Three Dog Night – "Circle for a Landing" (1969)

Circle for a landing

It’s time to come on down 

YouGovAmerica, a market research firm, recently asked thousands of adults this question:

How confident are you that you could safely land a passenger airplane in an emergency situation, relying only on the assistance of air traffic control? 

46% of the males surveyed but only 20% of the females said they were either “very confident” or “somewhat confident” of their ability to bring a plane down safely in an emergency. 

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The only surprising thing about this finding is that the male number isn’t a lot higher than 46%.  

You can chalk that up to the modesty that is so characteristic of the male sex, because males clearly have a big edge when it comes to God-given airplane-handling aptitude.

46% of men disagree

If you don’t believe me, let’s consider the facts.

The Wright brothers were male – right?

Charles Lindbergh was male, too – as was famed test pilot Chuck Yeager.  

Not to mention astronauts Alan Shepard, John Glenn, and every one of the 12 astronauts who have walked on the moon.

“Sky” King, Han Solo, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell – the list of great male pilots goes on and on! 

Of course, not all famous pilots were men – there’s Amelia Earhart, for example.

I don’t know about you, but if I was to be seated next to Amelia Earhart on a plane and the pilot of that plane suddenly became incapacitated, I’d start saying my prayers.

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In closing, let me quote a recent Washington Post article:

Last May, a Florida man was returning home from a fishing trip in the Bahamas when the pilot of a single-engine Cessna 208 fell ill. With the guidance of an air traffic controller and flight instructor, Darren Harrison safely touched down at Palm Beach International Airport.

Darren Harrison was a male.  (Just sayin’.)

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Three Dog Night was a very underrated group – possibly because they didn’t write their own songs.  (Neither did Frank Sinatra or Dusty Springfield, of course.)

Instead, Three Dog Night covered songs by accomplished songwriters like Hoyt Axton, Dave Mason, Joni Mitchell, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson, Laura Nyro, Robbie Robertson, and Neil Young – to name just a few.

“Circle for a Landing” was written by Don Preston, a session guitarist who toured and recorded with Leon Russell, Joe Cocker, and others.  He and Russell co-wrote “Stranger in a Strange Land” – a truly great song.

Click here to listen to Three Dog Night’s recording of “Circle for a Landing,” which was released in 1969 on the group’s second (and best) album, Suitable for Framing.

Click here to buy the recording from Amazon.