But, you know, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, we get that good fortune.

All three of them were great records, and thank God they became hits. And all three hits that I had with Three Dog Night started off with them not loving it and the producer loving it. Chuck Kaye, who was head of publishing at A&M Records sent it to Richie Podolor, who was the producer for (the band). Richard Carpenter, I don't think made it through the first verse before he picked up the needle off of the (acetate). A nice fit, kind of a throwback song with a rinky-dink sound to it and all. It was money in the bank with them, I thought. You know, I wrote the song thinking it was perfect for The Carpenters. With 'Old Fashioned Love Song,' Three Dog Night is the band of the planet at the time. and sometimes lightning strikes, the stuff falls away and you've got a statue - or a song. Sometimes we go after it with a chisel and a hammer. But I think my whole approach to the creative process has expanded through the years.

Sometimes, I've watched her sit there with smoke coming out of her ears as she fired away stuff, while I'm sitting over there writing my lines that we're going to integrate. The truth is that great writing sometimes comes quickly. Then I sat down with Tracey (Jackson) to write (the book 'Gratitude and Trust') and I saw her work for seven or eight hours. I think that there is that element, and for years, I wrote in three-hour sessions. But don't you think that some of the great ones are born that way, and that the greatness is in the simplicity? Which, to me, helped make the melody in that song.

And old fashion love song lyrics genius