Dr Hook - Sylvia’s Mother | The story behind the song | Top 2000 a gogo

[@Top2000agogo]

Like this video? Help us by subscribing to our channel!

[@richardcataldi5464]

He sing with such passion

[@rockstardrummer80s]

Never thought I would ever in my life time get to see Silvia and her mom. My life is complete!

[@jcpulp4320]

Me, either. This is amazing.

[@winterfawn9762]

Pretty amazing, right ? 😊. I was a little kid when it came out .. one of my parents must’ve played it over and over .. lol. Because I’ve always known it 💕✌🏻

[@juicebirdmedia1406]

right???

[@AnnetteLynnG]

Same!

[@AnnetteLynnG]

Sylvia is still beautiful!

[@ambrosephill9]

I loved Doctor Hook and the Medicine Show.

[@SavoirRare]

This is why I love the Internet. Who ever thought that we would actually be able to see Sylvia's mother...AND Sylvia; and get the real story directly from them?

[@pootdaggy2657]

I know. It's just amazing. NEVER did I think this woman and her mother were real....NEVER.

[@vegasmobydick]

Savoir Rare...Yes, no kidding! I always assumed that it was a true story, but that it was a personal experience of lead vocalist Dennis Locorriere, simply because of the amazing level of emotion and passion in his voice. I didn't realize until watching this video that it was written (and lived) by Shel Silverstein, who I also just learned penned most of Dr. Hook's hits.

[@twofry64]

I was listening to this song when I was 6. (49 years ago) The song made me cry for him and I couldn't understand why Sylvia's mother was so damn mean. In my 6 year old mind it was true. I find out today it really was! I'm glad I wasn't crying over a song that wasn't true. Yep gotta love the internet.

[@Maxyshadow]

Yes amazing! I'm suddenly 13 again

[@recepto]

Yes!!! Fantastic! And now the song is even more poignant

[@jpruda65]

Dennis doesnt just sing the words....you can actually feel the emotions as he sings....great singer, great song, great band!!!!

[@georgesockett3316]

Makes you wonder about carry me Carrie

[@evilcowboy]

It's what gives it so much power as a song. He is singing it like he is on the verge of tears and the song comes across as a person who their heart is actually broken and although not written by Dennis it feels like he is pleading with the girl on behalf of Shel. The only other place I ever saw someone sing this way is someone attempting to sing a final farewell song at a funeral who lost someone. Dennis seems to be able to channel that sense of sadness in his voice.

[@gunnarallgottsmann]

@ Smi Sch I greet you, from Belgium 🇧🇪. Peace ✌️

[@kcb5336]

Joe Ruda Dennis? This was written/sung by shel Silverstein

[@leslie2149]

@@smisch7720 He was probably calling from a pay phone and if it was long distance that would be why the operator kept asking for more money, because that used to be the way you did it back in the day when cell phones did not exist. :)

[@kotMekong]

Gone through my life with a broken heart. Sylvia’s Mother gives me solace that I am not alone.

[@msoiseth3419]

I can relate also.

[@CecilColhoun]

I have had this song in my head since it first was played and only now I get the whole true story It goes back a long time

[@Unknown-bv7lv]

Truly a Beautiful song with a real meaning behind it . Wish they write songs like this today

[@peterpiper831]

Wish they could have shown a photo of Sylvia back when she was young.

[@coolwater55]

One can see in her eyes, and hear her voice that she was and is still a beautiful woman and soul. Her mother is gracious too.

[@SaucyWench7]

Peter Piper I agree! They showed a photo of Shell when he was young, I was hoping for one of Sylvia!

[@roberto444hot]

I’m curious now - any of you guys have a photo of young Sylvia? She must have been very pretty

[@LATINHANDS65]

I have one.

[@dustigenes]

It doesn't really matter if she was beautiful to you, something about her was beautiful to him.

[@truthandjustice9084]

I wish Shel was still with us. What a talented and passionate person when it came to his work.

