Lyrics: Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's busy, too busy to come to the phone Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's tryin' to start a new life of her own Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's happy so why don't you leave her alone And the operator says forty cents more for the next three minutes Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her, I'll only keep her a while Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell her goodbye Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's packin' she's gonna be leavin' today Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's marryin' a fella down Galveston way Sylvia's mother says please don't say nothin' to make her start cryin' and stay And the operator says forty cents more for the next three minutes Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her, I'll only keep her a while Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell her goodbye Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's hurryin' she's catchin' the nine o'clock train Sylvia's mother says take your umbrella cause Sylvie, it's startin' to rain And Sylvia's mother says thank you for callin' and sir won't you call back again And the operator says forty cents more for the next three minutes Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her, I'll only keep her a while Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell her goodbye Tell her goodbye... Please... tell her goodbye. 1972 Evil Eye Music Inc.
Never again will anyone hear the operator say anything at all, and in the not too distant future will there be anyone left who heard an operator say anything, I did many times, I’m almost 84.
@@psefti im 60 and heard the operator live on person to person long distance calls. You had to provide her with the name of the person you wanted to talk to. If that person was not available, you were not charged for the call
@@folly5girl sad but true....but... i do still have ol line land with old phone from my moms that still works...yes, you can dial it...and i do not own a smart phone that I stress over.. I live a freer life than most I think..
Funny how you can forget about a song like this and 20 years later you hear it and it wakes up something inside you that has been missing for far too long...
Dana Horton Yes I have been there myself I tell people that FM radio didn’t exist until I was about 16 or so and they can’t believe it of course most people don’t listen to the radio anymore but I do. Thanks
I so miss those days, the world is so much different we will never see this again, I’m so thankful for being in the 1960’s and 70’s, what a great day it was 😂😁💜🌹
For some people reefer gets them in this weird zone. When i would fight weed made me focus and sharp. It allowed me to focus on one thing at a time instead of my A.D.D taking over.
Hard to believe a group of guys who’d already reached fame and fortune could put so much emotion and effort into just a jam session. Every note this band ever sang or played was 100% emotion. Most underrated band ever. RIP Brother Ray.
My name is Sylvia. Been a sales representative for 23 years. Especially when I meet new clients and I introduce myself, I always start singing this song - it breaks the ice. Everybody always knows this song, I love the song❤
Man, they put their guts into this song, didn't they? The song's songwriter, who is not a member of the group, Shel Silverstein, the one playing the harmonica, must have been ecstatic with the group's ability to convey the emotions of his song, whether live, like this, or on the actual hit record. What a wonderful song, beautifully performed.
my exhusband made me listen to this a few weeks ago without any reason i guess. This was us as teens 1979 wasn't sure if he had some hidden reason. I mean i miss us like things we did together that always makes me smile, anyway i told him i had it my cellphone and own the 45 record and it on an old multiartist album. Still makes me cry.
That was well said 🤣😂🤣 Beautiful, I haven't heard this since decades. It reminded me old disturbing thoughts. I was young inexperienced in life and was trying to figure out the drama hiding behind the lyrics. It made me feel extremely upset 😅 but still hadn't a clue what it was about 🤣
@Charl Jacobs Hahaha I get this thought every time I watch these Shel houseboat vids. The hammer they hit before filming was that good I get high just watching it!
Who's listening in March of 2023? I'm a retired rock drummer of over 50 years. On my 21st birthday I purchased an old fashioned soda bar. Sylvia's Mother was one of the 45's on the jukebox and lemme tell ya, this song was played numerous times throughout the day. It's still one of my favorites!
Kevin Peterson there endless musicians with talent today. Like any art form, it evolves. If you truly can’t find good new music, and you’re not living in a cave, then you really never knew good music at all. Runners get faster, and music evolves! Funny, when my dad heard the Beatles on Sullivan, he said the same stupid thing...”they don’t make music like they used to. That was 55 years ago, I remember it like yesterday!
They did. The original is great, and it still sounds great when I hear it. But this is ridiculously good. So raw, so rock and roll, and his voice has such pain in it.
Bunch of stanky drunken pirate waistrells singing their hearts out. ❤ Gotta love the set up - guy with bare feet up on table wailing on harmonica. Enough hair in the room to start up a wig shop.
they couldn't even figure out how to take a bath! Saw them in concert & they sucked! They were stoned off their asses, couldn't remember the words to this or any of the songs!! This song is pedestrian at best!
Pedestrian at best..LOLOL..That's subjective but can I have a clue on to where I can find the music you wrote and produced? I'm quite sure it would never be so pedestrian. You are a person on the sidelines of life. Sometimes referred to as a loser.
@@janiceleflar5479 but you could be wrong about this one performance which shows they have the skills to deliver. i get that you feel ripped off when you saw them live but what does one thing have to do with the other ? also if you think this performance here was pedestrian can you even listen to music today given your obvious high standards ?
@Joseph Preston "largely novelty song producing act.." if that's true I think it goes to show you how good the music was back then that dr. hook only qualifies as a "novelty act". this video shows they had the raw talent perhaps the drugs nipped them at the bud.
I must be getting old. I remember when this song came out and it played all the time on the radio. 50 years later, the lyrics are still burned into my brain. That's MUSIC.
Not many people know that this is the cut, the actual, song you all heard on the radio back then. I am so glad someone put this on here. Simply close your eyes and listen. Back then we never saw the people.
