Roland Kent LaVoie (born July 31, 1943), better known by his stage name Lobo (which is Spanish for wolf), is an American singer-songwriter who was successful in the 1970s, scoring several U.S. Top 10 hits including "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo", "I'd Love You to Want Me", and "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend". These three songs, along with "Where Were You When I Was Falling in Love", gave Lobo four chart toppers on the Easy Listening/Hot Adult Contemporary chart.
Career
1961–1970: Early years
Born in Tallahassee, Florida, LaVoie was raised by his mother in Winter Haven, Florida, with his six siblings. He began his musical career in 1961 as a member of a local band, The Rumours. The band included Gram Parsons and Jim Stafford, as well as drummer Jon Corneal, who later joined Parsons' International Submarine Band.
In 1964, while attending the University of South Florida, LaVoie joined a band called the Sugar Beats
His debut album, Introducing Lobo, came in May 1971. In June his second single, "She Didn't Do Magic", was released. In September, "California Kid and Reemo" was released, followed by The Albatross. When Big Tree Records merged with Bell Records, Lobo's second project album Close Up was never released.
Under the Lobo alias, he then released Of a Simple Man in 1972, which included back-to-back U.S. Top 10 hits, including "I'd Love You to Want Me" (No. 2, November 18–25, 1972) and "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend" (No. 8, February 17–24, 1973). The former became Lobo's biggest hit, a million-seller gaining gold disc status in November 1972
! style="width:40px;"| UK
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1971
| style="text-align:left;"| Introducing Lobo
| 178
| 92
| —
| —
|-
| 1972
| style="text-align:left;"| Of a Simple Man
| 37
| 19
| 18
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1973
| style="text-align:left;"| Introducing Lobo [rerelease]
| 163
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| Calumet
| 128
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1974
| style="text-align:left;"| Just a Singer
| 183
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1975
| style="text-align:left;"| A Cowboy Afraid of Horses
| 151
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1976
| style="text-align:left;"| Come with Me
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1979
| style="text-align:left;"| Lobo
| 207
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1989
| style="text-align:left;"| Am I Going Crazy
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1994
| style="text-align:left;"| Asian Moon
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1995
| style="text-align:left;"| Classic Hits
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1996
| style="text-align:left;"| Sometimes
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| You Must Remember This
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1997
| style="text-align:left;"| You Must Remember This – The Instrumental Album
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2008
| style="text-align:left;"| Out of Time
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 2010
| style="text-align:left;"| Propinquity
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
|2022
| style="text-align:left;" | That Shows You What I Know
| —
| —
| —
| —
|}
Compilations
- 1975 The Best of Lobo (Big Tree)
- 1990 Greatest Hits (Curb)
- 1993 The Best of Lobo (Rhino)
- 1996 The Best of Lobo (Curb)
- 1996 I'd Love You to Want Me (Rhino)
- 1997 Me & You & a Dog Named Boo & Other Hits (Rhino)
- 2004 The Very Best of Lobo (WEA International)
- 2005 Introducing Lobo/Of a Simple Man (Wounded Bird)
- 2005 Platinum Collection
- 2006 Ultimate Collection (EMI) Malaysia
- 2006 Me & You & a Dog Named Boo & Other Hits (Collectables)
- 2007 Greatest Hits (Lobo Records)
Singles
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Single
! colspan="7"|Chart positions
|- style="font-size:smaller;"
! style="width:40px;"| US
! style="width:40px;"| US<br>AC
! style="width:40px;"| US Country
! style="width:40px;"| CAN
! style="width:40px;"| AUS<br>
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1964
| style="text-align:left;"| "What Am I Doing Here with You?" [as the Sugar Beats]
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1966
| style="text-align:left;"| "It's Gonna Be So Hard" [as the Uglies]
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="1"| 1969
| style="text-align:left;"| "Happy Days in New York City" [as Kent LaVoie]
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1971
| style="text-align:left;"| "Me and You and a Dog Named Boo"
| 5
| 1
| —
| 6
| 8
| 1
| 4
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "She Didn't Do Magic"
| 46
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| b/w "I'm the Only One"
| 76*
| 14
| —
| 30
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "California Kid and Reemo"
| 72
| 19
| —
| 41
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="5"| 1972
| style="text-align:left;"| "We'll Make It – I know We Will"
| 108*
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| b/w "The Albatross"
| 128*
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "A Simple Man"
| 56
| 17
| —
| 43
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "I'd Love You to Want Me"
| 2
| 1
| —
| 1
| 1
| 1
| 5
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Don't Expect Me to Be Your Friend"
| 8
| 1
| —
| 4
| 4
| 4
| —
|-
| rowspan="4"| 1973
| style="text-align:left;"| "It Sure Took a Long, Long Time"
| 27
| 3
| —
| 41
| 49
| 14
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "How Can I Tell Her"
| 22
| 4
| —
| 27
| 49
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "There Ain't No Way"
| 68
| 29
| —
| —
| 94
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| b/w "Love Me for What I Am"
| 86
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1974
| style="text-align:left;"| "Standing at the End of the Line"
| 37
| 25
| —
| 26
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Rings"
| 43
| 8
| —
| 30
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1975
| style="text-align:left;"| "Don't Tell Me Goodnight"
| 27
| 2
| —
| 50
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Would I Still Have You"
| —
| 44
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1976
| style="text-align:left;"| "At First Sight"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "It's Everywhere"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1977
| style="text-align:left;"| "Afterglow"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1978
| style="text-align:left;"| "You Are All I Ever Need"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1979
| style="text-align:left;"| "Where Were You When I Was Falling in Love"
| 23
| 1
| —
| 67
| 94
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Holdin' On for Dear Love"
| 75
| 13
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1980
| style="text-align:left;"| "With a Love Like Ours"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Fight Fire with Fire"
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| 1981
| style="text-align:left;"| "I Don't Want to Want You"
| —
| —
| 40
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="3"| 1982
| style="text-align:left;"| "Come Looking for Me"
| —
| —
| 63
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Bull Smith Can't Dance the Cotton-Eyed Joe"
| —
| —
| 88
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Living My Life Without You"
| —
| —
| 88
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| rowspan="2"| 1985
| style="text-align:left;"| "Am I Going Crazy"
| —
| —
| 57
| —
| —
| —
| —
|-
| style="text-align:left;"| "Paint the Town Blue"
| —
| —
| 49
| —
| —
| —
| —
|}
US chart is Billboard unless otherwise noted. * Cash Box singles chart.