[@kevinsbott]

This is amazing…. One of the most soulful songs ever. Sylvia is a real person and an amazing one at that.

[@sheilamackay825]

R.I.P Ray Sawyer. Amazing story and fantastic to hear Silvia and her mother being interviewed. I always felt it had to be a true story because the emotion transcends the song. Impossible for Silvia not to feel anything after having been immortalized in song💖

[@kurtdahle]

um ray didnt write or sing this song, who cares

[@freethrice]

Impossible for any woman not to have feeling after knowingly have been loved, followed, begged upon for so long. Must have been stressful, yet delightful to the heart! To this man, you, Sylvia, are a woman to love.

[@kimberlycaldwell3124]

@@kurtdahle Um, she didn't say he did. And if you don't care, why are you wasting your time here? Why bother to comment on something you don't even care about? No need to actually answer. Because, well, no one cares about your answer. 🙄

[@guitarguru.3572]

If Shel could have performed it like that, it would have been his hit. There’s a perfectly good reason he passed the ball on this one.

[@ibberman]

@@kurtdahle He sang, just not the lead. Why are you even here?

[@RayPllama]

I am so happy that Mrs. Avery is off the hook for this.... and to see Sylvia too..... amazing memories

[@gregmiell3037]

Shel wrote the best line in all of rock music " Well, we're big rock singers, we've got golden fingers, and we're loved everywhere we go. We sing about beauty, and we sing about truth, for ten-thousand dollars a show."

[@michaelelliott1212]

I didn't know Sylvia was a big rock singer, with golden fingers!

[@wapa171]

@@michaelelliott1212 ..that textline is from the song "Cover of the Rolling Stones"..

[@sylviamccullers4355]

I must have had this song sung to me 1000 times during the first couple years after it came out . I'm 61 now and every once in a while someone will still sing a bit of it for me .

[@NolaGB]

For years, this song has made me tear up every time I've heard it and here once again, I hear it and have grab tissue and I'm nearly 70 now!!! Dr. Hook was one of my favorites.

[@NaturKanal2024]

Geht mir auch so. Muss jedes mal weinen wenn ich den song höre.

[@coolzip683]

Funny. I had this song stuck in my head all day yesterday. Now I see this video. Wow! Never saw it coming. Thanks!

[@greg8598]

A fabulous song. Have always loved it and its just great to have it come to life, from out of the mouths of SYLVIA !! AND HER MOTHER !!

[@JoeKing67.]

Holy sh t, I still get choked up listening to this 35 years later. Dr. Hook had many great hits.

[@drmorqWarrenProject]

This IS so cool... There really is a Sylvia... and her mother.. and they remember the incidents... Not just a Brill building knock off.. the feeling that I got from the song was real... That doesnt happen often.

[@Elitecamp27]

I agree! I did not think that it was about a real person even though the song felt real.

[@Nyckname]

I've always thought from the song that her mother wanted him to stop her. After all, she told him when she was leaving and that he should take an umbrella.

[@RonnieDillJrLoveIsADarkPlace]

This is so interesting. It actually happens everyday though. A man doesn't tell the girl how much he loved her, Until she was gone. So, so depressing and sad.

[@chaunceyhulbert7264]

Nyckname me too

[@musicfan56708]

Nyckname : No,she told Sylvie to take her umbrella ☂️”Sylvia’s mother says take your umbrella,cause Sylvie it’s starting to rain” 💦Us moms do that no matter what age our kids get to! 😊

[@elliemm557]

Thee "Mrs. Avery" and thee Sylvia, of one of the best songs in music history. Real people. I am verklempt.

[@bbednorz319]

Ellie MM You’re informal?

[@sylviawedding4502]

This song is why my dad named me sylvia I love dr hook

[@norskawarrior1919]

@@bbednorz319 overwhelmed...verklempt is a Yiddish variation and means overwhelmed. Not the same as verklemmt.

[@patricthime8000]

Fatushed even.

