Pieces of April (song)

Last updated
"Pieces of April"
Single by Three Dog Night
from the album Seven Separate Fools
B-side "The Writing's on the Wall"
Released November 1972
Genre Rock
Length4:09
Label Dunhill 4331
Songwriter(s) Dave Loggins
Producer(s) Richard Podolor
Three Dog Night singles chronology
"Black and White"
(1972)		"Pieces of April"
(1972)		"Shambala"
(1973)

"Pieces of April" is a ballad written by Dave Loggins which became a Top 20 hit for Three Dog Night in January 1973.

Contents

Three Dog Night version

First recorded by Loggins himself for his 1972 debut album Personal Belongings, "Pieces of April" was recorded for the 1972 Three Dog Night album Seven Separate Fools produced and arranged by Richard Podolor with Three Dog Night themselves credited as co-arrangers. [1] [2] According to Three Dog Night vocalist Chuck Negron, the group's two other vocalist Danny Hutton and Cory Wells left London where the Seven Separate Fools album was being recorded before the album was complete, necessitating Negron recording the album's final two tracks - which included "Pieces of April" - without them. As a result, "Pieces of April" would become the second of the two Three Dog Night single not to feature all three of the group's vocalists at least on background vocals (the first being their inaugural Hot 100 single: the 1969 release "Try a Little Tenderness" sung by Wells). [3]

Released in October 1972 as the followup to the #1 hit "Black and White", "Pieces of April" was an atypically delicate Three Dog Night track, being particularly distinct from the rollicking "Black and White", [4] [5] and "Pieces of April" would not become one of Three Dog Night's biggest hits, rising no higher than #19 on the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine whose Easy Listening hit ranking afforded "Pieces of April" a #6 peak. [6] In Canada, "Pieces of April" ranked as high as #14 on the national hit parade featured in RPM magazine, [7] whose Easy Listening survey ranked the track as high as #9. [8]

Other versions

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References

  1. ↑ Three Dog Night, Seven Separate Fools, Discogs.com, Retrieved February 9, 2015
  2. ↑ Three Dog Night, "Pieces of April" single release, 45cat.com Retrieved February 9, 2015
  3. ↑ "MorleyView: Chuck Negron (Ex-Three Dog Night) Interview". Antimusic.com. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  4. ↑ Billboard November 1972 "Radio Action & Pick Singles" p.80
  5. ↑ Pittsburgh Press 29 October 1972 " Sabbath's Vol. 4 Tunes Up As Best Offering Of Bad Lot" by Tony Palermo p.124
  6. ↑ Three Dog Night, "Pieces of April" U.S. Chart Positions, Musicvf.com, Retrieved February 9, 2015
  7. ↑ Three Dog Night, "Pieces of April" Canadian Pop Chart Position, Collectionscanada.bc.ca, Retrieved February 9, 2015
  8. ↑ Three Dog Night, "Pieces of April" Canadian A.C. Chart Position, Collectionscanada.bc.ca, Retrieved February 9, 2015
  9. ↑ Dave Loggins, "Pieces of April" Chart Position, Musicvf.com, Retrieved February 9, 2015
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