01. When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman
02. Sylvia's Mother
03. The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan
04. A Little Bit More (Single Version)
05. More Like The Movies
06. If Not You
07. Knowing She's There
08. I Don't Want To Be Alone Tonight
09. Better Love Next Time
10. Sexy Eyes
11. You Make My Pants Want To Get Up And Dance
12. Baby Makes My Blue Jeans Talk
13. The Cover Of The Rolling Stone
14. The Millionaire
15. Carry Me Carrie
16. Wild Colonial Boy
17. In Over My Head
18. Girls Can Get It
19. Sharing The Night Together
20. Sleeping Late
21. A Couple More Years
22. Stuck On The Wrong Side Of Love
23. Years From Now
Biography:
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show`s sardonic, country-flavored pop/rock made them one of the most fondly remembered acts of AM pop radio`s heyday in the `70s. Although the band had a reputation as a mouthpiece for humorist Shel Silverstein, who supplied several of their biggest hits (including "The Cover of Rolling Stone"), they didn`t rely exclusively on his material by any means. And, during their peak years, they were just as famed for their crazed stage antics, which ranged from surreal banter to impersonating their own opening acts.
The band was formed in Union City, NJ, in 1968, when a young singer/songwriter named Dennis Locorriere teamed up with Alabama-born country-rocker Ray Sawyer. Sawyer`s distinctive stage presence stemmed from his enormous cowboy hat and an eye patch that hid injuries from a serious car accident in 1967. Sharing the spotlight on guitar and lead vocals, the duo teamed up with Sawyer`s bandmates from a group called the Chocolate Papers: George Cummings (lead and steel guitars), Billy Francis (keyboards), and Popeye Phillips (drums). Phillips soon moved home to Alabama and was replaced by local drummer John "Jay" David. Sawyer`s eye patch inspired the nickname Dr. Hook, after the Captain Hook character in Peter Pan; with the rest of the band christened the Medicine Show (a possible drug reference), they began playing some of the roughest bars in the Union City area, concentrating mostly on country music out of sheer necessity. Anxious to find a more hospitable environment, the band recorded some demos, and in early 1970 their manager played the tapes for Ron Haffkine, who was working as musical director for the film Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? Haffkine had been looking for bands to perform the songs written for the soundtrack by Shel Silverstein, an ex-folkie, Playboy cartoonist, and children`s author who`d penned Johnny Cash`s hit "A Boy Named Sue." He took an instant liking to Locorriere`s voice, and became the group`s manager and producer, signing them to record "Last Morning" for the film soundtrack and also landing a deal with CBS.
Now known simply as Dr. Hook, they signed with Capitol in 1975, debuting with Bankrupt, which began to feature more group originals. A cover of Sam Cooke`s "Only Sixteen" returned them to the Top Ten in 1976 and revitalized their career; although Cummings left the band that year, further hits followed over the next few years in "A Little Bit More," "Sharing the Night Together," "When You`re in Love With a Woman," and "Sexy Eyes." 1979`s Pleasure & Pain became their first gold album, cementing the band`s transition into disco-tinged balladeers. However, Elswit had to leave the band for a year after developing cancer; he was replaced by Bob "Willard" Henke, who remained in the lineup after Elswit`s return. Ray Sawyer, however, did not; dissatisfied with their newly commercial direction, he departed in 1980, robbing Dr. Hook of, well, Dr. Hook. With Rod Smarr replacing Henke, the remainder of the band switched from Capitol to Casablanca, with very little success; after a few bill-paying tours, they finally gave up the ghost in 1985. Locorriere became a session and touring vocalist, backing Randy Travis in 1989, and in 1996 recorded the solo LP Running With Scissors. Sawyer still tours under the Dr. Hook name, though he licenses it from Locorriere. Drummer Wolters died of cancer in 1997.