[@mikebtko]

That voice worked so well for that song!

[@magazinekitchen]

What I find is that Dennis Locorriere's vocals on the song had, to me, a sort of similarity to Shel Silverstein's voice that I heard on his recordings. I don't know if others would agree, but regardless the vocals fit the song well, as you noted.

[@tedwilliams8879]

@@magazinekitchen I was looking to see if anyone else felt the same way. They definitely have a lot of similarities in their voices.

[@newbernbears]

My life is now COMPLETE, I had the pleasure of seeing the band in 1977 or 78-fantastic!

[@jebbie2595]

*Dr. Hook was such a fantastic group; LOTS of great songs.*

[@Saucyakld]

Amen!

[@TheSWolfe]

Agreed! One of the 1st bands I ever saw live, at an armory in Clarksburg, WV circa 1976-77, w/Dark Horse & Appalachia. Dennis gave me his harmonica instruction booklet as a souvenir, Ray his broken tambourine, which I saved for yrs (wish I still had it now), & Billy the rest of the joint he was smoking :). R.I.P. Messrs. Silverstein, Sawyer, Francis, Garfat, Wolters, & Smarr - rock on...

[@marydevries6585]

I thought of this video for some reason today. And am enjoying it once again. Mrs. Pandolfi (Sylvia's mother) was a dear friend and colleague of my mother, and her granddaughter (Sylvia's daughter) would come out to our town (Beecher, Illiinois) to visit us in the summer. We were about the same age. I think about their family often.

[@newbernbears]

ok, where are those pics lol?

[@gregoryball9504]

Was a 3 minute long distance call 40 cents back then?

[@Zheugma]

Wowww amazing! Are they still around? I am trying to find people to participate in a radio broadcast/ interview about shell. Is there any way i could get in contact with sylvia? I would put her in contact with the radio host lady...

[@wesleytennison5066]

This song is so sad ... I want to cry every time I play it ....... I Love this song ... I wish someone Loved me that much ... I Also loved this video .. that’s real Love and I Love miss Avery and Silvia

[@ibberman]

Same here my friend, 1973 I lived through losing my girlfriend just like in the song, phone call and all. The difference being I tried to stop the wedding but did not get to the church on time. Later her marriage failed and we got married, but the new heartbreak was finding out she did not love me the way I loved her. I live it all again every time I hear the song. It's tearing my heart to pieces, still.

[@MoosesValley]

These videos are incredible. To hear the story behind the songs, what was happening in the writer's lives, what things are all about. I love this song, and often wondered if Sylvia was a real person, or her real name, and here we see Sylvia and her lovely mother. Both such nice people. And real ! Amazing. Thank you !!!

[@nicetried]

they should make a movie about this beautiful sadness heartbreaking story.

[@elhuddleston17]

I think they did, I can remember a show in the 70's.

[@TheHumbuckerboy]

Also 'Fire and Rain' by James Taylor .

[@koreyleigh2733]

@@elhuddleston17 DID SOME ONE DIE IN A PAPER MILL???. MOVIE/FILM???.

[@elhuddleston17]

@@koreyleigh2733 as far as I know the song had to do with a break up. The man has a short stick.

[@lamper2]

the song IS the movie and vice versa

[@CharlesWilliamPaul]

My many thanks to you and yours for this wonderful insight.... buck williams

[@aidanamson8568]

What a great story Sylvia Mother was awesome. Love Sylvia too. Love this song. Thanks for everything and everyone involved.

[@silvialynch3592]

Shell Silverstein........... A legend. I can't help but feeling sorry for him. He really loved Silvia. He never got over her. My heart is broken for him. He died, with his love in his heart he always had for Silvia.

[@bomberdog5543]

Without a doubt ,one of the most under appreciated bands of all time !!! Like CCR or Janis Joplin , if any attempt had been made to polish any of them it would have killed the MAGIC !!! By being that raw all that emotion comes through. Man, to be able to go back to like 65 or 66 and watch them all again. I'd give every dime i ever made or going to make. to see it happen one more time!!