This is dubious at best. For one thing, the album version seems to have some orchestra backing. But look it up; the song was recorded in a studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
Quite easily the most underrated band of all time, the sheer passion and raw talent of this brilliant band are unmatched !!!! Love Dr Hook, always !!! 😍🎸👌🔥🔥🔥
@@doriswhite1348 Definitely on the studio recording when he sings about the operator saying 40 cents more right before the last chorus. He sounds like he is actually crying.
That voice was tailor-made for that song, it really does make the song work so perfectly! Somebody else doing it, well, it would probably be pointless to cover!
I'm from, Nassau, Bahamas and I grew up on Calypso, Reggae and Rock n Roll. Thus classic Rock song is one of the songs that touches my heart and makes me emotional. ❤
This version on Shel's houseboat is superior to the single released on the radio. I never knew why they put all the orchestral strings on the radio version. Shel Silverstein playing the harmonica is the perfect instrument for Sylvia "catching the 9:00 train". Absolutely perfect.
I remember buying this single from the local record shop, when I was 10 years old. It made me cry. The emotion conveyed was incredible. What a performance!
@@carolrat5318 Stop listening to the Top 40 shit on the radio. It's just a product to be played in between commercials. It's aimed at 14 year old girls. You have the MOST amazing tool ever created to find ANY type of modern music you could ever desire... It's called the internet. But all you do is complain? There's nothing wrong with listening to the same 20 albums for the last 40 years, but if you truly care about music, you would be drowning in new music that moves your soul. If you don't make the effort to look for amazing new music, no one will take your complaints about the lack of it seriously.
When he rolls is eyes at the start while sort of getting in to the right mental state for the song. And then almost starts to laugh but manages to stay on track. Fun
I'm trying to think of more good examples of artists who are performing live who make faces because of large amount of drugs. Johnny Cash has some good faces, Santana at Woodstock, Festival Express when Rick Danko is singing with Janis Joplin, Layne Staley, Jim Morrison, there's some good ones out there.
@jdm-uk-yank Nope. New music has no soul or inspiration. Aside from new bluegrass, folk and rockabilly everything else is nonsensical noise...so quit bursting my bubbles smart-ass.
I didn't know that was Shel on the harmonica; didn't know what he looked like. What an incredible group. There's something about this song and the way they put this together that sets it apart from all of the others. I don't know what it is, but it just clicks with a person.
My dad died in 1978 but I had a friend named Agnes and she told me on Facebook today she remembered my parents because it would have been there 65th anniversary this week..... When all the sudden I remembered this song. I told my friend Agnes my father used to sing this song Sylvia's mother only he used to put your name in it. So here I am on my 64th birthday and along forgotten memory came through so I just sent Agnes the song. Life works in mysterious ways sometimes. Remember all of your memories are buried inside your head somewhere and once in awhile they come back unsummoned. I feel like today I had a beautiful birthday remembering my dad singing the song and his quiet and his unique and funny sense of humor. What a great birthday
Yep, he helped them with their career for sure. I meet them and him in when the band lived in an old house in N.J. We hung a few times for rehearsals. Fun times.
I recently discovered that I live right down the street from the 'real Sylvia's' house. It adds an interesting dimension as I drive past the train station.
@@markserour9115 but it perfectly captures the pathos of being young, in love, standing in a phone booth desperately trying to reach your sweetie. The disapproving parents still had sway over young women's lives when this came out. I have been in the phone booth and being the one whose parents wouldn't let the beloved speak to me. It also reminds me of anguished long distance romance maintained in a phone booth with my laundry money when I was an archeologist calling my sweetie. Yes, this is one of the greatest songs ever that nobody over the age of 40 will "get" since phone booths went "poof!" circa 1990 when the Brick Phones were all the rage. Another great love song about teen angst is Walk Away Renee and that one doesn't get much respect anymore either.
Simply quality from the 70’s and YESSSSSS I’m still listening and shedding the odd tears for those oh so fabulous times .. I was 77 years old guy 5 days ago and Dr Hook will never age ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I can remember watching my mom cooking supper in the kitchen while listening to Dr Hook.... I'm about to be 58 years old this summer still listening to classics like this. ❤ U mama ❤
Them boys are BAKED and they're still killin' on this tune. What a mountain of talent. I'll bet you could cut up those curtains, put a few pieces in little Baggies, and sell ''em for $50 apiece...and it would be stronger smoke than anything available today.
+Cindy Rizzato PUT IT DOWN TO GREAT TALENT & GREAT WEED! I would like to see a SHEL SILVERSTEIN COMMEMORATION DAY! Shel was a Genius, but NEVER boasted of it!
When you have a wordsmith like Shel writing great tunes like they did in the early days, you can relax. Shel had only one rule: sing it in whatever key works, but don't change a (Bleeping) word. That's why Johnny Cash had to read the lyrics when he performed "A Boy Named Sue"
"They didn't take themselves too seriously." I loved to watch them in concert They often appeared to be drunk or high, staggering and knocking over mike stands, but then I noticed that every time it was time for one of them to do a vocal, the mike was there in the right place. I never saw it, but I understand that they once opened for themselves as a glitter band and got booed off the stage. I did see them do a hilarious pseudo-blues "tribute." Bassist Cummings spent most of the show in the bassist's traditional stance of head buried in the speakers, back to the audience--until "Cover of the Rolling Stone," when he blossomed, got off some wild solo riffs, and shouted "The King of Rock and Roll knows how to boogie!"; then went back to head in the speakers. Despite its all being (I presume) very carefully choreographed, it all seemed natural and fun. This video shows them more relaxed, I guess, and it's fun too, but it was great seeing them in concert.
