Wednesday 7/14/21 1am ET: Feature LP: Dr. Hook – Belly Up! (1973)

On the first listen I realized that this is what making music is all about. On Belly Up! Dr. Hook invites you into the house and plays music just because it’s fun. There’s no super-slick production, no formula songwriting, no celebrity sit-ins. In fact, there doesn’t seem to be any thought of trying to have a hit at all. This record sounds like it was made for fun, and it sounds like they had a lot of fun making it. I’m sure they were all starving and dying for a pay check at the time. But the effect of this album is to make me smile, and dance, and laugh, and feel sad. It’s very genuine. Sure, the vocals are technically awful. So what? These guys had personality and character. The songs are about real life situations and emotions. Things that I’ve felt and thought and seen and been through myself. And it’s just fun!
This was Dr. Hook’s third record. I checked out more of their stuff and find that I like the first four albums and after that they progressively get a bit more slick and hit-oriented. That’s okay, but this here is what making music is really about- good times with good friends.
Oh, I’ll tell you my wife used to hate Dr. Hook, too, until she realized how bouncy I get when I play this stuff. Now she doesn’t mind so much.

I only gave it four stars because I’m a musician and, really, this was a technically dreadful band. However, I couldn’t give it less than that because very few bands have the ability to capture life in the grooves the way Dr. Hook did. (Eric / Amazon)

Release January 1973

1 Acapulco Goldie 2:22
2 Penicillin Penny 2:52
3 Life Ain’t Easy 3:03
4 When Lilly Was Queen 2:25
5 Monterey Jack 1:14
6 You Ain’t Got The Right 3:51
7 Put a Little Bit On Me 3:10
8 The Ballad Of… 3:33
9 Roland the Roadie and Gertrude the Groupie 3:01
10 Come On In 1:45
11 The Wonderful Soup Stone 3:43

Monday 6/14/21 2pm ET: Sounds of The 70’s

The best music from 1970 – 1979 featuring tunes from: Raspberries, Elton John, Cheap Trick, Dave Mason, Van Halen, Billy Joel, Jackson 5, Jefferson Airplane, Kinks, Joe Hinton and more . . .

Monday 6/7/21 2pm ET: Sounds of The 70’s

The best music from 1970 – 1979 featuring tunes from: Cat Stevens, Supertramp, Doobie Brothers, Dr. Hook, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Paul Simon, Kenny Rogers, and more . .

Saturday 7pm ET: Great Soul Performances with Bobby Jay

This evening on “Great Soul Performances” we will pay tribute to and salute the late Herb Cox of the Cleftones, who passed away one week ago today, December 7th.

We will play all the hits of the Cleftones, plus you’ll hear Herb in his own words during an interview I did with him when Lar Enterprises produced their TV show “Our Doo Wop Journey.” And guess what”? Back in 1981, I was in the Cleftones for a hot minute alongside Herb, Charles James and the late Tony Gaines, and I’m gonna play a few songs of us singing during a practice session. I think you’ll enjoy the tribute. It begins at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT and 4PM PT.

Right afterwards comes “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” where on the playlist are: Gladys Knight & the Pips, Michael Jackson, Phil Collins, Blondie, Barry & Glodean White, Grandmaster Flash, Cliff Richard, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Johnny Mathis, Diana Ross & Lionel Richie, Dr. Hook and many more. Start time is 9PM ET, 8PM CT, 7PM MT & 6PM PT. I can’t wait for you to join me for our tribute to the late Herb Cox & the Cleftones this evening on RadioMaxMusic.Com.

In Memoriam: Ray Sawyer (1937 – 2018)

Ray Sawyer (February 1, 1937 – December 31, 2018) was an American singer and vocalist with the 1970s rock band, Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show. Though primarily a backing vocalist and occasional percussionist on congas or maracas, he sang lead on their hit song “The Cover of Rolling Stone” and was a recognisable presence in the band owing to the eyepatch and cowboy hat he wore. He was also the uncle of the vocalist of Wild Fire, Zack Sawyer.

Sawyer lost his right eye in a 1967 automobile accident. He said the following about his life around the time of his accident: “I must have played all the clubs from Houston to Charleston until I decided I was going insane from too much beans and music, and I gave it up. I saw a John Wayne movie and proceeded to Portland, Oregon, to be a logger complete with plaid shirt, caulk boots, and pike pole. 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’.” Dr. Hook had many hit singles such as “Sylvia’s Mother”, “The Cover of Rolling Stone”, “A Little Bit More”, “Only Sixteen”, “Walk Right In”, “Sharing the Night Together”, “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman”, “Better Love Next Time”, “Sexy Eyes”, “Girl Can Get It”, and “Baby Makes Her Bluejeans Talk”.

From 1988 to October 2015, Sawyer toured the nostalgia circuit as “Dr. Hook featuring Ray Sawyer,” under license from bandmate Dennis Locorriere, who tours separately and owns the Dr. Hook trademark. Sawyer retired in 2015 and died after a short illness, aged 81.

Wednesday 7pm: Great Soul Performances 2: The 80’s with Bobby Jay

“Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s” this evening, where you’ll hear: Sister Sledge, the O’Jays, George Benson, Hall & Oates, Billy Griffin, Dr. Hook, Teddy Pendergrass, Grandmaster Flash, Cliff Richard, Barry & Glodean White, Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder and much, much more. The “gavel” comes down at 7PM ET, 6PM CT, 5PM MT and 4PM PT. You have a pleasant day, I’m asleep, but I’ll see you later this evening for “Great Soul Performances 2: The 80s,” at the home of the best music on the internet, RadioMaxMusic.Com.

Feature Artist: Dr. Hook (Singles) 8pm ET

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, shortened in 1975 to Dr. Hook, was an American rock band, formed around Union City, New Jersey. They enjoyed considerable commercial success in the 1970s with hit singles including “Sylvia’s Mother”, “The Cover of Rolling Stone”, “Sharing the Night Together”, “A Little Bit More” and “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman”. In addition to their own material, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show performed songs written by the poet Shel Silverstein.

The band had eight years of regular chart hits, in both the U.S. and the UK, and greatest success with their later gentler material, as Dr. Hook. – Wikipedia