"Never Been to Spain"
Single by Three Dog Night
from the album Harmony
B-side"Peace of Mind"
ReleasedJanuary 1972
GenreRock
Length3:43
LabelDunhill 4299
Songwriter(s)Hoyt Axton
Producer(s)Richard Podolor
Three Dog Night singles chronology
"An Old Fashioned Love Song"
(1971) 		"Never Been to Spain"
(1971) 		"The Family of Man"
(1972)

"Never Been to Spain" is a song written by Hoyt Axton,[1] originally released on his 1971 LP Joy to the World and later that year performed by Three Dog Night, with Cory Wells on lead vocal.[2] It was featured on their 1971 album Harmony.[3] The recording was produced by Richard Podolor.[4]

Background

The lyrics consist of the narrator ruminating about overseas locales that he has never visited, but about which he feels he has some proxy experience, primarily via the music but also due to other presumed highlights found there. He loosely compares his own actual travels to these more worldly spots.

In the final verse, he observes that while he has "never been to heaven", he has "been to Oklahoma", where he was told he was born, thus implying a kinship between the two places. Hoyt Axton, who was born in Oklahoma, explained that he originally wrote, "...in Oklahoma, born in a coma...." However, it was considered inappropriate; thus, the lyrics were changed to "not Arizona".

Chart history

In the US, "Never Been to Spain" peaked at number 5 on the Billboard chart, and number 18 on the U.S. adult contemporary chart in 1972.[5] Outside of the US, "Never Been to Spain" reached number 3 in Canada[6] and number 34 in Australia.

Other versions

References

  1. ^ "Hoyt Axton, Singer, Character Actor and Hit Songwriter, Dies". Articles.latimes.com. October 27, 1999. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  2. ^ Associated Press. "Cory Wells, vocalist with Three Dog Night, dies at 74". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 24, 2016.
  3. ^ Three Dog Night, Harmony Discogs.com, Retrieved February 7, 2015
  4. ^ Three Dog Night, "Never Been to Spain" single release 45.cat.com, Retrieved February 7, 2015
  5. ^ Three Dog Night, "Never Been to Spain" U.S. Chart Positions Retrieved February 7, 2015
  6. ^ Three Dog Night, "Never Been to Spain" Canada Chart Position Archived 2015-02-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 7, 2015
  7. ^ Three Dog Night, "Never Been to Spain" Canada Chart Position Archived 2015-02-08 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved February 7, 2015
  8. ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 24 April 1972
  9. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  10. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 240.
  11. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, February 19, 1972". Archived from the original on January 13, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  12. ^ "Musicoutfitters.com". Archived from the original on 2017-04-27. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  13. ^ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1972". Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
  14. ^ Ronnie Sessions, "Never Been to Spain" Chart Position Retrieved February 7, 2015
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