Forever No. 1 is a Billboard series that pays special tribute to the recently deceased artists who achieved the highest honor our charts have to offer — a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single — by taking an extended look back at the chart-topping songs that made them part of this exclusive club. Here, we honor Chuck Negron, who sang lead on Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World,” the second of the pop group’s three No. 1 hits.

“Jeremiah was a bullfrog” is one of the silliest opening lines ever in a pop song. It’s also memorable and intriguing, what they call a grabber. It certainly did the job as the opening line of Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World,” Billboard’s year-end No. 1 hit of 1971, and the only song that year to top the weekly Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks. Chuck Negron, who sang lead on that song and such other Three Dog hits as “One,” “Easy to Be Hard,” “An Old Fashioned Love Song” and “The Show Must Go On,” died on Monday (Feb. 2) at his home in Studio City, California. He was 83.

Three Dog Night was a reliable pop-rock hit machine, landing at least one top five hit on the Hot 100 in every calendar year from 1969 to 1974. They were the only act to reach No. 1 on that chart in each of the first three years of the 1970s, with “Mama Told Me (Not to Come),” “Joy to the World” and “Black & White,” respectively.

The Los Angeles-based group was unique for two reasons. First, they didn’t have one lead singer, but three. Each of their No. 1 hits was sung by a different member – Cory Wells, Negron and Danny Hutton, respectively. And second, they didn’t write any of their hits, at a time when writing your own material was becoming essential to having credibility. (That’s one reason they were never a critics favorite.) But they had a knack for finding songs by writers who were on their way up, including Harry Nilsson (“One”), Laura Nyro (“Eli’s Coming”), Randy Newman (“Mama Told Me”), Hoyt Axton (“Joy to the World” and “Never Been to Spain”) and David Courtney & Leo Sayer (“The Show Must Go On”).

Legend has it that Axton hadn’t completed the lyrics to “Joy to the World” — that, keen to demonstrate the melody he’d written, he just put in some nonsensical placeholder lyrics: “Jeremiah was a bullfrog/Was a good friend of mine.” Three Dog Night went ahead and recorded the song with Axton’s temp words intact.

Three Dog Night wasn’t at all sure about “Joy to the World.” Hutton and Wells wanted to pass on the song, but Negron heard its potential. Even so, the song was positioned as the closing track on the band’s fourth studio album Naturally, which was released in November 1970. It was bypassed as the album’s lead single in favor of “One Man Band,” a bluesy pop/rock song that blended into the FM album rock sound of the time. But “blending in” isn’t going to make a song a hit. “One Man Band” peaked at No. 19, which had to be a big disappointment for the group. The lead singles to their two previous studio albums, “Easy to Be Hard” (from Suitable for Framing) and “Mama Told Me” (from It Ain’t Easy) had both been top five smashes, reaching No. 4 and No. 1, respectively. No. 19 wasn’t going to cut it.

“Joy to the World” was selected as the album’s second single. It entered the Hot 100 for the week ending March 13, 1971 at No. 58. It was that week’s third-highest new entry, behind tracks by Glen Campbell and Stephen Stills (neither of which made the top 30). “Joy to the World,” by contrast, flew up the chart, reaching No. 1 in its sixth week, April 17, replacing The Temptations’ sublime “Just My Imagination” (Running Away With Me).” It stayed on top for six consecutive weeks, the longest run since Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” the previous year.

It held off stiff competition, too. Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” a classy and soulful rumination on the state of the world, was No. 2 for the first two of those six weeks, followed by Ocean’s folky Christian pop hit “Put Your Hand in the Hand” (for one week) and The Jackson 5’s midtempo pop/R&B ballad “Never Can Say Goodbye” (for the last three weeks). None of those records made it to the top spot, a real shame in the case of “What’s Going On,” one of the classic singles of the era.

