Only 16 - Dr. Hook (1976) 1/26/23

During the 1970s, Dr. Hook & The Medicine Show certainly had their ups and downs. It seemed that for every "Great Song" they scored ("Sylvia's Mother," for example), they released a stiff. (Their album "Fried Face" was never even released!)

They went bankrupt--but stayed on the road for money to pay the bills.

Members kept leaving, some because of illness, but whatever their lineup, they kept plugging away.

They dropped "Medicine Show" from their name, and signed with a new label (Capitol), but that didn't seem to help--at least right away,

Then they released an ALBUM called Bankrupt," and somehow that finally turned things around.

Their cover of "Only Sixteen," Sam Cooke's "Great Song of 1959" was a bona fide hit in early 1976. The numbers: #3 Canada, and #$6 in the US.

With "Only Sixteen," Dr. Hook was not only back on the charts with a "Great Song," they were on their way to another STRING of "Great Songs," some of which we'll be highlighting at a later date.

Dr. Hook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYMbWDfn8Yo

Sam Cooke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iXC9T3igT4