Carol Douglas, Doctor’s Orders | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 66^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Doctor’s Orders” by Carol Douglas.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 66^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Doctor’s Orders”, performed by Carol Douglas. 

“Doctor’s orders say there’s only one thing for me / Nothing he can do, ‘cause only you can cure me.” Ooh-wee, Carol Douglas! The remedy is love from that special someone! Douglas scored a top-20 hit with “Doctor’s Orders” which appeared on her 1975 album, The Carol Douglas Album. Specifically, it reached no. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Notably, Douglas’ version is a cover 🤯.  This Geoff Stephens, Roger Cook, and Roger Greenaway-penned record was originally recorded by Sunny in 1974.  “Doctor’s Orders” was produced by Ed O’Laughlin.

Beyond the unforgettable chorus – “It says in my condition love’s the best physician / He’s prescribed a potion full of warm emotion” – “Doctor’s Orders” is chocked full of musical goodness.  It commences with a driving, infectious groove and an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek skit. Disco to the core, “Doctor’s Order” benefits from that scintillating groove, rhythmic guitar, and layered instrumentation.  The orchestration is decadent with lovely strings and horns accentuating the cute, playful, and soulful vocals of Carol Douglas.  “Every day / A loving spoonful to be taken / It’s the only way / To stop this empty heart of mine from breaking,” she sings. Oh, those matters of the heart – the plight of love! A fabulous, extended instrumental break shows off the stunning arrangement, which is idiomatic of 70s R&B/soul.  The key change that appears post-instrumental break – and following another skit by Douglas –  is gargantuan.  The energy is #giving, especially with the support of forte, rhythmic strings! Carol Douglas serves up a surefire disco gem with  “Doctor’s Orders”.

Carol Douglas // The Carol Douglas Album // Unidisc Music, Inc. // 1975

Carol Douglas, Doctor’s Orders: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 66 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; Unidisc Music, Inc.; OpenClipart-Vectors, Speedy McVroom via  Pixabay]