The Rolling Stones finally ended Three Dog Night’s reign with the undeniable rock classic “Brown Sugar,” which rose to the top in the issue dated May 29. But “Joy to the World” didn’t fall far. It was No. 2 the two weeks that “Brown Sugar” was No. 1. (So, were it not for the Stones, “Joy to the World” would have had eight weeks on top, something no single had accomplished since The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” led for nine consecutive weeks in 1968.)

Why was “Joy to the World” such a monster hit? It’s catchy and ebullient, a joybomb when we needed one amid tumultuous times, which included the never-ending war in Vietnam. It’s fun to sing along to. In fact, it’s hard not to sing along to it.

The passion with which Negron sings the song gives it some necessary heat. The song is kinda dippy, but he sings the hell out it, coming in hot from the opening line. He sings it with a cocky strut that gives it at least some heft. Axton included lines about wine-drinking and lovemaking that give the song at least a little bit of an adult sensibility and kept it from seeming too dippy.

In his Stereogum series “The Number Ones,” Tom Breihan wrote, “Considering that they never expected anything to happen with ‘Joy to the World,’ maybe it’s admirable that Three Dog Night completely committed to the song. Negron, in particular, completely throws himself into it, rasping and howling and wailing out ad-libs. This was the right approach. If Negron had sung the song with even the tiniest trace of wink, if he’d acted like he was in any way above it, ‘Joy to the World’ would’ve been a total flatline.”

“Joy to the World” kicked off a run of four consecutive top 10 hits, the longest such run of the group’s career. They followed it with Russ Ballard’s “Liar” (No. 7), Paul Williams’ Carpenters-style “An Old-Fashioned Love Song” (No. 4) and another Axton song, “Never Been to Spain” (No. 5).

“Joy to the World” received two Grammy nods – record of the year (it lost to Carole King’s “It’s Too Late”) and best pop vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus (it lost to Carpenters’ hit-laden album, Carpenters). The group performed the song on both of the first two live Grammy telecasts. They performed it in 1971 as a hot new single, and on the 1972 telecast as a record of the year nominee.

Axton (who died in 1999) was the son of Estelle Axton, who had co-written Elvis Presley’s breakthrough smash “Heartbreak Hotel,” which topped a pre-Hot 100 songs chart in Billboard in 1956. When “Joy to the World” also summited, they became the first mother and son to each have written a No. 1 hit in the rock era (which is generally defined as starting in 1955).

Axton was audacious in giving this secular song the same title as one of the most famous religious Christmas songs. Mariah Carey, who knows a thing or two about Christmas music, used the refrain from the Axton song in her 1994 recording of the hymn on her best-selling Merry Christmas. (It’s a “Joy to the World” mash-up!)

“Joy to the World” has been often featured in film and TV shows. The song is sung by the son of one of the main characters in The Big Chill (1983) and the group’s recording was featured on the multiplatinum soundtrack. The song was included in the 1994 film Forrest Gump and its multiplatinum soundtrack. The song experienced a particular boost of nostalgic affection during the 1990s: It was featured on Friends (Chandler sings the song at karaoke), Sex and the City (Carrie and her friend Jeremiah sing the song while drunk) and The X-Files (Scully sings the song to a wounded Mulder in the forest at night).

As noted above, Three Dog Night returned to No. 1 in September 1972 with “Black & White,” a call for racial harmony set in the framework of a children’s song. The song seems to borrow that basic idea from Sly & the Family Stone’s far superior 1969 smash “Everyday People.”

For a few weeks in the summer of 1973, the group seemed to be headed for a No. 1 hit in a fourth consecutive year. But “Shambala” ultimately peaked at No. 3. That was the group’s last great single. They had one more big hit in 1974, “The Show Must Go On,” cowritten by Leo Sayer and David Courtney, but to anyone who knew prime Three Dog (“Eli’s Coming”), this was clearly sub-prime. It was their last appearance in the top 10. They had one more top 20 hit, a John Hiatt song, “Sure as I’m Sittin’ Here,” then a couple more top 40 hits, then that was it. They made their final appearance on the Hot 100 in September 1975.

