Although Ray Sawyer, with his eye-patch and cowboy hat, was the most instantly recognisable member of Dr Hook, it was Dennis Locorriere, who has died aged 76 after suffering from kidney disease, who sang lead vocals on most of their best-known songs.
It was he who sang their breakthrough hit Sylvia’s Mother (1972), which reached No 5 in the US and No 2 in Britain and topped the charts in several other countries, and he was the singer of the 1979 British chart-topper When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman (which also reached No 6 in the US). Only Sixteen, A Little Bit More, Better Love Next Time, and Sexy Eyes were all showcases for Locorriere’s smooth vocal skills, though Sawyer and Locorriere joined forces to sing the 1978 easy-listening hit Sharing the Night Together. It was Locorriere, too, who sang The Ballad of Lucy Jordan, which was not a hit for Dr Hook but climbed charts around the world when it was memorably covered by Marianne Faithfull in 1979.
