Dr. Hook and the
Medicine Show
Who Are
They?
Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show got their start
around 1968 playing the bar circuit in and around Union City, New Jersey. Originally, they were
comprised of five people, most notably Ray Sawyer on vocals and guitar and Dennis
Locorriere on lead and vocals. Sawyer's trademarks were the cowboy hat and the eyepatch, the
result of an automobile accident in 1967. Locorriere was bearded. Both guys were the center of the
group because of their crazy antics onstage. Their energy, strange sense of humor (they once
appeared as their own opening act!) alternating with the ability to pull off an emotional ballad made
Dr. Hook one of the most successful bands in the 1970s, scoring 35 gold or platinum hits.
What Does This Have
to Do With Shel Silverstein?
The story of how Silverstein and Dr. Hook started a very successful collaboration can be found in
more detail in the November 9, 1972 article of Rolling Stone magazine (see link below). In
brief, Ron Haffkine was overseeing the musical production on the 1971 movie Who Is Harry
Kellerman And Why Is He Saying All Those Terrible Things About Me?, for which Silverstein
was writing the songs. Haffkine was searching for the right group to interpret Silverstein's songs, but
had proved unlucky in his search until the manager of Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show contacted
Haffkine about taking on the group. Haffkine listened to Dr. Hook's demo, loved it, and promptly
pitched it to a prominent official at Columbia Records, who also liked what he heard. Silverstein also
heard the demo and decided to fly to New Jersey to hear the group in action. Obviously convinced,
Dr. Hook recorded all the songs for Kellerman and began work on their first album, which
was written entirely by Silverstein. A single from the album, "Sylvia's Mother," was so popular that it
shot to #1 on the pop charts all over the world and was played endlessly on AM radio. Silverstein
contributed all the songs to Dr. Hook's followup album, Sloppy Seconds, and in the years that
passed the group would continue to sing and record more Silverstein songs.
What's the Group
Doing These Days?
Sadly, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, after weathering instant stardom, bankruptcy, several
comebacks, much touring, a lawsuit by their former drummer Jay David, and a fall into meaningless
gigs to pay the bills, finally broke apart in 1985. Sawyer currently resides in Nashville with his wife
and children, as does Locorriere. Sawyer formed an R&B-themed group that toured for a while in the
1980's. According to Dr. Hook fan Andy May, Sawyer now tours under the name "Dr. Hook"--though he has to license the name from Dennis Locorriere.
Locorriere was a backup singer for Randy
Travis over a decade ago, and in 1989 he was the lone actor in the production of Silverstein's epic
poem The Devil and
Billy Markham. Since then, he's done some touring in Europe and has released some solo albums, the most recent being "Running with Scissors".
As for the other members of the group, the drummer, John Wolters, died of cancer in 1997. Rik Elswit does a lot of guitar related reviews for
a guitar store in San Raphael, CA & plays in a new band with David Gans &
The Broken Angels. Jance Garfat evidently has email, but that is as yet unconfirmed. And it is not really known what George Cummings, Billy Francis are up to. It is doubtful that the group will be getting back together soon.
On a personal note, I am very glad to have discovered the music of Dr. Hook. I haven't listened to
many of their songs, but the ones I have are almost all winners. Admittedly, I haven't decided if it is
due to Dr. Hook's interpretational skills or to Silverstein's songwriting skills, but then again, I'm happy
I don't have to make that distinction.
Articles and
Reviews
Dr. Hook's
VD and Medicine Shows from Rolling Stone, November 9, 1972.
Dr. Hook, This Is Your Life and Your Cover from Rolling Stone, March 22,
1973.
A Review of Sloppy Seconds from Rolling Stone, March 29, 1973.
Goodbye Bunny, Hello Dr. Hook from Rolling Stone, July 31, 1975.
Down and Out With Dr. Hook from Rolling Stone, December 2, 1979.
Where Are
They Now? from Rolling Stone, September 10, 1987.
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