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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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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] Three Dog Night disbanded in 1976. Negron returned with the band in 1981, but left in 1985.

Negron performing in 2008

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.[7]

In 2006, Negron was featured in an episode of the A&E reality show Intervention about his son, Chuckie, and grandson, Noah.[8]

Family

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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.[9] 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.,[10] from a previous relationship with Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley).

In 1993, Negron married Robin Silna. They had a daughter, Charlotte Rose,[11] and divorced in 2001. He married his manager, Ami Albea, on May 9, 2020.[12][13] 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.[14]

Negron has a daughter, Annabelle Negron, with actress Kate Vernon.[15] Actor Taylor Negron was Negron's cousin.[16]

Addictions

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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.[17]

After many attempts at rehabilitation, Negron overcame his addiction in September 1991 and embarked on a solo career.

COPD

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In 1991, Negron was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).[18] Negron was advised in 2016 by doctors that unless he retires, his health would be at risk if he kept on performing, and not wanting either thing to happen, began wearing Oxy-View glasses (a special type of glasses that have a cannula inside the temples that is connected to an off-stage oxygen machine) and has an inhaler nearby.[18] Negron mentioned that he sometimes uses a cannula that goes in his nose, but refuses to be seen on stage with them.[19]

Albums

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  • Am I Still in Your Heart? (1995)[20]
  • Joy to the World (1996), a Christmas CD[21]
  • Long Road Back (1999)[22]
  • Chuck Negron – Live in Concert (2001)[23]
  • Live and In Concert (2005)[24]
  • The Chuck Negron Story (2005)[25]
  • Negron Generations (2017)[26]

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. ^ Negron, Chuck & Blatchford, Chris (June 1999). Three Dog Nightmare: The Chuck Negron Story (Hardcover, First ed.). Renaissance Books. ISBN 1-58063-040-5.
  8. ^ "Intervention Episode Guide". A&E Television Networks, LLC. Retrieved November 24, 2012.
  9. ^ "She survived drug abuse, and now helps others". Herald Tribune. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  10. ^ "Berry Duane Oakley". Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  11. ^ Peter Castro. "Three Dog Nightmare". People Magazine. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  12. ^ "Joy To The World! Chuck Negron Proposes To Long-Time Girlfriend And Manager, Ami Albea". 117group.com. August 6, 2019.
  13. ^ "Today's the day❤️ Ami Albea and I are getting married💥🎉🌟☀️❤️☮️". facebook.com.
  14. ^ "Chuck Negron & Ami Albea's Safer at Home Wedding in Quarantine". youtube.com. May 12, 2020.
  15. ^ Zach Farnum (June 16, 2017). "Chuck Negron Releases New Album Negron Generations June 30, Features Unreleased Three Dog Night Tracks". 117 Entertainment Group.
  16. ^ Looseleaf, Victoria (April 27, 2001). "For Negron, It's Totally Cool to Be Unhip". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  17. ^ Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London, UK: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 278. CN 5585.
  18. ^ a b Pepper (May 22, 2017). "Chuck Negron Dons A Revolutionary Accessory". 117 Entertainment Group. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  19. ^ "OFFICIAL SITE for Chuck Negron - Formerly of Three Dog Night - OxyView Oxygen Therapy Glasses". www.chucknegron.com. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
  20. ^ Negron, Chuck (1995). Am I Still In Your Heart?. Viceroy.
  21. ^ Negron, Chuck (1996). Joy to the World. Viceroy.
  22. ^ Negron, Chuck (1999). Long Road Back. Hip-O.
  23. ^ Negron, Chuck (2001). Chuck Negron – Live In Concert. Sin-Drome Records.
  24. ^ Negron, Chuck. Live and In Concert. Delta Distribution.
  25. ^ Negron, Chuck. The Chuck Negron Story. Delta Distribution.
  26. ^ "OFFICIAL SITE for Chuck Negron – Formerly of Three Dog Night – Shop". www.chucknegron.com.

Sources

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