[@jaydavid1942]

Barry Daniel thanks, I’m the drummer...

[@markoneil2055]

@@jaydavid1942 Sorry for your loss of Ray. I just love you guys..

[@frankseverinsen7710]

Wow! Cool! I listen to you guys almost every day. I have a question maybe you can answer? Who was Roland the roadie and Gertrude the groupie? Were they real?

[@unclepete100]

jaydavid1942 Thanks man, I love that band and Shell Silverstein’s songs. Great memories

[@johnlocke7097]

Always been a big fan, I saw you in Birmingham England around 1980 I think it was. I have everything you have done

[@mitsuomits9077]

I love this song. You can tell it was a real life story. So sad but how beautifuly was it put in a song.

[@gloriasalsman1017]

I love this song from the first time I heard it, and I loved all of the songs that Dr hook sang, sweet memories

[@2right2bwrong49]

WOW!!!! I had no idea that the song was actually true. I love that.

[@twofry64]

Omgosh this song made me cry every time I heard it since I was like 6 years old. Now at 54 years old I still cry. I never knew it was a true story. Maybe that's why it has always made me cry. I was a weird kid. What 6 year old kid knew this song and cried about it?! 😁

[@robertstroud7561]

I was crying to Porter Wagner's Skid Row Joe at 2. So I'm told.

[@trumpstinyhands]

It's 2019, I'm 44 and listen to Dr Hook a lot, my kids love them too 👍

[@joanbrennan2534]

That's is so uncanny. I am 55yrs old, and I am the 9th child in family of 10 children. There was music playing all of the time. So from very young age, I was captivated by so many songs. Especially songs that I was able to understand the lyrics to. There were ( and still are) MANY songs from the 50's-70's that I clearly recall. I was drawn into the very emotional songs ( at 5-8 yr oldl? Really? but I loved music and singing. Plus I am quite certain nobody was actually concerned "where I was or what I was doing" in that enormous bustling house) I do know THIS was one of them! And: : Roberta Flack "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" R. Flack "Killing Me Softly" Billy Joel "Piano Man" . Don McLean " Bye Bye Miss American Pie" Bill Withers "Ain't No Sunshine" Perhaps because. I had so so many older siblings that were very much into buying records and playing radio? I had no choice but to "hear" these songs. There was obviously little to do when "we" were young. TV had 3 local stations of news, lol. No electronics etc. So music surrounded us and we connected?! Warm regards, Joan

[@jeffreynolds3848]

Joan - this to let you know that I found your comment (story?!) so wonderful, warm and unusually uplifting. Thank you for making the time and taking us back to your youth in the way that you have!

[@joanbrennan2534]

@@jeffreynolds3848 Oh it was my pleasure. There are times...when maybe I say too much. Cheers!

[@SierraThunder]

