Waring Abbott/Getty ImagesRay Sawyer, former lead singer of the pop-rock act Dr. Hook, has died at the age of 81, the Page Six gossip site reports.
According to his publicist, Sawyer passed away in Daytona Beach, Florida, after what Page Six says was a brief illness.
Originally called Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, the band scored 10 top 40 singles between 1971 and 1982. Among the band’s best-known hits were “Sylvia’s Mother,” “The Cover of Rolling Stone,” “Sharing the Night Together,” “When You’re in Love with a Beautiful Woman,” “Sexy Eyes” and “Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk.”
Most of the songs on the group’s first few albums, including “Sylvia’s Mother” and “The Cover of Rolling Stone,” were written by poet, author and songwriter Shel Silverstein.
Known for his eye patch and cowboy hat, Sawyer was a member of the group from its formation in 1969 until 1981. Ray was a native of Monroeville, Alabama, and in 1967 his lost his right eye in a car accident. In 2005, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
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