Time was when you had to add “The Voice Of Dr Hook” to Dennis’ name in the UK before people would realize who he was……but things have changed.
Dennis has now played to over 150,000 people on his own tours. He played the main stage at Glastonbury Festival (successfully following The English National Opera) to rave reviews and his live DVD has been enthusiastically welcomed.
There’s no doubt about it, DENNIS LOCORRIERE is a star. He’s been called one of the last great undimmed American heroes – and with just cause.
Without reservation he still has one of the finest voices around, impassioned heartbreak and lost innocence…and that’s 19 years after the group he sang for decided to call it a day.
And the group…..that happy but very edgy band who clocked up hit after pop hit, the one and only mega-successful, DR HOOK. Dennis Locorriere was, indeed, the voice of Dr Hook (not the one with the eye patch) singing all their biggest songs across the years. As one of the top bands in the world in the seventies and early eighties, Dr Hook’s plaudits are impressive.
Dr Hook amassed more than 60 gold and platinum records scoring No 1 hits in more than 42 countries They had massive world-wide success with classics like “Sylvia’s Mother”, “When You’re In Love With A Beautiful Woman”, “A Little Bit More” and the original and definitive version of “The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan”, and they spent 300 days a year on the road for 15 years.
But Dennis’ story doesn’t stop there. For more than 30 years he’s paid his dues. He’s appeared in a major movie with Dustin Hoffman. He’s starred in a universally acclaimed one man play written specially for him, “The Devil And Billy Markham”, at New York City’s Lincoln Centre. He’s written songs that have been recorded by a wide variety of other artists including Bob Dylan, Southside Johnny, Crystal Gayle, BJ Thomas, Olivia Newton-John, Waylon Jennings, Helen Reddy and Willie Nelson.
In 1999, some 15 years after he moved to Nashville and disbanded the group, Dennis secured yet another platinum album for the “Dr Hook Love Songs” CD. This was accompanied by a major sell-out tour of the UK followed by tours of Europe and Australia.
Late in 2001 Dennis played several solo shows which were recorded for a triple live CD/DVD box set to be released shortly. He released an album “Out Of The Dark” and won new audiences on a major UK tour. In addition, to coincide with his touring activities, a special numbered limited edition solo CD was made available aptly titled “Alone With Dennis Locorriere”.
Dennis’ last album, “One Of the Lucky Ones”, features 13 new songs in total all written or co-written by Dennis (with the exception of the cover “Misty Blue”). The album was recorded in Nashville and produced by Dennis and fellow ex-Dr Hook mate Rod Smarr.
Dennis Locorriere is an artist who is, truly, once seen never forgotten.
|
• Dennis’ first band broke up on the way home from a Who concert in New Jersey because they figured they could never ever get to be that good.
• Dennis appeared naked on The Old Grey Whistle Test whilst a member of Dr Hook
• Dr Hook’s big selling ‘A Little Bit More’ album began life as the first Dennis Locorriere solo album but was released as a Hook project in an effort to raise the band’s status after their 1976 bankruptcy – it worked.
• Songs written by or performed by Dennis (solo or as a member of Dr Hook ) have now sold over 30 million copies.
• Dennis co-wrote a song (‘A Couple More Years’) that was sung by Bob Dylan in the movie ‘Hearts Of Fire’.
• Dennis once ran home from grade school (age about eight) as fast as he could, thinking if he ran fast enough he would be a ‘blur’
• Songs Dennis has written have been recorded by Willie Nelson, Crystal Gayle, Bob Dylan, Waylon Jennings, Southside Johnny, Olivia Newton-John, Helen Reddy & B.J.Thomas
• Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny both come from Asbury Park, which they always describe as rough and working class – Dennis’ family used to go there for their summer holidays.
• Dennis has sung back up vocals on John Hiatt, Kenny Rogers, Brenda Lee, Randy Travis and the Fabulous Thunderbirds’ albums
• Dennis once sent a tape of himself, singing a ‘doo-wop’ acapella version of one of Elvis Costello’s songs to Elvis and, as a result, was invited to sing that song (‘lovable’) with Elvis in concert in Nashville
• Dennis has sung on 3 Travis Tritt albums and with him, ‘live’ in concert, twice, and has yet to meet him.
• Dennis reads a piece from Shel Silverstein’s new book, ‘Runny Rabbit’ that accompanies an animation on shelsilverstein.com
• Dennis performed a one man play, ‘The Devil and Billy Markham’, written by Shel Silverstein in 1989 at the prestigious Lincoln Center, NY – it consisted of a 56 page poem
• One of Dennis’ lifelong ambitions is to be the voice of an animated character.
• Dennis is a huge Beatles’ fan and was told that he would have the opportunity to meet George Harrison at a friend’s wedding…and, agonizing at the prospect, he seriously considered not going for fear that he might be disappointed at meeting one of his true heroes. He went and he wasn’t.
• The house and whole neighbourhood Dennis grew up in burned down in 1988
• Dennis’s surname means ‘the courier’ or ‘messenger’, in Italian
• Dennis doesn’t drive a car and never has!
|
Dennis Locorriere News 