Doctor Hook was always one of my favorite groups, and even though I'm in my 60's now, time hasn't changed that at all. Listening to them always brings a bittersweet tug at my heart for those long ago days & all of the fine music that came with those times....... For those who want the story of this song, this comes from the site "Songfacts" : "Like most of the early songs recorded by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, this was written by Shel Silverstein. Silverstein was a brilliant storyteller with a vivid imagination, but this story was real. "In the song, Sylvia's mother is Mrs. Avery, and while that wasn't her real last name, the rest of the story - exaggerated a bit - was true. Silverstein told Rolling Stone in 1972: "I just changed the last name, not to protect the innocent, but because it didn't fit. It happened about eight years ago and was pretty much the way it was in the song. I called Sylvia and her mother said, 'She can't talk to you.' I said, 'Why not?' Her mother said she was packing and she was leaving to get married, which was a big surprise to me. The guy was in Mexico and he was a bullfighter and a painter. At the time I thought that was like being a combination brain surgeon and encyclopedia salesman. Her mother finally let me talk to her, but her last words were, 'Shel, don't spoil it.' For about ten seconds I had this ego charge, as if I could have spoiled it. I couldn't have spoiled it with a sledge hammer." "The real Sylvia kept her secret to all but a few family and friends. Remarkably, it was a Dutch public television producer named Arjan Vlakveld who found not only Sylvia, but also Sylvia's mother. Arjan told Songfacts: "The search for Sylvia was a big coincidence. I was having a glass of wine in the garden of my brother. He had quests and there was an American woman who after I explained what kind of things I produced, told me the story about Sylvia and her mother, who she knew. It was an old story because it was about her mother working on a high school with 'Sylvia's Mother.' She was already old in the time of her story. She didn't knew if it was true but the woman had claimed ones that she was the mother in the song. I only had a few names to go on and ended up in a telephone conversation with Sylvia Pandolfi, who at that time was a museum director in Mexico City. ('Down Galveston way' in the song meant in real life that she was getting married to a Mexican and moving there). So I asked her the question: Are you by any chance the Sylvia in the song 'Sylvia's Mother?' She was very surprised because nobody knew, it was a personal and family story, she never told anyone. I filmed the interview with her mother in Homewood, Illinois. The same house where she had the telephone call with Shell Silverstein, probably even the same telephone number. She was 95 years at that time."

[@mig7287]

👍👍👍

[@LindaEll89]

Wow, what a coincidence. Thank you for telling us this, I read it all. Best regards from the Netherlands. 🤗🇳🇱

[@amp279]

Cool story.

[@ahill4642]

Thank you for relaying this info for us. ☺️

[@mindsigh4]

thank you,wow, i have so many phone booth stories, one was i was in Minnesota winter, kicked out of my place, trying to get into rehab, & i had to arrange it via phone, call back to confirm, when they got the paperwork i'd sent & it's frozen, im at an outside phone booth at gas station & the operator comes on & needs whatever $ while im on hold & i empty my pockets & i need 10 more cents & there at my feet, under a half inch of sheet ice, is a dime, im trying to get the operator to wait, trying to dig this dime out with my frozen fingers....swearing, people getting gas, giving me a wide berth, u know, well i finally made it to treatment, & after a few detours, am not drinking today. *please check out my other favorite ph.booth song" standing outside a broken ph.booth with money in my hands, by primitive radio gods" & another one came out same yr. 1996,song" Pepper" by the butthole surfers

[@geographicoddity9444]

Sylvia is still beautiful.

[@daduck100]

Wow! Always loved that song from the minute I first heard it.Had NO idea it was a real story of heartbreak. What an excellent video.Dr.Hook did Shel Silverstein's song beautifully.

[@cathyt144]

I was a young teenager when this beautifully sad song was released. Ive always wondered what the story was behind the lyrics. The song is even more touching now that ive seen the faces of these lovely ladies. Thanks for sharing. ❤️😀

[@kayequinn6726]

Just found this,never knew it was based on a true story. Always touched me because you can hear such emotion in his voice. Still makes me cry.

[@robinrubendunst869]

Oh, man. I was like, 12, when that song came out. Heartbreaking then. Now, knowing it was true, I’m pulverized...

[@spyrogirlkim]

This is what I loved about the music back in these days. Always a TRUE STORY behind most songs. Dig deep enough and you can find them.

[@selinaoakley3613]

How lucky and rare to have someone love you THAT much

[@paulbradford8240]

I was 14 when this was released in the UK and loved it. I didn't understand the emotion behind it until a few years later, but Dr Hook became one of my favourite bands to listen to and also to see. I saw them in London, possibly The Palladium and had seats in the front row. What a brilliant band they were. This popped up in my feed somehow. I've not thought of them in years, but this song really pulls at the heartstrings. Even more so now that I know the people really existed! Thanks for bringing it to my attention. It will be the next band that I ask Alexa for!

[@Durhandoni80]

This is so beautiful and so sad at the same time. Romantic in a good way.

