, Burke's Law, Riot on Sunset Strip, and Paul Newman's film Harper. Cher invited the band to tour with Sonny & Cher while at the Whisky a Go Go. Wells met Danny Hutton, a former songwriter-performer with Hanna-Barbera Productions who became his future partner in the rock band Three Dog Night, on this tour. With recordings of "Hey Joe" and "Sinner Man," the Enemies had minor success. Wells transferred to Phoenix in 1967, where he formed The Cory Wells Blues Band, whose bass player was Joe Schermetzler, whose stage name Joe Schermie). Wells returned to Hollywood in 1968, where he "couch-surfed" while Danny Hutton tried to persuade him that forming a group with three lead singers and a back-up band were in jeopardy.

In 1968, Hutton and Wells began Three Dog Night. Chuck Negron, whom Hutton had seen at a Hollywood party, was their third lead singer in Chuck Negron. Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys appeared on Hutton, Wells, and Negron, and the band "Redwood" as producer Brian Wilson. The sessions resulted in a potential single, "Time to Get Alone," but Beach Boy member Mike Love wanted to save the song for the upcoming Beach Boys album. Wells, Hutton, and Negron formed a four-piece backing band made up of guitarist Michael Allsup, organist Jimmy Greenspoon, bassist Joe Schermie, and drummer Floyd Sneed, who had perfected their three-part harmony sound. In 1968, Three Dog Night emerged as one of the most popular bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s. On Three Dog Night's Billboard No. 30, Wells sang lead vocals. "Mama Told Me" is a hit song on the radio. (Not to Come) Randy Newman, the song's creator, later called him on the phone and said, "I just want to thank you for sending my children through college."

Wells managed to refrain from drinking alcohol and other drugs unlike many other rock musicians of the day. He did not squander his money on the lavish lifestyles of many other famous rock stars, but rather, he lived a somewhat more moderate existence. Wells tried a solo career after Three Dog Night broke up in 1976, releasing the album Touch Me for A&M Records in 1978. Wells also helped launch Three Dog Night in the mid-1980s by recording an EP titled "It's a Jungle." A falling out with Negron gave Hutton and Wells the name "Three Dog Night" as a group, and the pair, as well as original member Mike Allsup, toured regularly each year. Jimmy Greenspoon, the original contributor, also performed with Three Dog Night before suffering with metastatic melanoma in late 2014, which resulted in his death in March 2015.

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