DR. HOOK: Cover to Cover

The Rooftop Singers were an American progressive folk-singing trio in the early 1960s, best known for the hit "Walk Right In". The group was composed of Erik Darling and Bill Svanoe (vocals, guitar) with former jazz singer Lynne Taylor (vocals).

Darling put the group together in June 1962, specifically to record an updated and uptempo version of a 1929 Gus Cannon folk blues song, "Walk Right In". The trio recorded the song for Vanguard Records, with updated lyrics and an arrangement featuring paired 12-string acoustic guitars. The record became the most successful single in Vanguard's history.

In the U.S., the song was #1 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1963. It spent five weeks at the top of the Easy Listening chart and reached both the R&B chart (peaking at #4) as well as the country music chart (peaking at #23). The song reached #1 in Australia and made the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #10. The recording sold over one million copies, gaining gold status.

Here's The Rooftop Singers' version:

Dr. Hook covered “Walk Right In” on their Making Love and Music album in 1977 and the song spent 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 

"Walk Right In" was their biggest hit in Australia, becoming  a party anthem. Many fans thought the song's lyrics were about marijuana use but the original songwriters claim that it was folks trying to fit what they wanted into the song. They said the song is about dancing and having a good time.  

In later years, the song was played as an introduction to all of Dr. Hook Featuring Ray Sawyer's concerts.

Here's Dr. Hook's version.

(The information used in this post is from Wikipedia and startsat60.com.)

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