"Shambala" | ||||
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Single by Three Dog Night | ||||
from the album Cyan | ||||
B-side | "Our 'B' Side" | |||
Released | May 11, 1973 | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
Length | 3:25 | |||
Label | Dunhill 4352 | |||
Writer(s) | Daniel Moore | |||
Producer(s) | Richard Podolor | |||
Three Dog Night singles chronology | ||||
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“Shambala,” whose title is derived from a place name also spelled “Shamballa” or “Shambhala,” is a song written and composed by Daniel Moore and made famous by two almost simultaneous releases in 1973; these two were the better-known but slightly later Three Dog Night version, which reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, and a lesser-known version by B.W. Stevenson.
The well-known cover of this song by the rock band Three Dog Night appeared in 1973 on the Billboard Hot 100, on the top 40 from the beginning of June through the end of August, reaching #3 in both the pop singles and adult contemporary categories, #1 on the Cashbox Magazine charts, and an isolated week at #1 on WLS. Headed toward the Hot 100's summit in late July, had it not run out of steam, “Shambala” would have completed an uncommon distinction of a Hot 100 chart-topper for each of four consecutive years for the group. The song later appeared on Cyan, Three Dog Night's ninth album, and subsequently on numerous anthologies and compilation albums.
Although the lyrics of “Shambala” draw on a theme from Eastern mysticism, Allmusic notes the "very strong gospel feeling" of the album Cyan is most evident on this song. This comment may be based on both the instrumentation, including the characteristic gospel keyboard organ sounds that accompany the chorus, which features the repeated, unmistakable dog howls for which the group was long famous, and the bluesy vocals of Cory Wells. Allmusic calls this hit single "one of the group's finest later period records."