When I was around 10 years old …with help from mom, I ordered Three Dog NIght’s greatest hits off of a commercial on television. When I got it I wore it out and zeroed in on this song (and Celebrate). This is an environmental song…probably one of the first that I heard or least paid attention to. The message is really good.
I think the writers were influenced slightly by “It’s All Too Much” a Beatle song that George Harrison wrote. That is why I think I liked it so much…it sounded familiar. To be truthful about it…I thought this post was going to be a Three Dog Night “deep cut” (yea people would line up for that)…I had no clue it was a hit…of course being on the greatest “hits” should have clued me in. I just never heard it on the radio.
The Family of Man is a song written by Paul Williams and Jack Conrad, produced by Richard Podolor. It was on their 1971 album, Harmony.
The Family of Man peaked at #12 in the Billboard 100, and #5 in Canada. The album Harmony peaked at #8 in the Billboard Album Charts and #11 in Canada in 1971. So it just missed being a top 10 hit and was a top 5 hit in Canada.
Three Dog Night were huge in the seventies. They had 3 number 1 songs, 21 songs in the top 100, and 11 top ten hits in the Billboard 100. Not bad for a group with three lead singers. I’m alright with them as long as I don’t hear Joy To The World again.
The commercial that I ordered it from…
Family Of Man
This tired city was somebody’s dream
Billboard horizons as black as they seem
A four-level highway across the land
We’re building a home for the family of man
Prices are rising, the devil’s to pay
Moving the mountain that got in the way
Prayer books and meetings to find a plan
Deciding the fate of the family of man
So hard
Whatever are we coming to?
Yes, it’s so hard
With so little time and so much to do
Memories replacing the loves that we lost
Burning our bridges as soon as they’re crossed
Factories built where the rivers ran
Time’s running out for the family of man
So hard
So hard
So hard
So hard, family of man
So hard, family of man
So hard, family of man
So hard, family of man
So hard, family of man
So hard, family of man
So hard, family of man
So hard, family of man
So hard, family of man
PowerPop... An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture 
oh, i remember them well – and this song
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had no clue it was a hit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pal Teebone’s Dad loved these guys. Heard them a lot at his place…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yea man…three lead singers…it’s odd that it worked but it did…they owned the seventies charts for a while.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nice harmony singing! And, yes, remarkable lyrics.
While I know Three Dog Night were big, I think the only tunes I can name are “Joy to the World” and “An Old Fashioned Love Son”, i.e., the songs some folks might be tired to hear, since they were over-exposed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes they were…I like Celebrate and a few others.
Three lead singers in one band…I don’t see how they made it work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a long forgotton one for me. I liked it back then, and it still sounds great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I never knew I knew it until I played it again – just now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s been a while for me also. I found it long after it was a hit but I never heard it on the radio.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Do, do, da, doo, doo, doo a pure pop hit.
LikeLiked by 1 person
that’ ad is so cool! Two minute commercials..man, it was a different age! Pretty good song… they sure did have a good run. I’d forgotten about “Old-fashioned Love Song”, one of their better ones to me.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I liked that one also. More people remember this song as a hit than I would have thought. Like I said I didn’t know about the hit.
That was the commercial I saw which is such a cool thing that I can see it again.
LikeLike
Yeah, “Joy To The World” was kind of the nadir of their musical career. Aside from that, one of my favorite groups from the ’60’s and ’70’s.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like a lot of their music. I forgot about this one but as a kid I really liked this one and still do. Celebrate and Liar are good also…Shambala may be my favorite.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love Three Dog Night.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do like a lot of their songs.
LikeLike
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Never heard this – it’s much better than Joy to the World…. Danny Hutton’s son was the drummer for HAIM for a while.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As a kid I enjoyed them…songs like Celebrate and Shambala.
That is really cool about Hutton’s son. I still don’t see how three lead singers worked.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I remember hearing this on the radio a fair amount, and was a big fan of Three Dog Night, though if I never had to listen to “Joy to the World” ever again, that would be great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m in total agreement with Joy To The World.
LikeLiked by 1 person