Lobo

Best remembered for soft-rock perennials like "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo" and "I'd Love You to Want Me," Lobo was the alias of singer/songwriter Roland Kent LaVoie, born July 31, 1943 in Tallahassee, FL. At 17 he joined the Rumors, whose ranks also included future luminaries like country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons, country-pop cut-up Jim Stafford, and noted drummer Jon Corneal. From there LaVoie attended the University of South Florida, joining the Sugar Beats and making his recorded debut on their 1964 single "What Am I Doing HereNULL" Although the group proved short-lived, it inaugurated a lengthy collaboration between LaVoie and bandmate Phil Gernhard, who would later produce all of Lobo's hits; together they also helmed the Jim Stafford favorites "Spiders & Snakes" and "Wildwood Weed." Stints in the Little-Known Uglies and Me & the Other Guys followed before LaVoie issued his debut solo single, "Happy Days in New York City," in 1969. Two years later, he recorded "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo"; sensing the song's hit potential -- but also wary of succumbing to one-hit-wonder novelty status -- he adopted the Lobo moniker, and after the single cracked the Top Five in the spring of 1971, many assumed the record was the product of a group and not a solo act. The album Introducing Lobo also yielded the minor hits "I'm the Only One" and "California Kid."

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