Sylvia's Mother

"Sylvia's Mother" is a 1972 single by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show and the group's first hit song. It was written by Shel Silverstein, produced by Ron Haffkine and was highly successful in the United States, reaching #5 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 #2 in the United Kingdom. It spent three weeks at #1 on the Australian music charts,[2] making it the 15th ranked single in Australia for 1972; and also reached #1 in South Africa, where it was the 3rd ranked song for the year. The song spent 7 consecutive weeks at #1 in Ireland on the Irish Singles Chart.[3] It appeared on the group's first album, Dr. Hook.

"Sylvia's Mother"
Single by Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
from the album Dr. Hook
B-side"Makin' It Natural"
ReleasedMarch 1972
GenreCountry rock, pop
Length3:50
LabelColumbia Records
Songwriter(s)Shel Silverstein
Producer(s)Ron Haffkine
Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show singles chronology
"Last Morning"
(1971)		 "Sylvia's Mother"
(1972)		 "Carry Me, Carrie"
(1972)

Song background

"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 Pandolfi, but 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] Desperate to continue the relationship, Silverstein called Pandolfi's mother, Louisa, but she told him that the love had ended.[9]

The lyrics tell a similar story: A man, despondent after learning that Sylvia (with whom he had an earlier relationship) is leaving town, tries to telephone her to say one last goodbye. However, Sylvia's mother (Mrs. Avery) answers the phone, and tells him that Sylvia is engaged to be married and is trying to start a new life in Galveston, Texas. She asks the narrator not to say anything to Sylvia because she might start crying and want to stay. She pauses for a moment, telling him Sylvia is hurrying to catch a 9 o'clock train. She then returns to the phone conversation and thanks the narrator (who is never named) for calling. The pathos lies in the narrator's discovery during the call that Sylvia is right there with her mother and unaware it is him on the phone. Several times during the conversation, an operator interrupts to ask for more money ("40 cents more for the next three minutes") to continue the call.

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."[10]

Chart performance

Bobby Bare cover
"Sylvia's Mother"
Single by Bobby Bare
B-side"Music City U.S.A."
Released1972
RecordedJune 15, 1972
Mercury Custom Recording Studio
Nashville, Tennessee
GenreCountry
Length3:52
3:39 (7" version)
LabelMercury Records 73317
Songwriter(s)Shel Silverstein
Producer(s)Jerry Kennedy
Bobby Bare singles chronology
"What Am I Gonna Do"
(1972)		 "Sylvia's Mother"
(1972)		 "I Hate Goodbyes"
(1973)

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 Billboard Hot Country Singles chart that October. One of the last hits he had during his stay at Mercury Records, "Sylvia's Mother" was the first of many Silverstein-penned successes for Bare, including an entire album (1973's Bobby Bare Sings Lullabys, Legends and Lies), as well as "Marie Laveau", "The Winner", "Rosalie's Good Eats Café", "The Mermaid", "Warm and Free", and others.

References
  1. Fread Bronson, The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits (New York, Billboard, 2003), p. 312
  2. "Go-Set Australian charts - 22 July 1972". Poparchives.com.au. 1972-07-22. Archived from the original on 4 June 2012. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  3. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2023-07-07.
  4. Pat Binder, Gerhard Haupt. "Cinco continentes y una ciudad - Curators". Universes-in-universe.de. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  5. "Searching For Sylvia". Songfacts.com. 2012-10-17. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  6. New Tendencies in Mexican Art: The 1990s, page 11, by Ruben Gallo
  7. Age of discrepancies, page 31, by Olivier Debroise
  8. Kalil, Susie (1993-12-16). "Gray Matter of Concern". Houston Press. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-08. Retrieved 2010-01-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)]
  10. "Cash Box Singles Pick" (PDF). Cash Box. February 26, 1972. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-04-02.
  11. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. "Sylvia's Mother - Dr Hook & The Medicine Show". Danskehitlister.dk. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  13. Steffen Hung. "Dr. Hook And The Medicine Show - Sylvia's Mother". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2016-10-07.
  14. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  15. "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, June 17, 1972". Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
  16. "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 30, 1972". Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
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