I’m finding myself in a nostalgic mood this morning. Last night, I heard a brief report on the news that opened a flood gate of memories. It has happened before in this way and now it has happened again.

I heard last night of the death of Chuck Negron, a lead singer in the band Three Dog Night.

And, immediately, I started hearing songs in my head.

Actually, it didn’t take this sad news to bring the songs to mind. They often are played on the “’70s station” and I often find myself singing them softly to myself. But, this morning, they are providing, in the best possible sense, an “ear worm” which I can’t stop. And I don’t want it to stop.

I started listening to “Top 40” radio, WRKO in Boston, when I was 12 or 13 and through the very end of the 60’s and the first few years of the 70’s, that station was one my fondest companions. I have written about some of my favorites before: Harry Chapin, Jim Croce, John Denver, James Taylor, and so many others.

Then, there is Three Dog Night. One of the constants of those days was Three Dog Night. It seemed that every month, a new Three Dog Night hit would appear and each one was remarkable.

I thought this morning about hit after hit: One, Easy to Be Hard, Shambala, Out in the Country, Try a Little Tenderness, Joy To The World, Black and White, Family of Man, Mama Told Me Not To Come and, perhaps the most beautiful of all: An Old Fashioned Love Song. And that is just a short list. There were so many others and they all were just so much fun.

So, if I like Three Dog Night so much, why didn’t I ever mention them? I think it is simply because they were always there and I, and perhaps many others, just took them for granted. We just expected the next song to be fun, easy to sing along with, often carrying a positive, hopeful message- listen to Black and White if you want an example. They were just always there. And when someone or something is always there, we take them for granted.

So, while the world isn’t waiting for me to say this, I’ll say what I should have said many times since: I loved Three Dog Night and still do and I thank Chuck Negron and the rest of the group for the joy they brought me and the songs that still play in my head.

I understand that Three Dog Night is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That is a gross injustice which needs to be corrected. In the meantime, I’ll be singing and humming their songs for the next few days and beyond and they will bring not just longings for my youth but joy to my world today.