Ray "Eye Patch" Sawyer is a singer best known as a vocalist with the 1970s rock band

Band (music)

In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...

, Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show

Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show

Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show was an American pop, country and soft rock band, formed around Union City, New Jersey in 1967 as The Chocolate Papers. They enjoyed considerable commercial success in the 1970s with hit singles including "Sylvia's Mother", "The Cover of the Rolling Stone", "A Little Bit...

.

Early life

As a youth

Adolescence

Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...

, Sawyer idolized Hank Williams, and at 14 he was playing with a local country

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

 band, eventually leading the house band at Al Cottrill's club in Mobile

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...

. In 1959 he signed with Sandy Records

Sandy Records

Sandy Records was a short-lived but very influential independent rock and roll record label established in Mobile, Alabama by Paul DuBose and Johnny Bozeman in early 1957. It launched the careers of many artists such as Ray Sawyer, lead vocalist of Dr...

.

Music career

Sawyer's first hit

Hit single

A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...

 single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 was "Rockin' Satellite", released in 1960, followed by "I'm Gonna Leave" (Sandy, 1037). In 1965, he played in the Chocolate Papers with several musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

s who later became members of Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show.

Personal life

Sawyer lost his right eye in a 1967 automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 accident that left him with his signature

Signature

A signature is a handwritten depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a signature is a signatory. Similar to a handwritten signature, a signature work describes the work as readily identifying...

 eyepatch

Eyepatch

An eyepatch or eye pad is a small patch that is worn in front of one eye. It may be a cloth patch attached around the head by an elastic band or by a string, or an adhesive bandage. It is often worn by people to cover a lost or injured eye, but it also has a therapeutic use in children for the...

. He said the following about his life around the time of his accident:

External links

• Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show