Many people do not know that in years gone by regular people got together and sang and danced in the yard, barn, garage wherever they could. And occasionally talented people rose to the top like these guys. All of their music was great.
The final 4 part harmony at the end. Most bands couldn't come close straight. These guys hit it as clean and pure as gold while stoned. That was great talent that nobody today even comes close!
Absolutely amazing song and vocals from this incomparable band , How blessed are we to be able to listen to this master piece , timeless , thank you Dr. Hook and the Medicine Band for bringing this music into our lives and hearts...
It was more than drugs, these guys had talent, if drugs alone could produce music like that we'd still be getting it today, sadly we are not, plenty of drugs about, but very little talent
I messed with my friend while we were locked up, playing this every time we broke out the hooch. He pretended to hate it, but yet he always agreed to play it for me. R.I.P tyson. Love ya buddy🙏
Dr Hook's music and live performances are what legendary bands are all about. To entertain our minds and soul. And that's exactly what Dr Hook did, without missing a heartbeat even when 'stoned' out of their minds! Now that's what you call True Musicianship. If you're over 60 (like I am) then you may recall the music from the 70s with fond memories because that was a time of innocence. Watching bands like Dr Hook perform live is a pleasant stroll down memory lane - they bring back wonderful recollections. So when someone asks 'Whatever happened to Dr Hook?" Well then, you can tell 'em they are alive and well in videos like this - Thanks for uploading it! And I have to say this: I'd gladly give up my rolling stones and other band collections anytime for the music of Dr Hook.
Saw Dr Hook when they played my undergrad school in the mid 70's. Great show, they even had on member come on stage and do a one man small set during the intermission! Great show and better music!
This was my very first concert. Oh the memories. 1973 in Kansas City. hope my last concert will be as good. I feel blessed to have grown up in those times. Where did the time go, better yet where did all the great musicians go. Great times.
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like the music has to come out from you or it will be lost forever and never be able to touch the ones it was intended to touch and possibly change their lives forever…
The passion of these men is so present here, even if they aren’t. Lol I still remember the words to many of their songs but can’t remember the name of someone I met 5 minutes ago. Man those were good times!
THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN & PERFORMED, WITH THE WRITER & THE ONE OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE SONG, SHEL SILVERSTEIN, PLAYING HARMONICA IN THE BACKGROUND. DR HOOK GAVE A POWERFUL PERFORMANCE - FULL OF EMOTION. IT TOOK ME YEARS TO FIND OUT THAT THE SONG WAS ALL ABOUT SHEL SILVERSTEIN & HIS GIRLFRIEND. I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY IT TOUCHED MY HEART - NOW YOU KNOW! SHEL SILVERSTEIN - GREAT SONG WRITER & GREAT WRITER OF BOOKS FOR CHILDREN! I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU, SHEL! THEY COULD HAVE NAMED YOU "SUE"!
Lyrics:
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's busy, too busy to come to the phone
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's tryin' to start a new life of her own
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's happy so why don't you leave her alone
And the operator says forty cents more for the next three minutes
Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her,
I'll only keep her a while
Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell her goodbye
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's packin' she's gonna be leavin' today
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's marryin' a fella down Galveston way
Sylvia's mother says please don't say nothin' to make her start cryin' and stay
And the operator says forty cents more for the next three minutes
Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her,
I'll only keep her a while
Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell her goodbye
Sylvia's mother says Sylvia's hurryin' she's catchin' the nine o'clock train
Sylvia's mother says take your umbrella cause Sylvie, it's startin' to rain
And Sylvia's mother says thank you for callin' and sir won't you call back again
And the operator says forty cents more for the next three minutes
Please Mrs. Avery, I just gotta talk to her,
I'll only keep her a while
Please Mrs. Avery, I just wanna tell her goodbye
Tell her goodbye...
Please... tell her goodbye.
1972 Evil Eye Music Inc.
One of my all time favorites.
Good bye to 2019 hello 2020
Ok so I've been wondering for years. Who is that singing with bill ray and Dennis? It's been bugging me forever lol.
I love that Ray had that Joe Cocker thing going on with his hands...this group was out of sight....they dont make them like that anymore..very 😥 sad.
Known
Never again will anyone hear the operator say anything at all, and in the not too distant future will there be anyone left who heard an operator say anything, I did many times, I’m almost 84.
Landlines and curly cords forever love❤!! Can't lay on the floor and twirl your finger around a "smart" phone.
@@psefti im 60 and heard the operator live on person to person long distance calls. You had to provide her with the name of the person you wanted to talk to. If that person was not available, you were not charged for the call
@@folly5girl sad but true....but... i do still have ol line land with old phone from my moms that still works...yes, you can dial it...and i do not own a smart phone that I stress over.. I live a freer life than most I think..
Funny how you can forget about a song like this and 20 years later you hear it and it wakes up something inside you that has been missing for far too long...
DrumminSon Live well put
Preach it😍
its bringing a tear to my eye as i listen to this for the first time since i heard it on AM radio
Dana Horton Yes I have been there myself I tell people that FM radio didn’t exist until I was about 16 or so and they can’t believe it of course most people don’t listen to the radio anymore but I do. Thanks
And still remember all the words to the song.....when you now forget the shopping list every time 🤦♀️🤣☮️❤️☮️❤️
Take a look at them. Stoned out of their ever loving minds and they STILL never missed a note! That's what I call talent!
I was enjoying the same thought just tonight! :-) (with wine in my own fine veins!)
