Hard Labor
Encyclopedia
Hard Labor is the eleventh album
by American
rock
band Three Dog Night
, released in 1974 (see 1974 in music
).
Singles - Billboard (North America)
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
, released in 1974 (see 1974 in music
1974 in music
-January–April:*January 3 – Bob Dylan and The Band kick off their 40-date concert tour at Chicago Stadium. It's Dylan's first time on the road since 1966.*January 17...
).
Cover Artwork
The original album cover, depicting of the birth of a record album (shown at right), was deemed too controversial and was soon reworked with a huge bandage covering the "birth". The cover also includes an attached "birth record sheet" of the album. The label shown on the original cover's album is the same custom label used on the actual album.Side 1
- "Prelude" – 1:00
- "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" (John HiattJohn HiattJohn Hiatt is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for several Grammy Awards - although he has never won- and has been awarded a variety of other...
) – 4:46 - "Anytime Babe" (Larry Weiss) – 3:07
- "Interlude I" – 0:19
- "Put out the Light" (Daniel Moore) – 3:06
- "Sitting in Limbo" (Gully Bright, Jimmy CliffJimmy CliffJimmy Cliff, OM is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor. He is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit, the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences...
, Plummer) – 4:56
Side 2
- "I'd Be So Happy" (Skip Prokop) – 4:48
- "Interlude II" – 0:21
- "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)Play Something Sweet is a song by Allen Toussaint that has been covered by Frankie Miller, B.J. Thomas and Three Dog Night, among others.-History:...
" (Allen ToussaintAllen ToussaintAllen Toussaint is an American musician, composer, record producer, and influential figure in New Orleans R&B.Many of Toussaint's songs have become familiar through numerous cover versions, including "Working in the Coalmine", "Ride Your Pony", "Fortune Teller", "Play Something Sweet ", "Southern...
) – 4:48 - "On the Way Back Home" (Moore) – 4:16
- "The Show Must Go On" (David CourtneyDavid Courtney (musician)David Courtney is a British singer-songwriter and record producer. Courtney's first big break was as a songwriter with Adam Faith and Leo Sayer; Courtney co-wrote several hit songs with them and he co-produced Faith's 1974 album, I Survive...
, Leo SayerLeo SayerLeo Sayer is a British singer-songwriter, musician, and entertainer whose singing career has spanned four decades. Sayer became a naturalised Australian citizen in 2009. Sayer was a top singles and album act on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s...
) – 4:24
Personnel
- Mike Allsup - banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Jimmy GreenspoonJimmy GreenspoonJimmy Greenspoon is an American keyboard player, best known as a member of the band, Three Dog Night. He currently lives in Montgomery County, Maryland....
- keyboardKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments... - Danny HuttonDanny HuttonDaniel Anthony Hutton , is an Irish-American singer, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band, Three Dog Night. Hutton was the head of Hanna Barbera Records from 1965-1966...
- vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Jimmy Iovine
- Skip KonteSkip KonteFrank "Skip" Konte is an American keyboardist. He joined The Blues Image in 1967, and stayed with them until they split in 1971. He then joined Three Dog Night as second keyboardist in 1973, and left in 1976. He has since become a record producer. He is currently working on a Sci-Fi movie titled...
- keyboard, ARPARP Instruments, Inc.ARP Instruments, Inc. was an American manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. Best known for its line of synthesizers that emerged in the early 1970s, ARP closed its doors in 1981 due to financial difficulties...
, chamberlain - Chuck NegronChuck NegronCharles "Chuck" Negron is an American singer-songwriter, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night, which he helped to form in 1968.-Biography:...
- vocals - Jack Ryland - bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Joe SchermieJoe SchermieJoe Schermie was an American musician, best known as the bass player for the 1970s American rock-pop group Three Dog Night.-Biography:Schermetzler was born in Madison, Wisconsin....
- bass - Floyd SneedFloyd SneedFloyd Sneed is a black Canadian drummer, best known for his work with the band Three Dog Night....
- percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Cory WellsCory WellsCory Wells is an American singer, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night.-Life and career:...
- vocals
Production
- Producer: Jimmy Ienner
- Engineers: Greg Calbi, Roy CicalaRoy CicalaRoy Cicala is an American producer, engineer, song-writer and musician. His body of work includes over 10 Platinum Records for producing, writing, engineering and management for talent from the 70’s through today...
, Dennis Ferrante, Jimmy Ienner, Jay MessinaJay MessinaJay Messina is an American audio engineer, mastering and mixing engineer and music producer. He started out recording sessions for legendary arranger Don Ellion and quickly promoted to A&R Recording. He later moved to the Record Plant when it opened in 1968...
, Tom Rabstenek, John Stronach - Assistant engineers: Corky Stasiak
- Remixing: Roy CicalaRoy CicalaRoy Cicala is an American producer, engineer, song-writer and musician. His body of work includes over 10 Platinum Records for producing, writing, engineering and management for talent from the 70’s through today...
, Jay Messina - Arranger: Three Dog Night
- Art direction: Ed Caraeff
- Design: David Larkham
- Photography: Ed Caraeff
Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Pop Albums | 20 |
Singles - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" | Pop Singles | 16 |
| "The Show Must Go On" | Pop Singles | 4 | |
| "Play Something Sweet (Brickyard Blues)" | Pop Singles | 33 |