felt that the song "wasn't even close to our best record, but it might have been one of our most honest." The song was recorded by Three Dog Night at American Recording Company, produced by Richard Podolor, and engineered by Bill Cooper. Unlike most Three Dog Night songs recorded at that point, instead of having just the three main vocalists singing harmony, the song was recorded with all seven members of the band singing. Drummer Floyd Sneed sings the deep lyric "I wanna tell you" towards the end of the song. When the song hit number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1971, Axton and his mother, Mae Axton, became the first mother and son to each have written a number one pop single in the rock era. Mae Axton co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel", which was the first number one hit for Elvis Presley. In a 1994 case, David P. Jackson filed suit claiming co-authorship of the song and alleging that Axton fraudulently claimed sole authorship. In the suit, Jackson claimed that Axton regularly credited him with co-authorship. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled in favor of Axton. Personnel Cory Wells – background vocals Chuck Negron – lead vocals, background vocals Danny Hutton – background vocals Mike Allsup – background vocals, guitar Joe Schermie – background vocals, bass guitar Jimmy Greenspoon – background vocals, keyboards Floyd Sneed – background vocals, drums Charts and awards Weekly charts Year-end charts All-time charts The single had been out less than two months, when on April 9, 1971, "Joy to the World" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of over one million units across the United States. The record was also given a Gold Leaf award by RPM magazine for sales of over a million units. The record won the award for the Best Selling Hit Single Record by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers in March 1972. It was also ranked by Billboard magazine as the #1 pop single of 1971. The song was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo Or Group during the 14th Grammy Awards. The single went on to sell 5 million copies worldwide. Cover versions Little Richard recorded a cover of the song for his 1971 album, The King of Rock and Roll, with a lengthy spoken intro and