[@lrod7634]

So glad to know this song was a true story, I loved it before but I love it even more now!

[@winterfawn9762]

🎼🎤. & Sylvia’s mother spoke.. she went down in history todayyy .. cuz Sylvia’s mother said.. “ i know he loved her.. but I don’t remember acti’in that wayyy” 🎼🎤 So thanks Mrs Avery ... I’m glad that you talked to us, you made us all want to smile ...And bless you Mrs Avery, Sylvia’s mother.. you’re gonna be around quite awhile 🎼🎼💕✌🏻

[@maquinaseahawksgoonie5801]

Shel's books were (no joke) my favorite books as a kid and when I was a teenager, i heard Dr. Hook for the first time and found out Shel Silverstein helped write for Dr.Hook, and that instantly magnified my "love" or appreciation for Dr. Hook and the Medicine Men! Now I see that Sylvia's Mother was a factual event just blows my flippin fanboy mind! This is so awesome this interview happened! Totally made my day! Thank you! Haha thank you!

[@shananagans5]

Sylvia's mother took her I Phone and deleted her texts just doesn't have the same ring to it. We will never hear music like this again. It was an amazing era for music.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

Oh,that depressing emotion you get when you don't express your feelings to the one you love until it is too late.

[@Mr.56Goldtop]

Or, they don't care.

[@SaucyWench7]

Maybe they have a reason for not caring. You can't treat a person like crap and then expect them to want to come back to you once they've left and you realize that you've been a jerk. Happens all the time.

[@DrWhom]

THE FRIEND ZONE

[@jimmyfreeman5714]

Yep. Let people know that you love/care about them. I lost a girlfriend just a few years back and the main thing that got me through was I had been sure to let her know, and I was sure she understood and believed me...peace and good things to all.

[@natashasemrau3670]

I f someone is too slow to reveal their feelings or plays partner merry-go -round, it's hard for the other person to take them seriously. It makes the person who is serious feel so belittled, used and forgotten. I don't think Syliva could take this guy seriously because he was all over the place. He caused his own heartache. Thanks for sharing your story.

[@citizen3902]

I LOVED this song as a 12 year old...I never knew it was written by S. Silverstein, whose books I now read to my first grade classes! W.O.W. I learn something new everyday!

[@vascoemyer]

The singer's plaintive quality struck me when I first heard this on the radio and still does, poignant and plaintive. We watched this with great interest and fascination, thank you for uploading this unexpected gem.

[@chriswillis4153]

Shel Silverstein was such a fantastic writer in my childhood.

[@pieceofmymind3]

If there are videos that deserve to be called gems... This is one of them. I'm so glad it came up in my feed. One of my all time fav songs ever

[@wesmatron]

Mindblown. Sylvia actually exists and I've seen her

[@annmariealexis3659]

What a beautiful, pure deep, love story❤🙋🏾‍♀️

[@ronniehorton1686]

Awesome video, I never dreamed I would see the people who this song was written about, Sylvia, and Sylvia's mother. I grew up listening to Dr. Hook, and still listen to them to this day. Thanks for posting this.

[@ladychatelaine697]

Alway loved this song! Fantastic to actually see Sylvia and her mother after all these years...🙂🙋‍♀️🇬🇧

[@Brownalebelly]

I bought this single when it first came out. Haven't listened to it in years, It's still a beautiful ballad. And now I've seen the actual Sylvia and her mother. Thanks for uploading this.

[@bff1316]

First heard this song a couple years ago, I've been married to my sweet wife 39 years now. If my girlfriend's mother had not told me my girl did not want to speak or see me again I would have missed out on meeting my wife and having our three wonderful children, adults now. Broken hearted for a few years, met a woman working in a sporting goods shop and she lit up my life, a year later we got married. Told my wife about the song and my history. It worked out for the best.

[@kimberlycaldwell3124]

Unanswered Prayers, by Garth Brooks. 😉

[@equin0xia]

don't be so sure. it might have even been better if you had been able to marry that first girlfriend.

