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 eye patch,
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 follow-up 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.
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