Mama Told Me (Not to Come) (1970) 7/14/20

When Eric Burdon and the Animals were looking for new material in 1966, singer/songwriter Randy Newman had just what they were looking for: a song about an innocent young man who goes to a wild party and is SHOCKED at what transpires.

Well, the Animals recorded it, and it was scheduled to be released as a single, but for some reason it was pulled and ended up being an album cut and nothing more.

In early 1970, Randy recorded his own version, but that wasn't released as a single, either.

Later that year, however, Three Dog Night released their version of “Mama Told Me Not to Come,” and before long, it was a Top 15 hit in 9 countries---including #1 in the US, #2 in Canada and #3 in the UK.

The song was sung by Cory Wells with sort of a weird comic delivery over an unusual instrumental track that kept switching time signatures from 3/4 to 2/4 and back.

“Mama Told Me Not to Come:” Quirky? Yes! Catchy? You bet! A “Great Song of 1970?” Absolutely!