They were there to look good and make hit records, and that's exactly what they did, amassing fourteen gold or platinum awards between 1969 and 1976. They outlasted nearly all of their contemporaries, and most of their critics.
Purists believe there's some virtue in being unknown and living in poverty.
If being commercial meant satisfying your audience, then yes, we were commercial. And proud of it. But see, you had to listen to what the man was writing . He's not a performer, he's a composer. Mama Told Me Not To Come Three Dog Night 2.