Song:When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman
Album:Collection
Dr. Hook were one of the most popular groups of the 70s. Their success at first was with songs written by legendary humorist Shel Silverstein. In 1975 they switched labels and became a more conventional country rock band. The 1979 single When You're In Love With a Beautiful Woman was their biggest hit but not their most memorable song. They were called The Chocolate Papers when Ray Sawyer, George Cummings and Billy Francis started the band in the mid 60s in Alabama. Cummings, Sawyer and Francis moved to Union City, NJ and they added lead singer Dennis Locorriere. The name Dr. Hook was because Sawyer lost an eye in a 1967 car crash and he wore an eyepatch. The full name was Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. Drummer John David was added to the band. The way they got a record deal was producer Ron Haffkine was working on the film Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? with Shel Silverstein. After listening to Dr. Hook's demo, Silverstein thought they would be perfect for the film. Haffkine got them a deal with Columbia. The band's early hits like Sylvia's Mother and The Cover of the Rolling Stone were written by Silverstein and produced by Haffkine. After things went south at Columbia, Dr. Hook shortened their name in 1975 and moved to Capitol. By this time David was replaced by John Wolters and Cummings was replaced by Rik Elswit and Bob Henke. They weren't working with Silverstein anymore so Dr. Hook became a conventional country rock band. Top ten hits included Only Sixteen (1976), Sharing The Night Together (1978) and Sexy Eyes (1979). When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman is from the 1978 album Pleasure & Pain. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the British charts which is why it's their biggest hit. The album was recorded at Muscle Shoals. Even Stevens followed Haffkine to the studio bathroom to pitch him the song. Stevens released an album on Elektra in 1977. But mostly he wrote a lot of songs with country singer Eddie Rabbit. Dr. Hook moved to Casablanca in 1980. Sawyer left in 1983 and they split up in 1985. This 2CD comp has Columbia and Capitol hits. Locorriere owns the Dr. Hook name so he has continued to tour. Sawyer was given a license to use the name. He toured from 1988-2015 and he died in 2018. Here's Dr. Hook performing When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman on The Midnight Special 1979.
No comments:
Post a Comment