45 Years Ago: Three Dog Night’s Endorsement of ‘Mama’

Three Dog Night's 'Mama Told Me Not to Come' may not paint a very pretty picture, but there is an element of truth that we can't get away from, regardless of whether  or not that was the intention of the song's composer, Randy Newman. We should have listened to mom.

How many of us can look back over our lives and think of times we should have listened to mom - but didn't? There were problems and situations that could have been avoided if only we had listened to mother. But, instead we chose to ignore mom's wisdom to do our own thing, thinking we knew better. It's just like the guy in the song, who, after getting to the party, realized that mama was right -- that's not the way to have fun.

The song 'Mama Told Me Not to Come' was originally written for Eric Burdon and the Animals, but it was Three Dog Night that took the song to the top of the charts. Tom Jones made it into the top 10 in the UK with the song in 2000 and there have been countless other covers including Wilson Picket, Lou Rawls, and the Jackson Five.

Regardless of the singer, the message of the song is appropriate for mothers day, and serves as a tribute to mom's everywhere for their love and wisdom in their efforts to guide us patiently and lovingly along life's path. We should have listened to mom more often.