Our final telephone-themed classic song of the day this week is “Sylvia’s Mother” by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. Released in March of 1972, this melodramatic tearjerker peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and a big #1 on the Cash Box Top 100.
“Sylvia’s Mother” was written by children’s book author Shel Silverstein and it was his first collaboration with Dr. Hook’s band. It was also the first hit song for the group; they’d go on to have a series of hits, some serious and some not, some written by Mr. Silverstein and some not, including “The Cover of Rolling Stone,” “Only Sixteen,” “A Little Bit More, “Sharing the Night Together, “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman,” “Better Love Next Time,” and “Sexy Eyes.” Not bad for a band with a one-eyed founder and nobody named Dr. Hook on the roster.
Dr. Hook is, perhaps, best known for their lighthearted tunes and somewhat ridiculous stage presence. One-eyed Ray Sawyer, guitarist George Cummings, keyboardist Billy Francis, and vocalist Dennis Locorriere first got together back in 1968 in Union City, New Jersey. The group’s name was inspired by Sawyer’s eyepatch, which made him look more than a little like Captain Hook of Peter Pan fame. (Sawyer lost his right eye in a near-fatal car crash in 1967.) They got signed by Clive Davis to CBS Records in 1971 and hooked up with Shel Silverstein shortly after; he wrote all the songs for the band’s first album, including “Sylvia’s Mother.”
“Sylvia’s Mother” was an over-dramatic parody of teen weeper tunes, all about a guy trying to call his ex-girlfriend on the phone, only to get her mother and an operator incessantly demanding “40 cents more for the next three minutes.” Mr. Locorriere sang it like a parody, too—almost comedically over emotional. It’s a hoot, although I’m sure a lot of listeners took it seriously at the time.
And here’s today’s daily bonus video of the day, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show lip synching their way through “Sylvia’s Mother” on the Dutch television program TopPop in 1972. Take it seriously or take it as a laugh, it’s actually a pretty good song.
