What are Dr. Hook’s 5 Biggest US Hits?

Whether they were performing as Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show or simply Dr. Hook, this band that originated from New Jersey did a lot of damage on the pop charts. The group managed a decade’s worth of pop hits in their time together.

Interestingly enough, they had six hits that landed at either No. 5 or No. 6 on the US pop charts over the years. One of those, the Sam Cooke cover “Only Sixteen”, just missed the cut here. The other five are Dr. Hook’s biggest American hits.

5. “Cover Of The Rolling Stone” – No. 6 in 1972

Dr. Hook benefitted early in their career from receiving a steady supply of songs from Shel Silverstein. Silverstein had a way of approaching pop music from angles not yet attempted. He wrote “Cover Of The Rolling Stones” as a parody of the old story of a band wanting to make it to the big time. Of course, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy when Dr. Hook did indeed make it to the cover. Ray Sawyer, who usually served as percussionist for the band, sang lead here. And he delivered a charmingly offbeat performance that winked at the self-reflexivity of it all.

4. “Sharing The Night Together” – No. 6 in 1978

You couldn’t count Dr. Hook out for very long. It seemed like they always managed to follow up an album without any hits with an LP that brought them to the spotlight. In 1978, Pleasure And Pain served as one of their comeback records. Recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to give it serious soul credibility, it established them as laid-back, romantic balladeers. In lead singer Dennis Locorriere, they had a guy who could handle that material quite well. “Sharing The Night Together”, written by Ava Aldridge and Eddie Struzick, was right in his wheelhouse.

3. “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman” – No. 6 in 1979

Songwriter Even Stevens eventually became a go-to guy for crossover country success, as evidenced by a string of hits he helped to pen for Eddie Rabbit in the early 80s. But before that, he wrote this track with just enough of a disco lilt to keep things current. Stevens allegedly hounded Dr. Hook’s producer Ron Haffkine until he relented and took “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman” to the band. Not only did the track hit the Top 10 in the US, but it also became Dr. Hook’s lone No. 1 hit in the United Kingdom.

2. “Sexy Eyes” – No. 5 in 1980

Let’s just pause for a minute to appreciate what these guys pulled off at the end of the 70s. At a time when many other bands who came of age in the early 70s were scuffling to stay in the pop music mix, Dr. Hook churned out three songs in a row that landed in the Top 15. First was the aforementioned “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman”, followed by “Better Love Next Time”, which peaked at No. 12. Then came “Sexy Eyes”, another testament to lust and l’amour that took the band into the 80s in style.

1. “Sylvia’s Mother” – No. 5 in 1972

Dr. Hook’s biggest hit is also their finest musical achievement. It started with Shel Silverstein, who wrote a crackerjack weeper. Indeed, Silverstein actually lived through the situation described in the song. He tried to call a soon-to-be-wed ex to change her mind at the last minute, only to be rebuffed by her mother. Dr. Hook took it from there and pitched in with some tortured harmonies. And lead singer Dennis Locorriere captures both the desperation and devastation that envelop the hapless narrator.

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