Who was Chuck Negron? 'Co-founder of 'Three Dog Night' & voice behind 'Joy to the World' dies at 83

Chuck Negron, a voice that has represented a generation with hitmakers like One, and Joy to the World, has passed away at age 83.

According to a statement from his publicist, Negron died peacefully at his home in Studio City, California home, with his family by his side.

Although no exact cause of death was given, his obituary statement said that Negron had been fighting with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, commonly known as COPD, for over three decades and had a cardiac arrest in the final months, reported by Variety.

Who was Chuck Negron?

Negron was born on June 8, 1942, as Charles Negron II, to a Puerto Rican nightclub artist.

Negron grew up in the Bronx, New York, and spent the rest of his childhood pursuing basketball and singing in doo-wop groups.

He was picked by Allan Hancock College and, later, California State University to play basketball, which provided him an opportunity to explore a career in music in this dream city.

Negron founded Three Dog Night in 1976, along with Danny Hutton and Cory Wells, a vocal trio with genre-blending roots in R&B and rock ‘n’ roll.

The group produced nearly two dozen Top 40 Billboard hits throughout the late 60’s and early 70’s.

Their first self-titled debut album was released on Dunhill in 1968 and went platinum.

Wells sang most of the lead vocals on the first album, but fatefully Negron got the chance to sing the very first song on the very first LP, One, which went to No. 5 on the Hot 100.

While, all seven of the albums they released through 1974 achieved gold certification

The group’s chart-toppers arrived in 1970, titled Mama Told Me Not to Come, sung by Wells, and the second was the Negron-sung Joy to the World in 1971.

Negron forged a successful path as a solo artist after Hutton and Wells continued the banner of Three Dog Night.

Negron's music career was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic.