by Anonymous
Dr. Hook
"Who Is Harry Kellerman And Why Is He Saying All Those Terrible Things About Me?" OST 1971
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.
The story of how Shel 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.
DL
"Who Is Harry Kellerman And Why Is He Saying All Those Terrible Things About Me?" OST 1971
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.
The story of how Shel 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.
DL
posted by Lizardson at 8:23 PM
3 Comments:
Wow! Who knew? That's fascinating. I've read S.S., and seen a collection of his one-acts (real fun stuff), but knew nothing about soundtracks and writing for Dr. Hook. Can't wait to give this a listen. Many Thanks.
I Thank'U
Hi there. Could you please re-up this? Thanks.
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