One of the founding members of the band Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show died this week after a brief illness.
According to Page Six, Ray Sawyer died Monday at age 81. He mostly sang in the background and played various percussion instruments in several of the band's songs, but he was on lead vocals for the 1972 hit "The Cover of Rolling Stone."
The song, written by cartoonist and writer Shel Silverstein, sang a tale about the band wanting to appear on the cover of the popular music magazine. Four months after the song was released, the band accomplished that feat.
Sawyer, George Cummings, Billy Francis, and Dennis Locorriere formed the band in 1968. The band released nine studio albums with Sawyer until he left in 1981 to pursue a solo career, according to Rolling Stone.
Sawyer toured from 1988-2015, at which point he stopped because of health issues. He was known for wearing an eye patch after losing his right eye in a car accident in 1967. The Alabama native also wore a cowboy hat.
Locorriere told Rolling Stone, "Although I hadn't been in contact with Ray for many, many years it does not erase the fact that we were once close friends and shared an important time in both our lives. Deep condolences go out to his family at what must be a difficult time."
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