Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show is a pop-country rock band formed in Union City, New Jersey in 1968. The original lineup consisted of core members Ray Sawyer and Dennis Locorriere. Bill Francis, John David, and George Cummings were also part of the original band, but their lineup changed quite a bit over the years. Other members include Jance Garfat, Rik Elswit, and Jay David. Sawyer was particularly noticeable due to his trademark cowboy hat and the eyepatch he wore due to a car accident in 1967. The band name is a reference to Captain Hook from Peter Pan; in fact, the original name proposed for the band was "Captain Hook and the Medicine Show".

The band hooked up with composer Shel Silverstein when their manager sent in a demo tape to Ron Haffkine, who was in charge of doing the music for the movie Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? Silverstein was writing songs for the film, and he and Haffkine both liked the demo enough to get the band to do all the songs for the movie. Haffkine also became their new manager and got the band a record deal. Silverstein composed most of the songs on their first few albums.

"Sylvia's Mother," a ballad from their first album, became a big hit, and "Cover of the Rolling Stone" from the followup album, "Sloppy Seconds" attracted the attention of those who would like their silly stage show and its monologues done as fictional characters. It also got the band on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, although as a caricature rather than a photograph.

The band toured constantly but spent all the money they earned on partying; their fifh album was aptly called "Bankrupt". Eventually they shortened the band's name to "Dr. Hook", and their chart hits became mostly ballads (including "The Ballad of Lucy Jordan").

Sawyer left in 1983, and the band continued to tour for two more years before completely splitting up in 1985. In the 1990s, Sawyer went back on the road as "Dr. Hook featuring Ray Sawyer" after doing a few country records under his own name. Locorriere spent a few years relaxing, and then in 1989 performed a one-man show written by Shel Silverstein, "The Devil and Billy Markham," which made him enthusiastic to be on stage again. Since then he's released a few solo albums and toured, promoting himself as "the voice of Dr. Hook."