[@sedsworld1672]

I had no idea all these decades. Thank y’all for sharing your story and thank you for posting this tragic love story.

[@TerryHarrisontbh]

I always thought that the guy who sang this song had written it. He put such emotion in it. Knowing the truth about it makes it an even sadder song.

[@royrush5374]

Wow... Just Wow. Thank you very much for posting this.!!!

[@ridgebackdk]

written in a time when musicians wrote about true feelings ,love and all the good stuff.... not a barbie girl in sight

[@equin0xia]

except the musicians didn't write these particular lyrics.

[@cornfusedatbest6693]

... but seriously, how much can one write about TidePods. "MY breath smells GREAT but me tummy feels ... AWE ... not so good." Watch for this one-hit wonder on the next top 10 list.

[@Yvanahh]

@Confused AtBest dude how old are you if you're still going on about tidepods in 2020/1

[@BlazeDuskdreamer]

Sylvia is still a beauty though. She's certainly aged gracefully.

[@BlazeDuskdreamer]

@@equin0xia So? They performed it well and put the emotion into it, so obviously it moved them as much as it's moved us all. What's it matter if they wrote them or not if the performance was this stellar? Mr. Silverstein might not have performed it as well as Dr. Hook. He may very well have been too overcome to do so.

[@alhoward100]

To have him make a song over you! How sweet!

[@jcstevegigs]

One of my all time favorite songs. I still sing it at my acoustic gigs. When my brother and I were kids we thought the singer was crying and we thought it was funny...we didn't understand heartbreak yet.

[@BullCricket75]

I had no idea this was written by one of my favorite poets!❤ That makes me love it so much more.

[@buddysilver5788]

Yeah! Butttttttttttttttttttttttttt! Some of Shel's stuff is too hot to handle and you can't get the lyrics of them! He is one of the only Jews I really like! When you think of Weinstein & Epstein, Shell was a Saint!

[@hellogoodbye4061]

He wrote "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash as well.

[@wsm3080]

Shel wrote almost all of Dr. Hook’s songs including “The Cover of the Rolling Stone”, and also many of Bob Gibson’s songs as well!

[@Zheugma]

Shel was amazing . I still think its worth to look at how he writes and how he expressed himself. Lots of writing now are too flowery and complex lol its only for literary critics... they build their carrear out of that, and pulling some of the writers along with them... but the public were the ones paying writers for their work lol

[@Zheugma]

Yhea lol it was

[@NinaSaward]

To find this out of no where and watch it. I understand the reason for leaving but the heart really never let go. More on one side then the other. Thank you for this. Took half a lifetime to know the story and yes as Savior says.......meet the mom and SYLVIA. God Bless All.

[@thorkildecliveland]

I have seen a couple of short docs from your channel and have shared a few of them. I need to dwell deeper into your archives. Finding Sylvia and her mother interviewed is just downright magical to me.

[@charlibaltimore7641]

This has always been a favorite of mine, it's great to know the story.

[@smc1942]

This was always a favorite band & song. I had heard it was true! I was about 10 when it came out, & I always thought Ray Sawyer wrote it! (I always thought he was cool!) It was only later I learned he didn't write it. I never got to see Dr Hook in concert. Never had the money! When I heard Ray passed away, it was a punch in the gut! Rest in Peace, Ray. To all the guy's still with us, THANK YOU for the Great Music. I still listen to you guy's all the time!

[@SuperStar-1-]

Shel Silverstein led such an interesting and artistic life. This story is amazing as is Dennis Locorierre's heartfelt voice in this song.

[@frederickhaaken456]

I just heard this song for the first time in my 53 years, and it is incredible. Great back story too.

