Dennis Locorriere, Dr. Hook’s frontman dies at 76

Sylvia’s Mother and The Cover of Rolling Stone…

@FanAttick

Quite a rass run he/they had! First time I'm hearing his name but his voice is etched indelibly in my memory. Now, which Jamaican that, in 1972 was not a baby or living under a rock, would not have known and sung "Sylvia's Mother" by Dr Hook and the Medicine Show!? Who?? And who would not have felt a pang of sadness at the story line? Can anyone name me a song to evoke more feeling of sympathy and emotion than this one? Dennis delivered a masterclass here.

It wasn't medicine but good show it was, just the same, Dennis Locorriere. Thanks for the memories. May your soul rest in peace.

And BTW, Fan, dem white boys at uni did tell me seh "The Cover of Rolling Stone" did in trute land dem pon de cover of Rolling Stone. ...Jack Mandora...

--Æ.

@FanAttick

wow. Sad

........................

Dr Hook – Sylvia’s Mother | The story behind the song |

I always wanted to know if Sylvia's Mother existed or Sylvia 

Today , I found it was a true story of unrequited love.

Shel Silverstein's profound love for Sylvia Maria Pandolfi was the driving force behind his most vulnerable piece of songwriting. While Silverstein was widely celebrated for his sharp satire, whimsical children's books, and eccentric humor, his relationship with Pandolfi exposed a deeply earnest, heartbroken side of the artist.Humiliated and deeply saddened by the finality of the call, and the literal countdown of the payphone operator asking for more money, Silverstein immediately channeled his raw grief into lyrics. He passed the song to Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, instructing them to sing it completely straight, with genuine, unironic sorrow

One can feel the emotion as Dennis Locorriere sings the song written by...Shel Silverstein

Instead of moving to Texas as the lyrics suggested, Sylvia moved to Mexico to marry a Mexican man. She built an accomplished, highly pragmatic life entirely separate from the music world:

Distinguished Career: Sylvia became a prominent art professional, eventually serving as a respected museum curator and director at the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil in Mexico City.

The Secret Revealed: 

For 30 years, Sylvia never told anyone outside her immediate family that she was the "Sylvia" from the radio.The Discovery: In 2002, a Dutch television producer named Arjan Vlakveld discovered her identity by pure coincidence while chatting with an American woman at a gathering. 

He subsequently tracked down both Sylvia and her elderly mother in Mexico to film a short documentary about them

Dennis Locorriere. Thanks for the memories. May your soul rest in peace.

bump...

@sgtdjones

Bumbleet! So, de story a true, Sarge? Thanks for this and thanks also for the bump, 'cause me neva woulda see't.

You know what this tells me then... that Dennis Locorriere really got Shel Silverstein's plight and sympathised 100 percent. If anything, I would've thought it was his own story. Again, well done, Dennis, and walk good, sah.

Come een, Selecta, lick back da chune deh fimme deh!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLAWo-PsjwI

--Æ.

@JayMor

Here is he at his best

Emotion as Shel Silverstein wanted.

Bon Jovi - Sylvia's mother

Love Bon Jovi but no one will ever do it better than Dr Hook

I wrote a column for one of the NYT magazines when I was at University in England about many iconic songs across various genres telling true stories. If I can find such will post it.

@JayMor

Can anyone name me a song to evoke more feeling of sympathy and emotion than this one? 

You are opening up a can of worms here.

1) Patches - by far the most affective.

2) A boy name Junior

3) El Paso

4) Johnny Was

5) Footprints

6) In the ghetto

Unrequited love:

1) The Chilites (thanks to Record's personal experience) have quite a few.

2) Holman has a collection of those

3) Never Gonna Give you Up

4) Aint no Sunshine

5) She's Gone

6) Got to Get Away

7) Tears

@JayMor Sylvia’s Mother brings back so many memories…I had a huge crush on a girl in my primary school named Sylvia😀 I also remember having to pay the operator 40 cents to continue calls all the way up to the mid-80s

@sgtdjones Shel Silverstein was a legend in his own right..Where the Sidewalk Ends was great..even my kids loved it …

@JoeGrine

Silhouettes by The Rays…popularized in Yard by Dennis Brown

Have you seen her is one of those Chi-lites tunes you’re referring to

@JoeGrine

Yes, Missa Grine, nuff respect to your list. Some unfamiliar numbers are among them (will find and check them later); still, most of them I know off the top, and would pit Sylvia against them anytime for affectiveness. It's not just the story line, but also the delivery-- the conveyance of the feeling even if the listener didn't comprehend the words (ponder the late Sakamoto's "Sukiyaki", for e.g.).

Of your choices, "A Boy Named Junior" would be my first choice -- no pun intended.😊 (And I'm not just being partial to the Philly Sound either.) "In the Ghetto" will rank a close second; Marlena could never top that performance. Nice contribution, Missa Hornerman. LOL. Wish there was a forum for serious music discussions such as this.

--Æ.

@JayMor

he had a great voice.

word is he was a really nice person. I know someone who worked with him.

@FanAttick

I also remember having to pay the operator 40 cents to continue calls all the way up to the mid-80s

Man and man had to surrender/forego out-of-area and out-of-state loves to local men because dem cost deh add up fast, and yuh know seh student always bruk and love chat long. 😀

I read through your Wiki link there, Fan. Shel Silverstein wasn't too shabby there himself! Quite accomplished, I must say. I had wondered after Sarge revealed a bit on the real Sylvia and her success. I can't help but to wonder if she ever felt --you know-- a way after she saw his name in the lights. (Not at all suggesting crying over spilled milk...)

"Where the Sidewalk Ends" is a recommendation then, right? I'll try to check it out, then perhaps some more of Shel. Nice, Fan, thanks.

--Æ.

@Chrissy

Good to hear, sis. May Dennis's soul rest in eternal peace.

--Æ.

@JayMor

would pit Sylvia against them anytime for affectiveness. It's not just the story line, but also the delivery-- the conveyance of the feeling even if the listener didn't comprehend the words

Respect to you, however, go take a listen to "Patches" again, sung by a blind man relating his experience.

@JoeGrine

go take a listen to "Patches" again, sung by a blind man relating his experience

Great tune, Joe, told his story with feeling for sure, but I think it's the seriousness of the lyrics that's got you. "Slip Away" and "Too Weak to Fight" weren't far behind either; it was kind of his style, no? (Caught him with his then-wife, Candi Staton in about 1972-73 at-- I want t say Odeon, but that was at HWT I think, and it's coming to me now more like Silver Slipper Plaza in CR (don't remember that theatre's name). Yes, I'm very familiar with Clarence Carter's songs of the 70's. He died last week at 90 y.o. May he RIP.

Dawned on me that your "In the Ghetto" was Elvis Pressley, whereas I took it to be Marlena Shaw's "Woman of the Ghetto". Sorry. The rock-and-roll king did well here, but will not score above Marlena in what appears to be a natural for her.

A couple more that meet the requirements for our narrow genre here would be...

Tyrone Taylor - Cottage in Negril

Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come

Otis Redding - Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

--Æ.