Stoned. I think that was much earlier in the day!
Love it
There was no other group like them. Sawyer just passed?
They were great!
Probably the greatest time ever to be a teenager was in the 70s.
midnight savannah it was.. great fun...
midnight savannah I had the greatest times in the 70’s had dr hook on 8 track
I so miss those days, the world is so much different we will never see this again, I’m so thankful for being in the 1960’s and 70’s, what a great day it was 😂😁💜🌹
midnight savannah ....You got that right !!!!
All music was Great then
Can we take a minute and appreciate how GOOD this sounds.
I agree!
Take as long as you like, I'm back often~!
Absolutely phenomenal performance. Sounds better than studio version - especially with Shel’s harmonica.
SO good
@@andybilakshow260ciao Andy! 🙋♀️😍😘💘🍀
No auto tune. Just absolute raw voices in the purest form I will never stop listening to Dr Hook.
lol we were all stoned back then lol
Yes, it's perfect, the 70's music is all talent, I would dare the 'new singers' to sing withOUT autotune!!
Yeah we didn't need "autotune" back then.
@@1besieged Plenty of today's musicians sing without autotune. You act like they didn't have sound engineers and mixers back in the '70s.
@@japortocarrer47 Most of the hall of famers nowadays are using auto-tune which is cheating,when the sing live.
Master piece total classic icon I'm a grandma 👵 and I still listen to this song in 2024 ❤❤❤❤❤💯💯💯
Stoned beyond belief and never miss a word or note. Wow
Claye Jones off the hook high lmao
i know i couldn't believe how high they are but this is the best rendition of this song i've heard .....freakin awesome
That just really amazes me- how GREAT they are even in this state!
For some people reefer gets them in this weird zone. When i would fight weed made me focus and sharp. It allowed me to focus on one thing at a time instead of my A.D.D taking over.
Love it!
I'm 79 and have been listening to this song for years. One of the best to come out of the 70s.
i just heard it for the first time Im 59, thats now my favorite hippy song!
Still rocking at 79👍😃
True.
Got all their music love them one of the best
Saludos a la distancia. Anita Solis de Costa Rica.
Hard to believe a group of guys who’d already reached fame and fortune could put so much emotion and effort into just a jam session. Every note this band ever sang or played was 100% emotion. Most underrated band ever. RIP Brother Ray.
You are so true! There really was a lot of talent here! Atleast they made the cover of the Rolling Stone!!! LOL
AMEN Just perfect! Wow i love them
@@ediephillips2674 me too y'all
@@ediephillips2674 .
They were having fun
I love Dr. Hook! So many good songs and the memories that they evoke. I wonder how many of us wish it was the 70's/80's again.
I know I do
I raise my ✋️
All of us....
ME!!!!
I’m 43 years old and grew up to my Pop playing this. Love it! NOTHING makes me happier than these memories
My name is Sylvia. Been a sales representative for 23 years. Especially when I meet new clients and I introduce myself, I always start singing this song - it breaks the ice. Everybody always knows this song, I love the song❤
That's Just Perfect!
Was my mother's name. Been gone for 40 years now. r.i.p. Mum.
If you whipped that out on me I'd buy what you're selling, even if I didn't need it. Just out of respect.
I was so mad at Mrs. Avery! I was only seven years old, but I kept hoping she'd give Sylvia the phone.
Give her the fone
i bet you that the guy from Galveston was rich and the other poor so Sylvia s mother was interested in money not in love.
I was mad at her too!!!!!
If I saw any guys looking like them near my daughters I would shoot
Funny!
I’m 60 and STILL love listening to Dr Hook,I just loved them as a 70 s teen….
I just turned 60 Tuesday the 2/8 and this has been with us for over 50 years,very cool.
Same. Such talented musicians.
Me too! Been a teen in the 70s was a privilege. Wish I could revisit those years, even for just a day.
My high school grad was 1970 at the time of the best music ever in my opinion. First concert Neil Diamond and it just got better.
Me too!!!! Love these guys!!!
Man, they put their guts into this song, didn't they? The song's songwriter, who is not a member of the group, Shel Silverstein, the one playing the harmonica, must have been ecstatic with the group's ability to convey the emotions of his song, whether live, like this, or on the actual hit record. What a wonderful song, beautifully performed.
my exhusband made me listen to this a few weeks ago without any reason i guess. This was us as teens 1979
wasn't sure if he had some hidden reason. I mean i miss us like things we did together that always makes me smile, anyway i told him i had it my cellphone and own the 45 record and it on an old multiartist album. Still makes me cry.
True story ❤
I will be 65 next month and still love this song!!!
That was well said 🤣😂🤣 Beautiful, I haven't heard this since decades. It reminded me old disturbing thoughts. I was young inexperienced in life and was trying to figure out the drama hiding behind the lyrics. It made me feel extremely upset 😅 but still hadn't a clue what it was about 🤣
Silverstein must have had the best weed on the houseboat.
You know it’s good when Dennis’ eyes are rolling back in his head before they even start. Give me a one way ticket back to the 70’s❤️
just take me back!!!!
@Charl Jacobs Hahaha I get this thought every time I watch these Shel houseboat vids. The hammer they hit before filming was that good I get high just watching it!
Me too
HOW I WOULD LOVE LOVE LOVE TO GO BACK TO THE 70S...THATS WHEN MUSIC WAS MUSIC
@@eml122 wouldn't it be so peaceful...it seems so easy back then
No Auto tune in that bunch!!! NONE NEEDED... man I miss these songs!
