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Cory Wells of Three Dog Night dies suddenly at the age of 74 in upstate New York after four-decade music career

By Paul Chavez For Dailymail.com

Published: 19:35 EST, 21 October 2015 | Updated: 20:14 EST, 21 October 2015

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Cory Wells, who was a founding member of the popular 1970s band Three Dog Night and lead singer on several of their hits, has died at the age of 74 in New York.

Wells experienced acute back pain weeks ago and died suddenly on Tuesday in Dunkirk, where he had lived, bandmate Danny Hutton said.

The upstate New York native sang lead on Three Dog Night hits such as Never Been To Spain and Mama Told Me (Not to Come).

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Founding member: Cory Wells, shown in January 2013 in Florida performing with Three Dog Night, died on Tuesday in Dunkirk, New York aged 74

'Cory was an incredible singer — a greater performer, he could sing anything,' Hutton, 73, said.

The cause of Wells' death was unknown, said Universal Music Enterprises spokeswoman Sujata Murphy.

Vocalists Wells, Hutton and Chuck Negron formed Three Dog Night in 1967, lifting the name from Australian slang for especially cold weather.

Popular group: Check Negron, Wells and Danny Hutton of Three Dog Night are shown in an October 1974 photo

Lead singer: Wells, shown in 1972 at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve, kept performing with Three Dog Night and is shown, right, in August 2013 in Detroit

They added a backing band as they became a top group over the following decade, specializing in covers of songs by Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson and Paul Williams, among others.

Dubbed the 'kings of oversing' by Village Voice critic Robert Christgau, they patented a fervent, gospel-influenced style on such hits as One, Eli's Coming and the chart-topping Joy To The World.

Band members took turns on lead vocals, with Wells' singing featured on Shambala, Never Been to Spain and the number one hit Mama Told Me (Not to Come) - Newman's comic tale of an innocent man at a wild party.

Album art: Wells, Negron and Hutton posed for an album cover portrait in June 1971 in Los Angeles

Three Dog Night between 1969 and 1975 scored three number one songs on the Billboard Top 40 and placed another 18 on the charts.

Wells, a Polish-American with several polka players among his relatives, was born Emil Lewandowski in Buffalo.

He joined the Air Force right out of high school and performed in local groups after returning. He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s and while in the house band for the popular club the Whiskey A-Go-Go he met Hutton, a writer and producer at the time with Hanna-Barbera Records.

1970s stars: Negron and Wells are shown performing on American Bandstand in 1976 in Los Angeles

Wells and Three Dog Night continued to record and tour, in various incarnations, right up to the present.

The singer's death comes seven months after longtime keyboard player Jimmy Greenspoon died of cancer aged 67.

Wells is survived by his longtime wife Mary; daughters Coryann and Dawn Marie, and five grandchildren.

Rock legends: Hutton, Wells and Paul Kingery are shown performing as Three Dog Night in 2013 in Detroit

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