Chuck Negron
{{short description|American singer-songwriter}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| image = Chuck Negron 2017 (cropped to square).jpg
| alt = Chuck Negron onstage
| caption = Negron performing live in 2017
| birth_name = Charles Negron
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|6|8|mf=y}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| genre = {{hlist|Pop rock{{cite book|editor-first= Holly |editor-last= George-Warren |editor-first2= Patricia |editor-last2= Romanowski |title= The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll |url= https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00holl |url-access= registration |year= 2001 |edition= 3rd |publisher= Fireside |isbn= 0-7432-9201-4 |page= [https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00holl/page/990 990]}}|soft rock{{cite book|editor-first= Frank |editor-last= Hoffmann |year= 2005 |title=Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound |volume= 2 |publisher= Routledge |chapter= Soft Rock And Related Styles |pages= 1011–12 |isbn= 0-415-93835-X}}|blue-eyed soul{{cite book|title= Three Dog Nightmare: The Continuing Chuck Negron Story |first= Chuck |last= Negron |year= 2008 |publisher= Literary Architects |isbn= 978-1-933669-13-7 |page= 68}}}}
| occupation = Singer, songwriter
| years_active = 1960–present
| label = Dunhill
| associated_acts = Three Dog Night
| website = {{URL|chucknegron.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
Chuck Negron was born on June 8, 1942, in Manhattan, New York City, to Charles Negron, a Puerto Rican nightclub singer, and Elizabeth Rooke.{{cite web | url=https://rockcellarmagazine.com/chuck-negron-interview-three-dog-night-opioids/ | title=The Opioid Crisis, Clean Living and Three Dog Night: Chuck Negron Q&A – Rock Cellar Magazine | date=August 3, 2018 }} 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.{{cite web|title=Chuck Negron biodata|website=Ask.com|accessdate=June 29, 2017|url=http://www.ask.com/music/artist/Negron/109129|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090710180924/http://www.ask.com/music/artist/Negron/109129|archive-date=July 10, 2009|url-status=dead}}
Career
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."{{cite news|url=http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_21323720/dark-one-dog-night-chuck-negron|work=San Jose Mercury News|date=August 15, 2012|title=The dark, one-dog night of Chuck Negron|author=Freeman, Paul}}
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.{{cite book|first=John|last=Tobler|year=1992|title=NME Rock 'N' Roll Years|edition=1st|publisher=Reed International Books Ltd.|location=London, UK|page=278|id=CN 5585}} 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){{cite book|author=Negron, Chuck|publisher=Viceroy|date=1995|title=Am I Still In Your Heart?|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/am-i-still-in-your-heart-mw0000178913}}
- Joy to the World (1996), a Christmas CD{{cite book|publisher=Viceroy|author=Negron, Chuck|date=1996|title=Joy to the World}}
- Long Road Back (1999){{cite book|publisher=Hip-O|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-long-road-back-mw0000241137|title=Long Road Back|date=1999|author=Negron, Chuck}}
- Chuck Negron – Live in Concert (2001), a double CD set{{cite book|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/chuck-negron-live-in-concert-mw0000016251|title=Chuck Negron – Live In Concert|date=2001|author=Negron, Chuck|publisher=Sin-Drome Records}} 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){{cite book|title=Live and In Concert|author=Negron, Chuck|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/live-and-in-concert-dvd-mw0001008559|publisher=Delta Distribution}}
- The Chuck Negron Story (2005){{cite book|title=The Chuck Negron Story|author=Negron, Chuck|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-chuck-negron-story-mw0001420065|publisher=Delta Distribution}}
- Negron Generations (2017){{cite web|url=http://www.chucknegron.com/shop/|title=OFFICIAL SITE for Chuck Negron – Formerly of Three Dog Night – Shop|website=www.chucknegron.com}}
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.{{cite book|title=Three Dog Nightmare: The Chuck Negron Story|edition=Hardcover, First|date=June 1999|author=Negron, Chuck|author2=Blatchford, Chris|name-list-style=amp|publisher=Renaissance Books|isbn=1-58063-040-5}}
Personal life
In 2006, Negron was featured in an episode of the A&E reality show Intervention about his son, Chuckie, and grandson, Noah.{{cite web|title=Intervention Episode Guide|url=http://www.aetv.com/intervention/episode-guide/season-2|publisher=A&E Television Networks, LLC|accessdate=November 24, 2012}}
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.{{cite web|title=She survived drug abuse, and now helps others|url=https://www.heraldtribune.com/news/20170711/she-survived-drug-abuse-and-now-helps-others|publisher=Herald Tribune|accessdate=July 11, 2017}} 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.,{{cite web|title=Berry Duane Oakley|url=http://www.berryoakley.net/about/|accessdate=February 20, 2019}} from a previous relationship with Allman Brothers Band bassist Berry Oakley). In 1993, Negron married Robin Silna. They had a daughter, Charlotte Rose,{{cite web|title=Three Dog Nightmare|url=https://people.com/archive/three-dog-nightmare-vol-45-no-14/|author=Peter Castro|publisher=People Magazine|accessdate=February 20, 2019}} and divorced in 2001. He married his manager, Ami Albea, on May 9, 2020.{{cite web |title=Joy To The World! Chuck Negron Proposes To Long-Time Girlfriend And Manager, Ami Albea |url=https://117group.com/joy-to-the-world-chuck-negron-proposes-to-long-time-girlfriend-and-manager-ami-albea/ |website=117group.com|date=August 6, 2019 }}{{cite web |title=Today's the day❤️ Ami Albea and I are getting married💥🎉🌟☀️❤️☮️ |url=https://www.facebook.com/chucknegron/posts/10158205697807645/ |website=facebook.com}} 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.{{cite web |title=Chuck Negron & Ami Albea's Safer at Home Wedding in Quarantine |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCer53f5TCQ |website=youtube.com| date=May 12, 2020 }}
Negron has a daughter, Annabelle Negron, with actress Kate Vernon.{{cite web|title=Chuck Negron Releases New Album Negron Generations June 30, Features Unreleased Three Dog Night Tracks|url=http://117group.com/chuck-negron-negron-generations/|author=Zach Farnum|date=June 16, 2017 |publisher=117 Entertainment Group.}}
Actor Taylor Negron was Negron's cousin.{{cite news|last1=Looseleaf|first1=Victoria|title=For Negron, It's Totally Cool to Be Unhip|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-apr-27-ca-56250-story.html|access-date=January 11, 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 27, 2001}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book|last=Negron|first=Chuck|author2=Chris Blatchford|title=Three Dog Nightmare: The Chuck Negron Story|publisher=Renaissance Books|year=2000|id=158063155X}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://www.chucknegron.com/ Official website]
- {{allMusic|artist/chuck-negron-mn0000124663}}
- {{discogs artist}}
{{Three Dog Night}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Negron, Chuck}}
Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters
Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters
Category:American male singer-songwriters
Category:American rock singers
Category:American rock songwriters
Category:American people of British descent
Category:American musicians of Puerto Rican descent
Category:Allan Hancock Bulldogs men's basketball players
Category:Singers from New York City
Category:Three Dog Night members
Category:20th-century American male singers