AMEN !
hawkskyflier THESE SONGS ARE ALL OVER TH-cam HOW CAN YOU MISS THEM FOOL
@@anonymousq9434 I think hes referring to his youth
By beer wine weed and whiskey
thank god for you tube
Who's listening in March of 2023? I'm a retired rock drummer of over 50 years. On my 21st birthday I purchased an old fashioned soda bar. Sylvia's Mother was one of the 45's on the jukebox and lemme tell ya, this song was played numerous times throughout the day. It's still one of my favorites!
I think it speaks to people. Regardless if they understand how pay phones worked.
Listening in April 2024
Listening from Canada 🇨🇦 April 2024 ❤
April 2024..... will ALWAYS be a great song! and I am 65 yrs. old. Been listening to this all of my life.
May 2024!!! Have listened since came out. 65Yrs old! Still rocking :) :) :)
This was back when "musicians" actually had to have talent. Not like today.
Stoned beyond belief
Oh yeah, this is the peak of musical talent, isn't it? Roll over, Beethoven!
Compared to today's crap... yes.
Kevin Peterson there endless musicians with talent today. Like any art form, it evolves. If you truly can’t find good new music, and you’re not living in a cave, then you really never knew good music at all. Runners get faster, and music evolves! Funny, when my dad heard the Beatles on Sullivan, he said the same stupid thing...”they don’t make music like they used to. That was 55 years ago, I remember it like yesterday!
There's plenty of talent, then as now. The media machine just selects what is most marketable.
Stoned out of their minds and would still blow away any sober group today !
Damn , this song tears my heart up to this day , i am 66
They actually beat the album version with this rendition. Magical.
Yeah this version has so much more raw emotion!
They did. The original is great, and it still sounds great when I hear it. But this is ridiculously good. So raw, so rock and roll, and his voice has such pain in it.
Thanks to Jay
same thing with come on carry
So damn good.
No exaggeration, this is one of the best songs, ever. Hairy, sexy buncha pirates harmonizing like angels wtf... ❤️
Lol. So true
Well put miss Arlene 🥰
Bunch of stanky drunken pirate waistrells singing their hearts out. ❤ Gotta love the set up - guy with bare feet up on table wailing on harmonica. Enough hair in the room to start up a wig shop.
@@blackjakko that is Shel Silverstein, the songwriter
Arlene 🤣🤣🤣
Stoned or not,one of the best bands ever.Never get tired of them.
there is no band today that can put a song like that together
they couldn't even figure out how to take a bath! Saw them in concert & they sucked! They were stoned off their asses, couldn't remember the words to this or any of the songs!! This song is pedestrian at best!
Pedestrian at best..LOLOL..That's subjective but can I have a clue on to where I can find the music you wrote and produced? I'm quite sure it would never be so pedestrian. You are a person on the sidelines of life. Sometimes referred to as a loser.
@@janiceleflar5479 what songs have you written ?
@@janiceleflar5479 but you could be wrong about this one performance which shows they have the skills to deliver. i get that you feel ripped off when you saw them live but what does one thing have to do with the other ? also if you think this performance here was pedestrian can you even listen to music today given your obvious high standards ?
@Joseph Preston "largely novelty song producing act.." if that's true I think it goes to show you how good the music was back then that dr. hook only qualifies as a "novelty act". this video shows they had the raw talent perhaps the drugs nipped them at the bud.
Dennis has just the right amount of pathos to deliver the pain and sadness I feel every time I hear this song. A natural born genius!
I cry every time
so true!
Can't believe how in sync these guys are, just great to hear, stripped down to the bone, how it should be, pure talent, not plastic..
yeah andy, ray RIP and the boy's were the real deal stoned or not don't get any better
Amazing talent + loads and loads of something we'll just call Dr. C.
❤️❤️❤️
I still have this song on rotation on all my devices after all these years.
I must be getting old. I remember when this song came out and it played all the time on the radio. 50 years later, the lyrics are still burned into my brain. That's MUSIC.
Yes the the best.
B to
Cool
I"m with you!!!
Scoot over on that bench y'all. ❤
Not many people know that this is the cut, the actual, song you all heard on the radio back then. I am so glad someone put this on here. Simply close your eyes and listen. Back then we never saw the people.
For real? There’s not a clean studio version? That’s great! Note the author Shel wailing in the background on harmonica. 💙🎶
This is dubious at best. For one thing, the album version seems to have some orchestra backing. But look it up; the song was recorded in a studio in Nashville, Tennessee.
Not many bands could preform this well roasted! Lovett!
BonJovi tried. eh.....
@@andybilakshow260ciao Andy! 🙋♀️😍😘💘🍀
Santana- Soul sacrifice lol highest I've ever seen a band. Game them all a crapload of acid then informed them they were on in 20 mins.
black sabbath did
These were definitely toasted and still nailed it better than the album version.
no matter how stoned they were when they made this song its perfect just perfect
Don't believe some were stoned. More wacked out on some other drugs.
Quite easily the most underrated band of all time, the sheer passion and raw talent of this brilliant band are unmatched !!!! Love Dr Hook, always !!! 😍🎸👌🔥🔥🔥
This guy has the perfect voice for this song - sounds like he's about to cry throughout.
He sounds a lot like Shel.
He really does sound as though he's going to cry.
Yes. Have you listened to kiss it away from dr hook.?
@@briant7265 ? Shel could not sing....
@@doriswhite1348 Definitely on the studio recording when he sings about the operator saying 40 cents more right before the last chorus. He sounds like he is actually crying.