Axton co-wrote one more big hit, Ringo Starr’s “No No Song,” a genial song about swearing off drugs and alcohol that rose to No. 3 on the Hot 100 in April 1975.

Richard Podolor produced Three Dog’s long string of hits. Fun Fact: The very week “Mama Told Me” rose to No. 1, Blues Image’s psychedelic pop smash “Ride Captain Ride” – another Podolor production – reached its No. 4 peak.

True pop nerds know that Three Dog Night was No. 1 (with “Mama Told Me”) on the very first episode of American Top 40 in July 1970, so it’s appropriate that the group gave host Casey Kasem one of his all-time best anecdotes, which he told more than once on the show. In his authoritative but friendly tone, Casey would tell his rapt listeners (including me) how the group came to get that odd name.

To quote our trusted countdown guide: “From Hollywood, this is Casey Kasem with American Top 40. And now the case of the strange name of the great group with the No. 1 song in the nation. They took the name from a very practical custom of a primitive people, the aborigines of Australia, who live out in the bush and don’t have blankets, so they use their pet dogs to keep warm at night. Usually, one or two dogs will do the trick, but occasionally it gets cold enough to be a three dog night, and they’re the hottest act on the charts at the moment.”

Below, you can listen to Casey tell the story during the week of May 1, 1971 – the third week that “Joy to the World” was No. 1. 

RIP, Casey, and now Chuck Negron, too.

Lil Jon and his family are asking for privacy and prayers after the rapper’s 27-year-old son, Nathan Smith, was reported missing in Georgia.

The Milton Police Department shared a missing person’s alert on Tuesday (Feb. 3) on Facebook. Alongside two photos of Nathan — who makes music under the name DJ Young Slade — the post reads, “Subject ran out of his house and has been missing since.”

“Subject left on foot and does not possess a phone,” it continues, directing those with relevant information to call 678-297-6300 or email to Det. Sarah Moore (sarah.moore@miltonga.gov). “He may be disoriented and in need of assistance. Family and friends are concerned for his safety.”

In a statement shared with Billboard, a rep for Lil Jon said, “The family is asking for privacy at this time.
We are also asking for continued prayers for Nathan to come home safe.”

The “Turn Down for What” musician shares Nathan with estranged wife Nicole Smith, from whom he split around 2022 after about 18 years of marriage, according to People. The stress of their separation led Lil Jon to make his 2024 album Total Meditation.

“I’ve always kind of meditated a little bit,” he told XXL that year, “But when I turned 50, started going through a lot of things. Started going through a divorce, I’m separated now, and all the emotions from the divorce and all that process was really getting to me. So, I found I had to start to go within to calm myself.”

Lil Jon is also a dad to 1-year-old daughter Nahara, whom he welcomed in 2024 with his girlfriend, business owner Jamila Sozahdah.

J. Cole has revealed the tracklist for The Fall-Off two days ahead of the album’s Friday (Feb. 6) arrival. The double-LP boasts 24 tracks in total.

It’s broken down into 11 tracks plus a bonus on each disc, which are titled Disc 29 and Disc 39. It’s possible that the featured guests are being hidden.

In addition to Cole, Dreamville cofounder Ibrahim “IB” Hamad, T-Minus and Dreamville are credited as executive producers. The back cover reveals posters of Cole’s hip-hop inspirations, including rap legends such as Nas and 50 Cent.

J. Cole also released a statement alongside the tracklist, which provided some context into The Fall-Off and how he intends for the album to be the last in his decorated career.

“The Fall-Off, a double album made with intentions to be my last, brings the concept of my first project full circle. Disc 29 tells a story of me returning to my hometown at age 29,” he wrote in the second slide of his Instagram carousel posted Wednesday (Feb. 4).

Cole continued: “A decade after moving to New York, accomplishing what would have seemed impossible to most, I was at a crossroads with the 3 loves of my life; my woman, my craft, and my city. Disc 39 gives insight into my mindset during a similar trip home, this time as a 39 year old man. Older and a little closer to peace.”

