Flash back to the ’70s.

Rock n’ roll is dominating the airwaves, and a song comes on that belts out, “Jeremiah was a bull frog, Was good friend of mine! I never understood a single word he said, but I helped him a-drink his wine!”

Remember that song? Then comes the chorus, “Joy to the World. All the Boys and Girls. Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea, Joy to you and me!”

That’s a few lyrics from the rock band Three Dog Night’s biggest seller, “Joy to the World.” That refrain from the ’70s, sums up what rock star and lead singer Cory Wells was all about – family, friends, fishing and the outdoors. A lot of us loved his songs as we were growing up and the lyrics come back quickly. I can honestly say, never in a million years, did I expect to meet the man behind the microphone in real life.

Many people in Dunkirk know Jim Nichols of Hometown Service. Nichols was the president of the Northern Chautauqua Conservation Club for a year or so and was instrumental in helping launch the “Con Club” annual Take-A-Kid Fishing program.

In the beginning, we would purchase fishing rods and give them away to any of the children who signed up. We didn’t have any hands-on activities at the time.

Nichols asked if his friend could come and help out with the kids and maybe show them how to use a fly rod, or tie flies. It sounded great! So at the monthly board meeting, in walks a stranger, who arrived riding a custom Kawasaki motorcycle, long hair and as laid back as they come.

Nichols announced, “This is my friend Cory Wells!”

“OK, great,” I said. “Who’s Cory Wells?:

Nichols replies, “The guy from Three Dog Night!”

Instantly, I have visions of press releases about our celebrity attending the event. Immediately, however, Nichols tells us, “No publicity! No photos.”

And that is the way it went. Wells was at our Take a Kid fishing event, and nary a photo was snapped. Cory had a great time and so did the kids and he planned on helping the next year, but his tour schedule with the band prevented him from returning. And then way too soon, Rock’n Roll Heaven needed another lead singer.

When Wells passed away last year, Nichols wanted the OBSERVER, to run a story about Wells and his passion for fishing. Because Cory’s life was so private, it would require a lot of input from Nichols and Cory’s wife, Mary.

Grief and some health issues delayed the story, but on the anniversary of Cory’s death, we were ready. All the stories, you will read were told to me by Mary Wells, his charming wife, in her kitchen.

Cory was raised in the east side of Buffalo, in a rough neighborhood. By several accounts in his biography, Cory was a gang member but he and his mother were accepted into a church in the black community where he became a member of the choir.

In his early teens, Cory was invited to go fishing in Canada, with his best friend Jerry Spaeth and his father. Cory’s mom said yes, and that trip became a life-changing event. They spent a week fishing and camping as Cory was introduced to the basics of fishing and the outdoors. He fell in love with fishing and continued that love affair for 60 years! Later Cory would take his family back to Canada on numerous occasions and spend their summers fly fishing and camping on Lake Consecon.

Cory’s rise to stardom didn’t happen overnight, as was told in the OBSERVER story last Sunday. But once it did arrive, Cory found time to indulge in his passion for fishing whenever he could. His wife stated that it was hard to find a lot of fishing opportunities when they lived in California, with traffic and crowds, and a lack of easy waterway access. When his house in California burned down, they moved around a bit and finally settled in Dunkirk, where his needs for fishing and the outdoors were right at his back door.

Mary Wells showed me a number of photographs of Cory, as he fished around North America. In a biography of Cory Wells it was documented that Cory served on the Board of Anglers, and was an active member of the Bass Angler Sportsman Society, Fishing Club of America, the Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club, and the American Sportsman Club. Cory appeared twice on ABC’s television show the “American Sportsman.” In the first show he pursued brown trout with master angler Lee Wulff, and in the second he went on a canoe trip with his close friend Curt Gowdy, fly fishing for small mouth bass in Maine.

Cory Wells also wrote bass fishing articles that appeared in Angler Magazine and bowfishing adventures for Bow & Arrow magazine. As a lifetime member of the Sierra Club, he sponsored Cory Wells Clean Up the Beach Campaign(s) on the West Coast.

Another close friend and fishing companion was William Conrad, star of the TV series “Cannon.” Conrad stated Cory was “as content casting a fly for bluegills as he was chasing 1,000-pound Marlin off the Kona Coast” in Hawaii.

Cory did not indulge in drugs, smoking or alcohol. While on tour, he would be up at 4 a.m. getting ready to try out a fly rod on a fishing stream or lake and often would be the first one on the water and the last to leave.

Mary Wells shared numerous memories of her husband Cory, with me in a short time span, too numerous for one or two columns. But what will last forever, is their love for each other and a passion for fishing and the outdoors.

Chances are that if you were fishing on a stream or on Lake Erie, you might have seen or talked with Cory Wells and would never have known he was a rock star whose music was known throughout the world.

That suited him just fine.

Gene Pauszek is an OBSERVER?outdoors columnist. Send comments to sports@observertoday.com