💖💔💖 RIP Ray Sawyer ~ February 1, 1937 ~ December 31, 2018 ~ You will be missed & loved eternally.
That voice was tailor-made for that song, it really does make the song work so perfectly! Somebody else doing it, well, it would probably be pointless to cover!
I heard bon jovi do this song and well just don’t ,nobody can compare toDL
omg tyvm i dont knew what his die ,,,rip ...very nice singer...i think his a soul of the very nice band
StillMe lol he couldn't if died on the 1st
It brings a tear to my eye everytime I think of Ray's passing 😓
I'm from, Nassau, Bahamas and I grew up on Calypso, Reggae and Rock n Roll. Thus classic Rock song is one of the songs that touches my heart and makes me emotional. ❤
This version on Shel's houseboat is superior to the single released on the radio. I never knew why they put all the orchestral strings on the radio version. Shel Silverstein playing the harmonica is the perfect instrument for Sylvia "catching the 9:00 train". Absolutely perfect.
Who's sitting next to him?
To me it looks like Howard hesseman from the TV show Wkrp in Cincinnati?
@@kenhinkston2837 No. That character is already older, Howard Hesseman was probably 32-34 when that video was filmed
Couldn’t have said it any better- I totally agree 💯
A ragtag bunch of boys making some great heartfelt music, rock and roll, gotta love it.
Simply the best
Kids will never know the struggle of a dime to make a phone call and how deep this somg can take ya back
They would ask, “What’s a dime?”
They will never know the pain of the dime going straight through the phone and coming out the change return, over, and over and over..........😂
@@oxyfee6486 absolutely 🤣
@@davekennedy8626 positive hhaa
The only pain they feel is when omg I can't find my cell 😂😂
Damn, they're great! Even baked, these boys can sing and play! I bet those days were good times that none of them can recall.
+Mick D. some of the drug shit is a put on, know them personaly
Dennis was one hell of an actor then!
Oh yeah!
They didn't inhale! LOL
best times they'll never remember.
A miss conception.i have spent the last 25 years drunk or wasted and I remember all of it.
Beats the living crap outa today's music by a long shot.. Absolutely Awesome song.. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
I remember buying this single from the local record shop, when I was 10 years old. It made me cry. The emotion conveyed was incredible. What a performance!
This is one of those songs where once i hear it, i sing it all day long.
Music doesn't get any better than this, people.
yeah! where'd the authenticity go? have we sold our souls for digital junk?
Very true. I hear all this insipid "rock" coming out today and it can't compare.
@@carolrat5318 Stop listening to the Top 40 shit on the radio. It's just a product to be played in between commercials. It's aimed at 14 year old girls.
You have the MOST amazing tool ever created to find ANY type of modern music you could ever desire... It's called the internet. But all you do is complain?
There's nothing wrong with listening to the same 20 albums for the last 40 years,
but if you truly care about music, you would be drowning in new music that moves your soul.
If you don't make the effort to look for amazing new music, no one will take your complaints about the lack of it seriously.
I just named my newborn daughter Sylvia because this was one of my dad's favorite songs. I miss him so much and know he would love her name.
When he rolls is eyes at the start while sort of getting in to the right mental state for the song. And then almost starts to laugh but manages to stay on track. Fun
For a second kind of thought he was possessed by Satan
No SHIT kracked me up ... Gotta Luv'em
It's called nodding out. When you take a lot of drugs.
I'm trying to think of more good examples of artists who are performing live who make faces because of large amount of drugs. Johnny Cash has some good faces, Santana at Woodstock, Festival Express when Rick Danko is singing with Janis Joplin, Layne Staley, Jim Morrison, there's some good ones out there.
I found a good example today, Grateful Dead with Pete Townsend playing Wharf Rat. 3:20. Check it out, Jerry Garcia is on some good stuff lol!
This is a prime example why today's music doesn't even come close to the passion and the talent of bands of the seventies.
This is a prime example of how people get in a bubble and give up on life missing out on so much great news music.
@jdm-uk-yank Nope. New music has no soul or inspiration. Aside from new bluegrass, folk and rockabilly everything else is nonsensical noise...so quit bursting my bubbles smart-ass.
3:00 - Whoah!
Seeing Shel himself playing the harmonica for this made this even better than it already was, as if that were even possible.
I didn't know that was Shel on the harmonica; didn't know what he looked like.
What an incredible group. There's something about this song and the way they put this together that sets it apart from all of the others. I don't know what it is, but it just clicks with a person.
To top it off, Mick Fleetwood is sitting next to Shel!!!!
I hadn’t spotted Mick Fleetwood
Loved it 45 years ago and still love it today.
60s surely
Pretty great performance from a bunch of stoned misfits.Sounds even better than the actual record.Ray's passing was a sad day last year.
My dad died in 1978 but I had a friend named Agnes and she told me on Facebook today she remembered my parents because it would have been there 65th anniversary this week..... When all the sudden I remembered this song. I told my friend Agnes my father used to sing this song Sylvia's mother only he used to put your name in it. So here I am on my 64th birthday and along forgotten memory came through so I just sent Agnes the song. Life works in mysterious ways sometimes. Remember all of your memories are buried inside your head somewhere and once in awhile they come back unsummoned. I feel like today I had a beautiful birthday remembering my dad singing the song and his quiet and his unique and funny sense of humor. What a great birthday
Remember well 1979. Listening to these songs late night on car radio
Belated happy birthday, many more to come.
