About The Song
“Pieces of April” is a tender 1972 ballad by Three Dog Night that highlights the group’s gift for finding outside material and making it their own. Written by Dave Loggins and produced by Richard Podolor, the track appeared on the band’s 1972 album Seven Separate Fools and was released as a single in November 1972 on Dunhill. With its gentle arrangement and reflective tone, it offered a softer counterpoint to the group’s bigger, more rousing hits of the era, and it soon became a winter staple on U.S. radio.
The song’s story begins with Loggins himself, who first recorded “Pieces of April” for his 1972 debut album Personal Belongings. Three Dog Night—famous for interpreting songs by writers like Harry Nilsson, Randy Newman, and Paul Williams—cut their own version for Seven Separate Fools, keeping the lyric’s intimate focus while polishing the track for AM play. The single’s B-side was “The Writing’s on the Wall,” also drawn from the album, and the release arrived hot on the heels of the band’s chart-topping “Black and White.”
Behind the scenes, the record’s vocal setup was unusual for Three Dog Night. According to later accounts, Chuck Negron handled the lead vocal, and circumstances around the London sessions for Seven Separate Fools meant he completed the song without the usual three-way blend from Danny Hutton and Cory Wells. That choice underscores the track’s solitary mood. The arrangement stays understated—strings and piano cushioning Negron’s phrasing—while a cello line adds warmth that suits the song’s autumnal, memory-scattered imagery.
Lyrically, “Pieces of April” reads like a scrapbook of small, vivid moments. Rather than building to a dramatic twist, it moves through snapshots of affection, gratitude, and passing time. That restraint is part of its pull: the singer assembles fragments—those figurative “pieces”—into a whole that feels quietly luminous. It’s the kind of intimate, observational writing that Loggins would later bring to his own hits, and it fits neatly within Three Dog Night’s catalog of narrative-driven pop.
Commercially, the single became a steady climber. Early in 1973, “Pieces of April” reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and rose even higher—No. 6—on the magazine’s Easy Listening (Adult Contemporary) chart. North of the border it peaked at No. 13 on Canada’s RPM singles survey and No. 9 on that publication’s AC list. While it wasn’t one of the band’s all-time biggest smashes, its cross-format showing confirmed the public’s appetite for the group’s more reflective side.
Within the context of Seven Separate Fools, the track deepens an album that mixed celebratory pop with contemplative turns. The LP itself became the band’s highest-charting U.S. album, and “Pieces of April” sits on its first side like a quiet centerpiece—proof that Three Dog Night could command attention without bombast. The song also joined later greatest-hits sets, where it provides balance to crowd-pleasers like “Joy to the World” and “Mama Told Me (Not to Come).”
The song’s afterlife has been notable. Loggins re-cut it later in the decade, and crooners such as Andy Williams took a turn with their own versions. Decades on, “Pieces of April” remains a favorite for fans who value the band’s interpretive depth as much as their chart clout. It’s a reminder that Three Dog Night’s legacy isn’t only about big choruses—it’s also about the quieter craft of storytelling sung with clarity and care.
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Lyric
April gave us springtime
And the promise of the flowers
And the feeling that we both shared
And the love that we called ours
We knew no time for sadness
That’s a road we each had crossed
We were livin’ a time meant for us
And even when it would rain
We would laugh it off
I’ve got pieces of April
I keep them in a memory bouquet
I’ve got pieces of April
It’s a mornin’ in May
We stood on the crest of summer
Beneath an oak that blossomed green
Feeling as I did in April
Not really knowin’ what it means
But it must be then that
You stand beside me now
To make me feel this way
Just as I did in April
But it’s a mornin’ in May
I’ve got pieces of April
I keep them in a memory bouquet
I’ve got pieces of April
But it’s a mornin’ in May
I’ve got pieces of April
I keep them in a memory bouquet
I’ve got pieces of April
It’s a mornin’ in May
It’s a mornin’
It’s a mornin’ in May
Just a mornin’
Just a mornin’
Just a mornin’
Mornin’ in May
It’s a mornin’ in May
Just, just a mornin’
A mornin’ in May
A mornin’ in May