[@kevinmitchell3096]

Thanks for posting this, now I know why he sang this song with so much emotion you could actually feel his pain

[@sanchagaspard]

Wow!!! For years when I was little I thought Sylvia's mother was about me😂😂😂. I didn't understand the lyrics but I was young enough to believe that I was the only Sylvia in the world, so this must be my song!!! Made me feel so special that someone had written this beautiful song about me!!! Still get chills when I hear it.

[@geographicoddity9444]

Love me some Dr. Hook. He still sends chills down my spine.

[@smyers6211]

The coolest thing I've seen on KZbin in awhile. Bought the album way back when and always loved this song.

[@krank8385]

First time I've heard this song for years, i'd forgotten how good it was and how much emotion in the singing, what a great band.

[@simonbuenosaires]

I remember this song came out just before i left school in the UK and i used to listen to it sharing his anguish and desperation of loosing someone he loved and i still remember the emotions it stirred up at the time.

[@gailcollins2397]

Amazing !!! Great to hear the story behind the song 💔

[@andromeda1376]

One of the greatest songs of all times!

[@anthonydavis9662]

An iconic American musical moment, and one of the greatest emotional performances ever captured on record.

[@Luna-cf3op]

So nice to see the real people involved with the song. Thank you.

[@suziriley1855]

How wild that we get to not only meet Sylvia but Sylvia's Mother, too. So cool.

[@AussieLana]

Just found this 2024.. wow, got the real story behind it. Thankyou.

[@maureen3134]

Sylvia’s mother was 95 years old in this interview. Amazing.

[@haroldleaming2625]

Very nice I've listened to that song hundreds of times now i listen to it for the first time again, thank you!

[@thomasweeks7992]

One of the greatest songs of my generation

[@reneekennedy716]

great knowing the real story and Shel Silverstein no less! Thanks for sharing!

[@6rockinrobin]

Oh wow! Shel Silverstein who wrote THE GIVING TREE I used to read to my kids! Awesome! But, I was just looking at the lovely Sylvia & thinking, "How cool to have someone soooo in love w/you they write you such torrid love letters AND make your MOM a legend in the process!" They're both just lovely.

[@treywest268]

Shel wrote tons of songs including many recorded by Bobby Bare (great album for you and the kids is "Lullibies, Legends and Lies") and "A Boy Named Sue " that was a hit for Johnny Cash.

[@sh9349]

OMG LOVE THIS! It sure puts a whole new spin , it being a true story..

[@koreyleigh2733]

THE FEELING'S OF LOST LOVE, ESCAPING, BEFORE YOU REALISE IT'S GONE. SO SAD IT HURTS JUST LISTENING TO IT.

[@ms.communication8464]

This is AWESOME!!!!!!!!! Thank you!

[@axiomist4488]

I never thought these people were real, just a very good song. Imagine ! Dennis does a great job of communicating so much pain in his voice (and the story is not even about him). He did a great job. Nice actually seeing Sylvia and her mother. They have become iconic .

[@scottpowers9367]

Just. Wow. Thanks for this. Brilliant!

[@paulnery832]

She is still beautiful!! No wonder he wrote such a sad song!!

[@ericsmallwood2009]

Fascinating story - and such a beautiful, heartwrenching, but everyone can enjoy singing along, song.

[@carlprince2866]

shel has written some of the greatest songs of all time . I didn't know he wrote this but when I realized it it made perfect sense.

[@vmackey11]

Amazing story, Shel will always be a part of her just as the song.

[@DavidHayes56]

I looked this up because I am reading a book about Shel Silverstein and finding out all these songs he wrote. I only knew him as a writer/illustrator of children's books. He wrote "A Boy Named Sue" and "The Unicorn" and the original album for Dr. Hook before someone found Dr, Hook to perform them. A lot of these comments seem to assume that the person singing the song was the person that wrote it. From the book I am reading, Shel never was that hooked on anyone & never would be tied down in any way. As soon as he started making money as a cartoonist for Playboy magazine, he would travel all over the place on impulse to homes all over the US and in other countries. People describe his voice like the sound a dog makes when you step on its tail. There are other videos with him so have fun looking!