Let's not forget Shel, he's the reason we are all here.
Yep, he helped them with their career for sure. I meet them and him in when the band lived in an old house in N.J. We hung a few times for rehearsals. Fun times.
The really cool part is that Shel is revealed to be the one playing harmonica for this performance at 3:00.
He was a real renaissance man.
2024...I remember the first time I heard this song when it first came out.❤️ Unforgettable!
I recently discovered that I live right down the street from the 'real Sylvia's' house. It adds an interesting dimension as I drive past the train station.
I'm 62, my boyfriend 67. He's a guitar picker, and this is one of our favorites to sing. 😊 Never gets old. ❤
They looked like a gang of thugs, but every one of them had real talent, god I could cry for the 70s .
It seems like only yesterday but its a life time gone.
@@annfrancoole34 what I would give for a time machine.
William Davies, Thugs? LOL. They looked like normal young men of the early 70s.
i will cry with you..and the eighties!!
Looked to me like they'd been up for 3 days with no bath. Greasy
The emotion he sings with.... WOW, he's hurting. Such an awesome performance.
Your best singing is always when you are or make yourself emotionally invested in the lyrics.
hallo, even mrs averys's gotta be teared up!!!
Another channel has an interview with the actual Sylvia‘s mother.
And Sylvia.
Sylvia’s mother actually refers to her as Sylvie.
That's what they shot for every time
It's Shel's song, the guy playing the harmonica.
There’s no other singer I’ve ever heard so emotionally involved in his songs as Dennis, extremely brilliant ❤️ 🎵
Wish he would sing them to me 😍😍😍😍😍
it`´S LIKE HYMN
Allison Krauss check her out
Partly true... ever heard of Otis Redding?
Kicky Jeanie his facial expressions are always so earnest. I love it😃
one of the greatest songs ever
That's a might big claim.
@@markserour9115 but it perfectly captures the pathos of being young, in love, standing in a phone booth desperately trying to reach your sweetie. The disapproving parents still had sway over young women's lives when this came out. I have been in the phone booth and being the one whose parents wouldn't let the beloved speak to me. It also reminds me of anguished long distance romance maintained in a phone booth with my laundry money when I was an archeologist calling my sweetie. Yes, this is one of the greatest songs ever that nobody over the age of 40 will "get" since phone booths went "poof!" circa 1990 when the Brick Phones were all the rage. Another great love song about teen angst is Walk Away Renee and that one doesn't get much respect anymore either.
Great song loved it when I was a teenager it brings back a lot of memories.....
you are correct
Simply quality from the 70’s and YESSSSSS I’m still listening and shedding the odd tears for those oh so fabulous times .. I was 77 years old guy 5 days ago and Dr Hook will never age ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Some songs give you a ride down memory lane and this sure is one of them. Good times.
I can remember watching my mom cooking supper in the kitchen while listening to Dr Hook.... I'm about to be 58 years old this summer still listening to classics like this.
❤ U mama ❤
Even being stoned does not stop real talent from shining.
so true. the other live version of this song, on shels houseboat, they r passing a doobie around. lol
This is one of the best most funnest bands of all time. They were so underrated. No matter how stoned they were, they still never missed a luck.
Have you ever seen a group of dudes feel the lsd quite like this? I mean the music! They were feeling the music!
There's just no substitute for class, brilliant! Always loved this band.
Hearing live music that is just as good as the album produced in a studio let’s you know just how talented these guys were.
Yeah, they had to have been stoned in the studio as well🤣
@@andybilakshow260 good point amigo!
Thats Mic Fleetwood..sitting and chillen.. i love Dr.HOOK..
Them boys are BAKED and they're still killin' on this tune. What a mountain of talent. I'll bet you could cut up those curtains, put a few pieces in little Baggies, and sell ''em for $50 apiece...and it would be stronger smoke than anything available today.
🤣🤣😶🌫🤣
*✿ஜ✿ The harmony with Dennis & Ray and the energy they brought can't be touched! ✿ஜ✿*
+Cindy Rizzato
RIGHT ON CINDY!
IT WAS A HAPPENING!
NEVER TO BE REPEATED!
Bobby English Yes indeed.... ♥
+Cindy Rizzato
PUT IT DOWN TO GREAT TALENT & GREAT WEED!
I would like to see a SHEL SILVERSTEIN COMMEMORATION DAY!
Shel was a Genius, but NEVER boasted of it!
Bobby English Oh I know ~ wouldn't that be wonderful!!! Agree on all points ~♥~
+Bobby English say it proud..
I just love this band. They didn't take themselves to seriously. Just had fun making music. Sometimes heartfelt. Sometimes pumped up funergy.
When you have a wordsmith like Shel writing great tunes like they did in the early days, you can relax. Shel had only one rule: sing it in whatever key works, but don't change a (Bleeping) word. That's why Johnny Cash had to read the lyrics when he performed "A Boy Named Sue"
"They didn't take themselves too seriously."
I loved to watch them in concert They often appeared to be drunk or high, staggering and knocking over mike stands, but then I noticed that every time it was time for one of them to do a vocal, the mike was there in the right place. I never saw it, but I understand that they once opened for themselves as a glitter band and got booed off the stage. I did see them do a hilarious pseudo-blues "tribute." Bassist Cummings spent most of the show in the bassist's traditional stance of head buried in the speakers, back to the audience--until "Cover of the Rolling Stone," when he blossomed, got off some wild solo riffs, and shouted "The King of Rock and Roll knows how to boogie!"; then went back to head in the speakers. Despite its all being (I presume) very carefully choreographed, it all seemed natural and fun. This video shows them more relaxed, I guess, and it's fun too, but it was great seeing them in concert.
