Ray Sawyer

Ray Sawyer (born February 1, 1937 in Chickasaw , Alabama , † December 31, 2018 in Daytona Beach ) was an American musician. He was the lead singer of the band Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show . With his cowboy hat, without which he was rarely seen, and an eye patch, he shaped the image of the band significantly.

Life

Sawyer began playing the drums professionally at the age of 17 . Sawyer lost his right eye in a car accident on a fishing trip in 1967. Sawyer was in a wheelchair for a full year before he recovered and moved to Los Angeles.

During a trip to the east coast he met Dennis Locorriere , with whom he founded the band Chocolate Papers . The band was formed in 1969 in Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show renamed and world famous , especially through the songs of Shel Silverstein . Since 1975 they only called themselves Dr. Hook . The first success came in 1972 with Sylvia's Mother . Other hits like Only Sixteen , Sexy Eyes , Sharing The Night Together brought her into the charts several times. Sawyer left the band in 1981 to pursue a solo career. 1983 other band members went their own ways until the band split up in 1984.

From then on, Ray Sawyer also started a solo career as a country singer and country songwriter , which was, however, without any notable success. From 1988 to October 2015 he toured as Dr. Hook featuring Ray Sawyer through the USA (under license from bandmate Dennis Locorriere, who tours separately and who owns the trademark Dr. Hook ).

Web links

Ray Sawyer in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Ray Sawyer at Discogs (English)

Individual evidence

^ Daniel Kreps: Dr. Hook's Ray Sawyer, 'Cover of Rolling Stone' Singer, Dead at 81. In: Rollingstone.com . December 31, 2018, accessed January 2, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Dr Hook's Ray Sawyer dies. In: BBC News . January 1, 2019, accessed on January 2, 2019 .
↑ Shane Pinnegar: Interview: Dennis Locorriere, Dr Hook - September 2015. In: 100% Rock Magazine. October 16, 2015, archived from the original on July 3, 2017 ; accessed on January 1, 2019 .

personal data
SURNAME	Sawyer, Ray
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American musician and singer
DATE OF BIRTH	February 1, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH	Chickasaw, Alabama , USA
DATE OF DEATH	December 31, 2018
Place of death	Daytona Beach , USA

[1] Daniel Kreps: Dr. Hook's Ray Sawyer, 'Cover of Rolling Stone' Singer, Dead at 81. In: Rollingstone.com . December 31, 2018, accessed January 2, 2019 .

[:0-2] Dr Hook's Ray Sawyer dies. In: BBC News . January 1, 2019, accessed on January 2, 2019 .

[3] Shane Pinnegar: Interview: Dennis Locorriere, Dr Hook - September 2015. In: 100% Rock Magazine. October 16, 2015, archived from the original on July 3, 2017 ; accessed on January 1, 2019 .