Nashville’s Dr. Hook Rock Singer, Dennis Locorriere, Passes
Dennis Locorriere, the lead singer of the rock band Dr. Hook, has died at age 76.
He was the vocalist on a decade-long string of 1970s pop hits for the group, including “Sylvia’s Mother,” “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman,” “Sexy Eyes” and “Sharing the Night Together.” Locorriere was also a Nashville ad-jingle vocalist, a record promoter, a respected songwriter, a popular Nashville nightclub headliner and a solo recording artist.
The group was formed in 1968 as Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, a rowdy, New Jersey bar band. Locorriere was the lead singer, but Ray Sawyer (1937-2018) became its visual focus, wearing his trademark eye patch and leading the on-stage shenanigans.
Ron Haffkine (1938-2023) discovered the act and became its manager, producer and what he self-billed as its “musical director.” He arranged for the group to perform music for and appear in the 1970 Dustin Hoffman film Who Is Harry Kellerman. In 1971, Dr, Hook & The Medicine Show auditioned live in the Columbia Records office in New York, with Locorriere leading the band and Sawyer dancing on label chief Clive Davis’ desk.
Columbia issued the group’s debut LP in 1972. Shel Silverstein (1930-1999), another Haffkine management client, wrote all of the album’s songs, including “Sylvia’s Mother.” Locorriere’s plaintive/wry vocal propelled the song into the pop top-10. Later that year, the LP Sloppy Seconds yielded the Silverstein-penned “The Cover of Rolling Stone.” This was the act’s only big hit sung by Sawyer. It led to a Rolling Stone magazine cover story in 1973.
The band toured relentlessly, doing 300+ shows a year. But its carefree attitude about finances led a bankruptcy filing in 1974. The group shortened its name to Dr. Hook in 1975, signed with Capitol Records and issued the LP Bankrupt. It contained Locorriere’s Gold-selling revival of the Sam Cookie oldie “Only Sixteen,” which returned the band to the pop top-10 and became its first country-charting single. The singer also scored with “A Little Bit More” from this same collection.
Dennis Locorriere wrote/co-wrote the band’s next two successes, “A Couple More Years” and “If Not You” in 1976. The latter became Dr. Hook’s sole top-30 country single. The following year, its revival of the jug-band ditty “Walk Right In” became a No. 1 smash in Australia.
In 1977, Locorriere and the band moved to Nashville, which had long been their recording home. This coincided with its longest string of pop hits. Recorded in a style that would now be termed “yacht rock,” they included “Sharing the Night. Together” (1978), “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman” (1979), “Better Love Next Time” (1979) and “Sexy Eyes” (1980). These were written by top Music Row tunesmiths. Locorriere co-wrote “Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk” (1982), the band’s last top-30 pop hit. All of these titles were recorded in Nashville and/or Muscle Shoals.
Although the hits of this era solidified their stardom, neither Locorriere nor Sawyer liked them. They remained Southern-flavored roots rockers at heart. Ray Sawyer quit the group in 1983. Locorriere kept the band going and acquired the Dr. Hook brand.
During its heyday, Dr. Hook released 11 albums and sold an estimated 50 million records. It remains one of the biggest pop/rock acts to hail from Music City.
The group retired in 1985. Locorriere remained active in the Nashville music community. He briefly worked as a country record promoter, sang backup vocals on albums by Randy Travis and others, and worked as a studio ad-jingle singer. His expressive, sandpapery voice warbled the praises of McDonald’s, Coors Light, Long John Silvers, Ruffles Potato Chips and other national products.
He also continued to write. Locorriere’s songs have been recorded by Bob Dylan, Crystal Gayle, BJ Thomas, Helen Reddy, Willie Nelson, Southside Johnny, Olivia Newton-John and Jerry Lee Lewis. Locorriere released three solo albums, Out of the Dark (2000), One of the Lucky Ones (2005) and Post Cool (2010). He also issued three concert DVDs.
In 1989, he acted in the Lincoln Center production of Silverstein’s play The Devil And Billy Markham, garnering universally positive reviews. Dr. Hook always had a large international following, with hits in Australia, Norway, Denmark, New Zealand, Sweden, the U.K., Holland, Ireland and South Africa. Locorriere toured overseas, performing both newly written songs and Dr. Hook classics. He moved to the U.K. in 2002.
Locorriere repeatedly sued Ray Sawyer for using “Dr. Hook” to promote Sawyer’s bookings. Ron Haffkine was sued by his business partner, Bobby Heller. Legal tangles over song-publishing deals and master recordings further dogged Locorriere. In 2002, The Tennessean’s headline read, “Dr. Hook: Band’s Legacy Shattered.”
The singer persevered. In 2008, Dennis Locorriere toured the United Kingdom as a member of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings. He assembled a new Dr. Hook band to tour in celebration of the group’s 50th anniversary. In 2021-22 he led the revived Dr. Hook to concerts in Scandinavia and the British Isles. He retired in 2025.
Dennis Locorriere had been battling kidney disease in recent years. He passed away in West Sussex, England on May 16. He is survived by his wife Claire Anne, by son Jessejames Locorriere, an actor, and by daughter, Lily Locorriere. Funeral arrangements are unknown.