The Dreamville boss previously explained that the second disc came about after being creatively reinvigorated following his apology to Kendrick Lamar in 2024, which saw him bow out of a potential feud with the Compton rapper.

“2 years ago, after the events that still feed the algorithm to this day, I became incredibly re-inspired, and the album slowly blossomed into a double disc as the concept expanded. I felt there should be an additional cover that represented that,” Cole wrote when revealing the covers on Jan. 29. “Something just as strong as the first, with my face on it, so when I look back in 20 years, I can see an image of who I was at the time I released the project I worked on for so long.”

Alongside the album’s announcement in January, Cole set the table for the project with the accompanying single “Disc 2 Track 2,” which found him rapping his life’s story in reverse.

He celebrated turning 41 on Jan. 28 with a surprise for the fans with the release of the Birthday Blizzard ’26 EP, which packaged four hard-hitting freestyles hosted by DJ Clue.

Look for The Fall-Off on Friday (Feb. 6) and check out the tracklist below.

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BTS is one of the biggest groups in music, so it’s not hard to find tons of available merchandise dedicated to the K-Pop act.

Rare collectibles – like vinyl box sets and other exclusive and officially licensed limited-edition items from BTS Official merch sites, Weverse and BT21 merch — tend to fly off the shelves, especially with news of a comeback and a world tour in the works.

You can always check out sites like eBay and Mercari to get your hands on limited-edition or sold-out BTS merch, but for BTS fans who might not have tons of money to spend on resale items, we put together a list of some of the best (and more affordable) unofficial BTS merch that you can buy from Amazon and Walmart right now.

Whether you’re an ARMY, or shopping for one, this roundup features pieces of BTS-inspired merch, including apparel, photocards, calendars, jewelry, electronics, collectible figurines and other cool gift ideas for die-hard K-Pop lovers — and almost everything on the list is under $100. While you’re at it, we’ve compiled a list of the best sites to search for tickets to BTS’ ARIRANG World Tour online. We’ve also included discount codes that will likely cut ticket pricing down significantly. Shop here.

This satin pillowcase from Kitsch is affixed with every BTS member’s specific BT21 character but solely focuses on Shooky, Suga’s character. The pillowcase zips up over a standard pillow and can be taken off to machine wash. According to Kitsch, satin pillowcases offer a cooling effect. They also prevent hair breakage and frizziness, and are more hygenic than your average pillow case that can harbor bacteria.

Crossbody bags are often a stellar option to take with you to concerts. With BTS’ world tour approaching, you’ll want to prepare with a stadium-ready option that can carry all your essentials, including your lightstick. This crossbody is affixed with chibi figures of each BTS member. The straps are detachable and adjustable, letting users tailor the fit of their bag. The body of the bag is ample enough to hold a phone, keys and wallet easily. It is also compact enough that you won’t be stopped while heading through security to see BTS on tour.  

Bag charms are still all the rage in 2026, and the trend doesn’t seem to be dying out anytime soon. This fuzzy BT21 keychain doubles as a bag charm and is meant to represent Jungkook. The charm depicts a fuzzy pink bunny, otherwise known as Cooky. The feisty-looking rabbit is affixed to a silver closure that allows users to attach this bunny to their bags, lanyards and keys, of course, adding a touch of personality to any item it’s clasped to.

Built teamed up with BTS all the way back in 2021 to launch collaborative water bottles meant to represent each member and their individual style and personalities with unique prints. No matter which member you choose, the water bottles can hold 18oz of liquid of your choosing that will stay at your desired temperature thanks to the bottles’ double-walled insulation.

“Dynamite” dominated the Billboard Hot 100 charts and stood at the number one spot for a whopping three weeks. In total, the song enjoyed 32 weeks on the charts, which is no small feat. With that in mind, it’s safe to say people enjoyed the track and its accompanying music video seeing the members dancing near a donut shop, standing out front of an ice cream parlor and boogie-ing as a group in front of a building reading “Disco.”

