Shambala (song)

"Shambala"
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
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Three Dog Night singles chronology
"Pieces of April"
(1972)		 "Shambala"
(1973)		 "Let Me Serenade You"
(1973)

"Shambala" (a title derived from a place name also spelled Shamballa or Shambhala) is a song written by Daniel Moore and made famous by two almost simultaneous releases in 1973, 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.

Three Dog Night

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] #1 on Cashbox,[2] and an isolated week at #1 on WLS.[3] 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.[1][4]

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 has long been famous, and the bluesy vocals of Cory Wells. Allmusic calls this hit single "one of the group's finest later period records."[1]

B.W. Stevenson

One week before Three Dog Night's version appeared on the charts, Texan singer-songwriter B. W. Stevenson's minute-shorter version bowed at #96 and later peaked at #66 during its eight-week run.[1][5][6] This lesser-known version is often regarded as country pop or country rock and appears on collections of such. The twang of Stevenson's steel-string acoustic guitar, his Southern accent and an American folk music sound all distinguish it from the better-known version soon to follow.[7] In South Africa, Stevenson's version actually charted higher, peaking at #8, compared to Three Dog Night's #13.

Lyrics

The song is about the mythical kingdom of Shambhala, said to be hidden somewhere within or beyond the peaks of the Himalayas and mentioned in various ancient texts, including the Kalachakra Tantra and ancient texts of Tibetan Buddhism.[8]

The lyrics refer to a situation where kindness and cooperation are universal, joy and good fortune abound, and psychological burdens are lifted.

The phrases "in the halls of Shambala" and "on the road to Shambala" tie for number of occurrences in the lyrics. The latter phrase perhaps alludes to the idea of Shambala not as a physical place but as a metaphor for the spiritual path one might follow.[8]

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1973) Peak
position
Australia KMR[9] 53
Austria 17
Canadian RPM Top Singles 4
Germany 38
US Billboard Hot 100[10] 3
US Billboard Adult Contemporary 3
US Cash Box[11] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1973) Rank
Canada[12] 54
US Billboard Hot 100[13] 31
US Cash Box[14] 10

Film and television use

This song has proven a popular accompaniment to film and television and has appeared in the following:

Other versions

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Matthew Greenwald. "Cyan - Three Dog Night | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  2. ↑ "Top 100". Cash Box. 1973-07-21. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  3. ↑ "WLS 890 Hit Parade". Users.qwest.net. 1973-07-23. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
  4. ↑ "Three Dog Night — Shambala — Listen, watch, download and discover music for free at". Last.fm. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  5. ↑ "DJM Records- Daniel Moore". Djmrec.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  6. ↑ As Stevenson was a songwriter himself, and co-wrote the top-ten hit "My Maria" with Moore, some sources erroneously list Stevenson as the writer or co-writer of "Shambala". Incidentally, some sources either recognize musical similarities between these two songs or refute those that do.
  7. ↑ "Country & Country-Rock Collection: Page 1". Napathon.net. 1949-10-05. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  8. 1 2 "Mistaken Foreign Myths about Shambhala — Study Buddhism". Berzinarchives.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  9. ↑ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  10. ↑ "Three Dog Night – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Three Dog Night.
  11. ↑ http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/19730721.html
  12. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 2016-10-04.
  13. ↑ http://www.musicoutfitters.com/topsongs/1973.htm
  14. ↑ http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/70s_files/1973.html
  15. ↑ "biography". Drvictormusic.com. Retrieved 2016-10-08.
  16. ↑
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