Allsup, Michael

He is a guitarist and songwriter born Michael Rand Allsup in Oakdale, California. He began his life in music when he was a teenager and began playing the guitar. Soon he was performing with some of his school friends in a dance band and this led was the first of many groups he would play with during the 1960s.

Everything would change in 1968 when he went to Los Angeles and became involved with Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron and Cory Wells . They had just formed Three Dog Night and were taking on musicians and soon the band became one of the most successful in the history of pop music in the US from around 1969 to the mid-1970s. Their chart entries were numerous and include the hit singles "An Old Fashioned Love Song", "Black and White", "Joy to the World ", "Mama Told Me (Not To Come)", "Shambala" and "The Show Must Go On". Aside from appearing on the Three Dog Night discography during those years he also performed on albums by Hoyt Axton and SS Fools.

During the 1980s after the band had re-united after a hiatus he was substituted in the band by Steve Ezzo for two years while he had to take time out for a family problem. This entailed him leaving the band completely from around 1985 but in 1991 he joined back up with them on a permanent basis again.

He currently resides in Modesto, California where his nephews Russ and Michael perform in the band DAM. He still appears in concerts with Three Dog Night including a 2002 album where the London Symphony Orchestra accompanied them. He has recently released the solo album Some Women.

Three Dog Night recordings

Joy to the World (Hoyt Axton )

Old Gold OG-9795-B (UK 45)

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