Cory Wells
Cory Wells (born Emil Lewandowski; February 5, 1941 – October 20, 2015) was an American singer, best known as one of the three lead vocalists in the band Three Dog Night.[1][2]
Cory Wells
Emil Lewandowski
February 5, 1941
Buffalo, New York, U.S.
October 20, 2015 (aged 74)
Dunkirk, New York, U.S.
- Vocals
- guitar
- harmonica
Early life[edit]
Wells came from a musical family and began playing in Buffalo, New York-area bands in his teens. His biological father, who was married to someone other than his mother, died when Cory was a small child, leaving his mother to struggle financially until she eventually married. She gave Cory her birth surname, although Cory eventually changed his surname to Wells (a shortened version of his birth father's surname, Wellsley). His full stage name "Cory Wells" was suggested by The Enemys' first manager, Gene Jacobs, who had a son named Cory.
Having survived childhood in a low-income, blue-collar neighborhood and an even more brutal home environment fueled by an abusive stepfather, this according to manager Joel Cohen's band biography, Three Dog Night And Me,[3] Wells joined the United States Air Force directly out of high school.[2][4] While in the Air Force, he formed a band of interracial musical performers, inspired by his boyhood love of a similar popular band called The Del-Vikings, who had a national hit with the doo-wop song, "Come Go with Me".
Death[edit]
Wells died in his sleep on October 20, 2015, at Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk, New York at the age of 74. His family later confirmed he had been fighting multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer since September.[7][5]He was survived by Mary Jane Catalano, his wife of 50 years. They had two daughters, Dawn Marie and CoryAnn, and five grandchildren.