All of these iconic locations were taken straight from the music video and turned into a Lego set made for all ages. The set is extremely detailed, down to the frosted pink donut atop a building, and comes with mini figures of all the members, plus accessories. This is certainly a piece we can see ARMY proudly displaying alongside their other BTS merch.

If you’re a hardcore BTS stan you’ll know all about BT21 Line Friends. The cute little mascots were created through a collaboration between the South Korean boy band BTS and LINE FRIENDS, a global character brand. Whether you stan Suga or Jimin, you can show your loyalty by snagging yourself a sweet little headband affixed with each member’s BT21 character. The characters attached to the headband are 3D and plush.

Like the entry before this, you’ve got more BT21-inspired merch, this time in the form of a bracelet. The characters are clearly beloved, given they appear in a slew of the boy band’s merch. This stainless steel chain bracelet features every member’s assigned LINE FRIENDS characters so you can rep the whole band in style. This item of merch is very subtle, perfect for BTS fans who want to rock the band’s merch without looking too cheesy or loud.

BTS has an array of Funko Pop figures already available; however, if you’re a Suga solo stan, this one is for you. This Agust D figurine is inspired by the rapper’s 2023 hit “Haegeum” and depicts Suga in his music video look down to his accessories. The vinyl figure stands at 3.75 inches (9.5 cm) tall, the perfect size to display on a shelf.

You know what your fridge is likely lacking? BTS merch. Not to worry, though. You can now buy mini acrylic magnets depicting portraits of each member at Walmart. These magnets include all seven members of BTS, all suited up in their 2021 “Permission to Dance” live stage outfits. The magnets are currently available for $5.97, so you can buy all seven magnets without breaking the bank. Or you could be a proud solo stan and just grab one.

These six-inch BTS figures are meant to for display and would look pretty amazing alongside your other BTS merch. Retailing for $11.99, each figure depicts one of the members in a colorful anime-esque style attached to a base so the figure can stand up. If you want to buy all seven members’ figures, the whole lot will run you $49.99.

Similar to the figure above, this figure depicts each member of BTS in a sweet little chibi style, but with a twist. These collectables were made in collaboration with Tamagotchi Nano, a miniature, portable version of the popular Tamagotchi virtual pet. Nestled in the lap of each figure, you’ll find a functioning Tamagotchi Nano loaded up with two mini games and little playable characters depicting the BTS members. Interactive and fun, we can envision this piece making a great gift for the gamer ARMY in your life.

Even More BTS Merch That We Love

Mr. Mayers’ class is in session. A$AP Rocky headed back to a Harlem elementary school to teach kids a thing or two about rap for the Wednesday (Feb. 4) episode of Celebrity Substitute.

Rocky was peppered with questions initially by the inquisitive fourth graders, who asked about his real age, if he had ever been bullied and if he was married to Rihanna. Each student then had a crash course in Rap 101, which saw them flip their names into a couple of rhymes.

“[Rap] means everything. Rap is my life. I was actually just like you guys. I grew up not too far and that’s where I learned to rap,” he said.

Rocky surprised the kids by building out a professional recording studio space in the school, and they each had a chance to bring their bars to rap over the Harlem native’s Don’t Be Dumb single “Punk Rocky” beat.

Fatherhood is treating Rocky well, as his parenting skills were on full display while being patient with every kid and giving them some helpful rap tips. He even stepped in to deliver some bars himself.

Rocky also played music-video director while assisting in choreographing the kids’ debut visual “IDK,” which was shot in the classroom in part with a fish-eye lens.

“Welcome to Harlem/ This is where I live/ There’s no other place as unique as this,” a couple of the students rapped together.

It looked to be a heartwarming exchange for Rocky reconnecting with the youth, and the students got a once-in-a-lifetime experience out of it, too.

The Mob frontman delivered his Don’t Be Dumb album in January, which debuted atop the Billboard 200 with 123,000 total album units earned.

Watch Rocky’s Celebrity Substitute episode below.