How a Canine’s Timely Appearance Led to Lobo’s First Hit in 1971

Many people heard the series of soft-rocking hits in the 70s from Lobo and assumed that it was the work of a band. In actuality, Lobo was the alter ego of Roland Kent Lavoie, a singer-songwriter with a knack for warm melodies and inviting lyrics.

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Lavoie/Lobo first made a splash on the national scene with the 1971 hit single “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo”. The song, helped along by a timely appearance by Lavoie’s canine, spoke to the wanderlust that defined the younger generation at the time.

Lavoie to Lobo

Roland Kent Lavoie, a Florida native, started his musical path by playing in several bands. He was joined in one of the bands in the early 60s by Gram Parsons and Jim Stafford, two musicians who’d soon make their own mark. Eventually, Lavoie started to work on his own material.

Interestingly enough, it was a song that flopped that led to him taking on his nom de plume. Lavoie recorded a song under his own name in 1969 based on the success that the New York Mets were enjoying that season. Despite the Mets winning it all that year, nobody paid much attention to the song.

When Lavoie had written “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” (more on how that happened in a second), everyone thought it sounded like a hit. It was suggested to him that he record under a different name, since his name had already been attached to a failure. He came up with Lobo.

“Dog” Days

Lobo’s first big hit originated from a conversation he had with a song plugger named Billy Michele. They were talking about music when Michele mentioned that everyone was suddenly focusing on songs about young people traveling and having exciting life experiences. Lavoie thought he’d try a song like that.

He centered the song on a couple who traveled from place to place. But he was trying to be grammatically correct with the phrasing. Lavoie gave up on that and switched the lyrics from “you and me” to “me and you.” That opened him up to more rhyming possibilities in the refrain.

The final piece of the puzzle came when his dog, fortuitously named Boo, popped into Lavoie’s eyeline. Very quickly, “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” started to come together. The song became a sensation upon its release in 1971. It eventually dropped Lobo in the Top 5 of the US pop charts on his first try under the new name.

Behind the Lyrics of “Me And You And A Dog Named Boo”

“Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” sings the praises of constant motion. The narrator tells his story during a period of stagnancy: “I wish we were back on the road again.” Georgia, St. Paul, and Los Angeles are all on the itinerary as he looks back at his experiences in each place.

That final destination causes him to contemplate putting down roots. “The lights of the city put settlin’ down in my brain.” But the chorus keeps coming back into the picture and reminding him of the best times in his life. “Travelin’ and livin’ off the land,” Lobo sings. “Me and you and a dog named Boo/How I love bein’ a free man.”

“Me And You And A Dog Named Boo” proved to be the first of several hits by Lobo. He even enjoyed success in the disco era with “Where Were You When I Was Falling In Love”. To think that it all started with a girl, a dog, and the open road.

Photo by Gems/Redferns