Dennis Locorriere, the guitarist and singer with the chart-topping soft rock band Dr Hook, has died aged 76. A statement from his management company said he died on Saturday “after a long and courageous battle with kidney disease … Dennis faced his illness with remarkable strength, dignity, and resilience throughout, and remained deeply cherished by all who knew him”.
Locorriere, who shared lead vocal duties with Ray Sawyer, was part of the band for its entire run from 1969 to 1985, scoring hits such as When You’re In Love With a Beautiful Woman, which spent three weeks at UK No 1 in 1979. Born in New Jersey in 1949, he was in his late teens when he joined a group of older musicians, playing vocals, bass, guitar and harmonica.
The band, initially named Dr Hook and the Medicine Show, signed to CBS in 1971 and achieved early success with Sylvia’s Mother (Top Five in the US and UK, 1972) and The Cover of Rolling Stone (US Top 10, 1972). Their appeal rested on gorgeous multi-voiced harmonising, with Locorriere’s boyish yet soulful voice paired with Sawyer’s grittier country tones. A Little Bit More spent five weeks at UK No 2 in 1976, while Sharing the Night Together became their most enduringly popular song on streaming services.
Locorriere was the leading voice on their biggest hit, When You’re in Love With a Beautiful Woman, an up-tempo disco-pop song that topped the UK charts for three weeks in 1979 and became a global success. The follow-up Sexy Eyes was another transatlantic hit in 1980. Locorriere admitted being upset that audiences often thought the eye-catching Sawyer was the lead singer, saying “that used to really hurt my feelings”. Sawyer left in 1983, and Dr Hook continued until a farewell tour in 1985.
After the band’s split, Locorriere toured under his own name with the subtitle “the voice of Dr Hook” and released three solo albums between 2000 and 2010. He co-wrote several songs, including A Couple More Years, covered by Bob Dylan, and You Ain’t Got the Right, covered by Olivia Newton-John. Locorriere was married three times and eventually settled with his third wife in Sussex, UK.
