Easy to Be Hard - Wikipedia Easy to Be Hard `` Easy to Be Hard '' Single by Three Dog Night from the album Suitable for Framing B - side `` Dreaming Is n't Good For You '' Released August 2, 1969 Genre Rock Length 3 : 10 Label Dunhill Records 4203 Songwriter ( s ) Galt MacDermot, James Rado, Gerome Ragni Producer ( s ) Gabriel Mekler Three Dog Night singles chronology `` One '' ( 1969 ) `` Easy to Be Hard '' ( 1969 ) `` Eli 's Coming '' ( 1969 ) `` One '' ( 1969 ) `` Easy to Be Hard '' ( 1969 ) `` Eli 's Coming '' ( 1969 ) `` Easy to Be Hard '' is a song from the rock musical Hair. It was written by Galt MacDermot, James Rado, and Gerome Ragni, who put the musical together in the mid-1960s. The original recording of the musical featuring the song was released in May 1968 with the song being sung by Lynn Kellogg, who performed the role of Sheila on stage in the musical. The song was first covered by American band Three Dog Night on their 1969 album Suitable for Framing, with the lead vocal part sung by Chuck Negron, and was produced by Gabriel Mekler. Three Dog Night 's version of the song reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1969, and was ranked number 33 on Billboard 's Hot 100 songs of 1969. Other versions John Rowles released the song as a single in 1969 in the Netherlands. Jennifer Warnes released the song as a single in 1969. It reached peaked on the chart at number 128 in the US. Sérgio Mendes and Brasil ' 66 released the song as a single in 1970 in the United Kingdom. Shirley Bassey released a version, first issued as the B - side to her hit Something in 1970, and subsequently featured on her album of the same name. Cheryl Barnes released a version as a single in 1979. It reached number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three Dog Night 's version was sampled on the song `` One to One Religion '' by Bomb The Bass and on the song `` Old to the New '' by Nice & Smooth in 1994. Their song was also sampled on the song `` A Grand Love Theme '' by Kid Loco in 1997. Minneapolis rock group Golden Smog covered the song in 1992 on their debut EP On Golden Smog. In media Three Dog Night 's version was used in the 2005 The Simpsons episode, `` Thank God, It 's Doomsday '' and at the beginning of the 2007 film Zodiac. References Jump up ^ Three Dog Night, Suitable for Framing Retrieved February 26, 2014 Jump up ^ Three Dog Night `` Easy to be Hard '' OnTV on YouTube ; retrieved February 26, 2014 Jump up ^ Three Dog Night, `` Easy to Be Hard '' single release Retrieved February 26, 2014 Jump up ^ Three Dog Night, `` Easy to Be Hard '' Chart Positions Retrieved February 26, 2014 Jump up ^ `` Billboard Top 100 - 1969 ''. Archived from the original on May 3, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2014. Jump up ^ John Rowles, `` Easy to Be Hard '' single release Retrieved February 26, 2014 Jump up ^ Jennifer Warnes, `` Easy to Be Hard '' Chart Positions Retrieved February 26, 2014 Jump up ^ Sérgio Mendes and Brasil ' 66, `` Easy to Be Hard '' single release Retrieved February 26, 2014 Jump up ^ Cheryl Barnes, `` Easy to Be Hard '' Chart Positions Retrieved February 26, 2014 Three Dog Night Danny Hutton Michael Allsup Paul Kingery Pat Bautz Eddie Reasoner David Morgan Cory Wells Chuck Negron Jimmy Greenspoon Floyd Sneed Joe Schermie Skip Konte Al Ciner Gary Moon Richard Campbell Studio albums Three Dog Night ( 1968 ) Suitable for Framing ( 1969 ) It Ai n't Easy ( 1970 ) Naturally ( 1970 ) Harmony ( 1971 ) Seven Separate Fools ( 1972 ) Cyan ( 1973 ) Hard Labor ( 1974 ) Coming Down Your Way ( 1975 ) American Pastime ( 1976 ) It 's a Jungle ( 1983 ) Live albums Captured Live at the Forum ( 1969 ) Around the World with Three Dog Night ( 1973 ) Compilations Golden Bisquits ( 1971 ) Joy to the World : Their Greatest Hits ( 1975 ) The Best of 3 Dog Night ( 1982 ) Celebrate : The Three Dog Night Story, 1965 -- 1975 ( 1993 ) 20th Century Masters -- The Millennium Collection : The Best of Three Dog Night ( 1999 ) Singles `` Nobody '' `` Try a Little Tenderness '' `` One '' `` Easy to Be Hard '' `` Eli 's Coming '' `` Celebrate '' `` Mama Told Me ( Not to Come ) '' `` Out in the Country '' `` One Man Band '' `` Joy to the World '' `` Liar '' `` An Old Fashioned Love Song '' `` Never Been to Spain '' `` The Family of Man '' `` Black & White '' `` Pieces of April '' `` Shambala '' `` Let Me Serenade You '' `` The Show Must Go On '' `` Sure As I 'm Sittin ' Here '' `` Play Something Sweet ( Brickyard Blues ) '' `` Til the World Ends '' `` Everybody Is a Masterpiece '' `` It 's a Jungle Out There '' Discography Book Jennifer Warnes Studio albums Jennifer Jennifer Warnes Shot Through the Heart Famous Blue Raincoat The Hunter The Well Singles `` Easy to Be Hard '' `` Right Time of the Night '' `` Do n't Make Me Over '' `` It Goes Like It Goes '' `` Up Where We Belong '' `` All the Right Moves '' `` First We Take Manhattan '' `` ( I 've Had ) The Time of My Life '' Compilations Best of Jennifer Warnes Love Lifts Us Up : A Collection 1968 - 83 Hair : The American Tribal Love - Rock Musical Songs `` Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In '' `` Easy to Be Hard '' `` Good Morning Starshine '' `` Hair '' `` Three - Five - Zero - Zero '' Cast recordings Off - Broadway Broadway ( original ) Film and TV adaptations Hair soundtrack Hair Live ! This 1960s single - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Easy_to_Be_Hard&oldid=842374238 '' Categories : 1967 songs 1969 singles 1979 singles Three Dog Night songs Jennifer Warnes songs Sérgio Mendes songs Dunhill Records singles Songs from Hair ( musical ) Songs from musicals Songs written for films 1960s single stubs Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 22 May 2018, at 01 : 34 ( UTC ). About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote the song easy to be hard
Answer: Galt MacDermot