Ray Sawyer (February 1, 1937 – December 31, 2018) was an American percussionist and vocalist with the 1970s

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Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Though primarily a backing vocalist and occasional percussionist on

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, he sang lead on their hit song " The Cover of Rolling Stone" and was a recognizable presence in the band owing to the

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and cowboy hat he wore. He was also the uncle of

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vocalist Zack Sawyer.

Biography

Sawyer lost his right eye in a 1967

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accident. Sawyer said the following about his life before the time of his car accident: "I must have played all the clubs from

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to Charleston, until I decided I was going insane from too much beans and music, and I gave it up. I saw a

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movie and then proceeded to

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, to be a logger complete with plaid shirt,

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, and

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. On the way, my car slipped on the road and the accident left me with the eye patch I now wear. When I recovered, I ran straight back to the beans and music and vowed, 'Here, I'll stay'." Sawyer was the lead vocalist on the band's breakthrough hit, " The Cover of Rolling Stone," as well as many of the Medicine Show's earlier songs. He also released a self-titled solo album on Capitol Records in 1976. Eventually, by the late 1970s, as the band found commercial success, Sawyer stepped back into a backing vocalist role behind

Dennis Locorriere Dennis Michael Locorriere (born June 13, 1949) is the American lead vocalist and guitarist of the country rock group Dr. Hook (formerly Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show).Bonitto, Brian (2014)Hooking up with Dennis Locorriere, ''Jamaica Observer'', ...

, occasionally playing another instrument (for example, on "

Better Love Next Time "Better Love Next Time" is a song by Dr. Hook, released as a single in the fall of 1979. It was the first of three singles from their LP '' Sometimes You Win''. Background The lyrics involve the singer comforting and encouraging a grieving and ...

," one of the band's later hits, he can be seen with a prominent bongo part). Sawyer left the band in 1983, allegedly because he was no longer happy with the band's direction. From 1988 to October 2015, Sawyer toured the nostalgia circuit as "Dr. Hook featuring Ray Sawyer", under license from Locorriere, who tours separately and owns the Dr. Hook trademark. Sawyer retired in 2015 and died after a short illness, on December 31, 2018, 32 days before his 82nd birthday.

References

External links

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer, Ray 1937 births 2018 deaths American male singers American musicians with disabilities American percussionists American rock singers Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show members People from Mobile County, Alabama Singers from Alabama Eyepatch wearers