"Sylvia's Mother", a 1972 single by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, was the group's first hit song. It was written by Shel Silverstein and produced by Ron Haffkine, and was highly successful in the United States, reaching number five on the Billboard singles chart (tied with "Sexy Eyes" from the album Sometimes You Win for the band's best performing song),[1] as well as number two in the United Kingdom. It spent three weeks at number one on the Australian music charts,[2] making it the 15th-ranked single in Australia for 1972; and also reached number one in South Africa, where it was the third-ranked song for the year, and in New Zealand. The song spent seven consecutive weeks at number one in Ireland on the Irish Singles Chart.[3] It appeared on the group's first album, Doctor Hook.
"Sylvia's Mother" is autobiographical, with songwriter Shel Silverstein drawing upon his unsuccessful attempt to revive a failed relationship. Silverstein had been in love with a woman named Sylvia Maria Pandolfi. She later became engaged to another man and ended up as a museum curator at the Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil in Mexico City. [4][5][6][7][8][9] Desperate to continue the relationship, Silverstein called Sylvia's mother, Emma Louisa Pandolfi ("Mrs. Avery" in the song), but she told him the love had ended.[10]
The lead singer, Dennis Locorriere, ended up meeting the real Sylvia many years later. He described the song: "I like the songs which tell stories, like The Ballad of Lucy Jordan. It means I can be more than just a singer, it almost steps into acting. When you're singing Sylvia's Mother, you have to be that guy in the phone booth."[11]
Cash Box said "'T ain't easy to render unto Silverstein what is Shel's, but this group knows the secret to top-40 success on this happy/sad tune, bound to be a huge request and sales item."[12]
In 1972, about the same time the Dr. Hook version was on the chart, country singer Bobby Bare recorded a cover version. Bare's version became a hit, reaching No. 12 on the BillboardHot Country Singles chart that October.[citation needed]
References
↑Fread Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (New York, Billboard, 2003), p. 312
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