DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (CelebrityAccess) Ray Sawyer, 81, singer for the band Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show, died in Daytona Beach, Fla., after a brief illness, according to his publicist.
Sawyer, known for his eye-patch and for the song “Cover of Rolling Stone,” stopped performing three years ago because of declining health, according to the New York Post.
Sawyer appeared on several hits including “Sylvia’s Mother,” “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” and “Sexy Eyes.”
The band Dr. Hook, shortened from Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show in 1975, had commercial success throughout the ’70s, performing songs they wrote as well as those written by poet Shel Silverstein. The founding members started a band called The Chocolate Papers, playing the south and East Coast before eventually reforming as Dr. Hook.
The band had several moments of success but non more lasting than their song “The Cover of Rolling Stone,” which led to magazine founder Jann Wenner sending 16-year-old Cameron Crowe to interview the band and putting it on the cover of its 131st issue.