Classic,timeless,mesmerizing
My parents letting me steer the Dodge Rambler down the street as a 7-8 year old. This playing on the 8-track. God the '70s were fun.
America has some of the best groups we are so lucky
This demonstrates just how talented they all where...no matter how rag tag they looked.Fantastic.
Many people do not know that in years gone by regular people got together and sang and danced in the yard, barn, garage wherever they could. And occasionally talented people rose to the top like these guys. All of their music was great.
So in my bedroom in the dark this was the 70's feel epitomized. Just a kid listening . Got it.
It's Oct. 2020 and nobody today can come close to this talent!
those guys had done enough drugs to stock a Walgreens, but never missed a note. That was a great band. I love Silverstein on the bed with his harp.
How can u tell. They are so. Beautiful. Hands down Drop Dead gorgeous. Everyone of them
HARMONICA...
Think this is good Carry me Carrie, wow. I'm going there right now.
😱 OMG was that Shel Silverstein on harmonica???? 😪 He was so young, CMEO. WAH!!!
The final 4 part harmony at the end. Most bands couldn't come close straight. These guys hit it as clean and pure as gold while stoned. That was great talent that nobody today even comes close!
Absolutely amazing song and vocals from this incomparable band , How blessed are we to be able to listen to this master piece , timeless , thank you Dr. Hook and the Medicine Band for bringing this music into our lives and hearts...
His eyes are rolling to the back of his head yet stil what a voice
Its so nice to be high and still enjoy this great music that i grow up with 🔺🔺
@David Holton Right now everything is fine how about over your way????
@David Holton Hi David, Hope all is well with you. Would love to get to know you better!!! Let's make it happen
Some of the greatest music ever was made under the influence of mind expanding substances.
agree its one of a , kind they all R so'm dam good pure , up front
LET'S PUT ALL THOSE FUCKING POLITICIANS ON MIND EXPANDING SUBSTANCES!
Bobby English language
They may have been stoned but they didn't miss it.
It was more than drugs, these guys had talent, if drugs alone could produce music like that we'd still be getting it today, sadly we are not, plenty of drugs about, but very little talent
I messed with my friend while we were locked up, playing this every time we broke out the hooch. He pretended to hate it, but yet he always agreed to play it for me. R.I.P tyson. Love ya buddy🙏
Dr Hook's music and live performances are what legendary bands are all about. To entertain our minds and soul.
And that's exactly what Dr Hook did, without missing a heartbeat even when 'stoned' out of their minds! Now that's what you call True Musicianship. If you're over 60 (like I am) then you may recall the music from the 70s with fond memories because that was a time of innocence. Watching bands like Dr Hook perform live is a pleasant stroll down memory lane - they bring back wonderful recollections. So when someone asks 'Whatever happened to Dr Hook?" Well then, you can tell 'em they are alive and well in videos like this - Thanks for uploading it! And I have to say this: I'd gladly give up my rolling stones and other band collections anytime for the music of Dr Hook.
Saw Dr Hook when they played my undergrad school in the mid 70's. Great show, they even had on member come on stage and do a one man small set during the intermission! Great show and better music!
I sure miss these older songs
Fanastic sound quality here. One of my favorite bands, accurately displayed. Makes me happy. Thank you.
This was my very first concert. Oh the memories. 1973 in Kansas City. hope my last concert will be as good. I feel blessed to have grown up in those times. Where did the time go, better yet where did all the great musicians go. Great times.
This is just as good as the original from 1972 brilliant
when i was young, i'm 70 now, i felt my blod go to my feet!
Ray Sawyer saved my ass from going to jail at thier concert at Rock Valley in Illinois in the 70s. FOREVER GRATEFUL 😎
cool story
@@barbibutton9619 barton
Never seen this video before fantastic!👍😀 good music to have a drink and listen to! PS I'm 53 soon!
Tell the story!
Tell us the whole story please. LOL LOL ☮️❤️👍🏻🤘🏻☮️
This Performance is better than anything i've heard on an album or seen live....
It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like the music has to come out from you or it will be lost forever and never be able to touch the ones it was intended to touch and possibly change their lives forever…
Coronavirus brought me here..all my troubles are now gone
you beat me to it !
The passion of these men is so present here, even if they aren’t. Lol I still remember the words to many of their songs but can’t remember the name of someone I met 5 minutes ago. Man those were good times!
Same here
@@davidpreston4019 oft desperate Dave in the building
I view this video once a day.
THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE GREATEST SONG EVER WRITTEN & PERFORMED, WITH THE WRITER & THE ONE OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE SONG, SHEL SILVERSTEIN, PLAYING HARMONICA IN THE BACKGROUND.
DR HOOK GAVE A POWERFUL PERFORMANCE - FULL OF EMOTION.
IT TOOK ME YEARS TO FIND OUT THAT THE SONG WAS ALL ABOUT SHEL SILVERSTEIN & HIS GIRLFRIEND.
I ALWAYS WONDERED WHY IT TOUCHED MY HEART - NOW YOU KNOW!
SHEL SILVERSTEIN - GREAT SONG WRITER & GREAT WRITER OF BOOKS FOR CHILDREN!
I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU, SHEL!
THEY COULD HAVE NAMED YOU "SUE"!
it's hard believe you have been gone a year Ray Sawyer. You will always live in our 💕 forever