C Instrument - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1402912 By Three Dog Night. By Hoyt Axton. Arranged by John Fries. 20th Century,Pop,Standards. Lead Sheet / Fake Book. 2 pages. John Fries #986137. Published by John Fries (A0.1402912). TYPE JOHN FRIES IN THE SEARCH BAR TO SEE ALL I HAVE TO OFFER. Thanks, John. Joy to the World is a song written by Hoyt Axton and made famous by the band Three Dog Night. The song is also popularly known by its opening lyric, Jeremiah was a bullfrog. Some of the words are nonsensical. Axton wanted to persuade his record producers to record a new melody he had written, and the producers asked him to sing any words to the tune. A member of Three Dog Night said that the original lyrics to the song were Jeremiah was a prophet but no one liked it. When Hoyt Axton performed the song to the group, two of the three main vocalists – Danny Hutton and Cory Wells – rejected the song, but Chuck Negron felt that the band needed a silly song to help bring the band back together as a working unit. Negron also felt that the song wasn't even close to our best record, but it might have been one of our most honest..
