Ray Sawyer (1937 - 2018)

[1finemrg]

Ray Sawyer passed away earlier this New Year's Eve at the age of 81. He had been in declining health in recent years, but passed away after a brief illness.

An original member of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, Ray lost an eye in a car crash in the mid-sixties. His iconic eye patch became instantly recognizable as he shared lead vocals with Dennis Locorriere on many of the band's early songs. He left the group for a solo career in 1981

Saw them twice. They bought down the house at Chicagofest in the late 70s, along with Pablo Cruise. They also did an interesting concert at a shopping mall called Old Chicago in Bolingbrook, Illinois. It featured a small amusement park inside, including a roller coaster which they thankfully turned off for the concert. The mall is long gone, lasted only five years and torn down 11 years after opening.

He was on lead for this one. The Top 10 smash put their likeness on the cover...believe it!

The Cover Of Rolling Stone - Dr Hook & The Medicine Show

Obituary

[OldSchoolAT40Fan]

If I am not mistaken, Ray Sawyer sung lead on many of Dr. Hook's later material, under the rebranding Dr. Hook. The band performed numerous times in my province, Newfoundland, implying that the group had a huge fanbase by many people in my province.

Will be missed for sure.

[mrjukebox]

Ray Sawyer was recently interviewed on Barry Scott's excellent program "The Lost 45's"-I'm thinking the interview was conducted quite a while ago.

[doofus67]

Jan 1, 2019 13:10:11 GMT -5 OldSchoolAT40Fan said:

If I am not mistaken, Ray Sawyer sung lead on many of Dr. Hook's later material...

Actually, when they had their string of soft rock hits from '76 through '82, it was Dennis Locorriere who provided the vocals.

[jamie9012]

R.I.P.