Cory Wells(1941-2015)

Singer Cory Wells was born Emil Lowendowski on February 2, 1941 in Buffalo, New York. He grew up in a rough neighborhood and hailed from a musical family. Cory's father died when he was a little boy and his mother struggled for a while before getting remarried. In the early 1960's Wells played in a few local bands in the Buffalo area. Cory joined the U.S. Air Force immediately after graduating from high school. He formed a multi-racial group during his stint in the Air Force.

Following his military tour of duty Wells returned to Buffalo and joined a garage rock called the Vibratos. He traveled to California with the group. The Vibratos changed their name to The Enemys and performed in clubs in Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and Sacramento. The Enemies were the house band at the legendary Sunset Strip club the Whisky a Go Go for a year. They appear as themselves in the movie Riot on Sunset Strip (1967) and in an episode of the TV series The Beverly Hillbillies (1962). Moreover, The Enemys had minor hits with recordings of "Hey Joe" and "Sinner Man." In 1967 Cory moved to Arizona and formed the group the Cory Wells Blues Band. He moved back to Hollywood, California in 1968 and became a founding member of the hugely popular rock group Three Dog Night. Three Dog Night went on to enjoy enormous success throughout the early to mid 1970's before eventually breaking up in 1977. In 1978 Wells recorded the solo album "Touch Me" for A&M Records. Wells helped relaunch Three Dog Night in the mid-1980's and continued to perform with the band almost right up until his death at age 74 on October 20, 2015 in Dunkirk, New York. Cory and his wife Mary were the proud parents of daughters CoryAnn and Dawn Marie. Outside of singing, Wells was also an avid fisherman.