Dennis Locorriere, singer and co-founder of Dr Hook, died on Saturday at the age of 76. The American band also had several hits in the Netherlands in the 70s and 80s, such as (1982), (1978) and (1972).

Locorriere died of kidney disease. He had already announced last year that he would stop performing.

The singer was born in New Jersey and was involved in the founding of Dr Hook in 1969, then called Dr Hook and the Medicine Show. Locorriere often played well into the night with the group of older, more experienced musicians, mainly “because I was a hippie at that time and didn’t feel like an office job”.

In 1971, the group signed a recording contract and entered into a collaboration with children’s book writer Shel Silverstein, who wrote almost all the songs for the first two albums, (1972) and (1973).

Although on paper Locorriere is the and performed lead vocals on most songs, it was Ray Sawyer who stood out the most with his eye patch and became a kind of figurehead for the band. The polyphony of Locorriere and Sawyer contributed to the sound of the band, which has veered between country, soft rock and disco over the years.

Locorriere sang, among other things, Dr Hook’s first hit, and . On their biggest hit Sawyer was the lead vocalist.

In the Netherlands, the group was in the top 40 eight times between 1972 and 1982, with the highest ranking being second place with from 1972 and in 1982.

Sawyer left the group in 1983, after which contact between him and Locorriere waned. The group continued for two more years without Sawyer, but could no longer match its previous success.

After Dr Hook, Locorriere toured under his own name and released three studio albums and a number of live albums. These were a lot less successful than Dr Hook’s work.

He did sing on albums by other major artists such as Randy Travis. Also sang among others Bob Dylan, Willy Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis and Olivia Newton-John cover songs co-written by Locorriere.

He lived the last years of his life in the United Kingdom. He performed again under the name Dr Hook starring Dennis Locorriere in honor of the band’s 50th anniversary. He always remained modest about his role in the group. “The songs are the stars, I’m just the man who sings them.”