Although it was sad to hear of the passing of Rick Derringer, the music he left us is anything but sad. There’s the fond memory of listening to the 45 of “Hang On Sloopy” in my room in 1965.
This was the first record I bought that had a lead singer who was a teenager like me. Rick Derringer was only 16 when he sang the lead vocal, and 17 when the record came out in July of 1965. By October, “Hang On Sloopy” was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song became a garage band classic, and I sang it with my band at dances in the late 60’s.
Later in 1965, The McCoys’ Rock cover of the Jazz classic “Fever” hit #7. I bought that one too, and even their under-the-Top-40 single, “You Make Me Feel So Good” (#53) in 1966.
Rick Derringer went on to perform solo, and with his own group, Derringer, in the 1970s. His biggest solo hit was in 1973 with a song he wrote, “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo” (#23).
(Rick performing with his band Derringer in 1977)
Rick Derringer was a Grammy-winning producer, and an excellent guitarist who performed on many hits with famous musicians. His stint with Ringo Starr And His All Starr Band brought Rick to Eugene, Oregon in 2010. Here’s what he looked like back then.
We heard him perform “Hang On Sloopy” and “Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo”, and of course he played with the band all night. Somewhere during the 45-year gap between when I first heard The McCoys and when Rick performed here, the full version of “Hang On Sloopy” was released (of course I bought it), and that’s the one he sang. If you hear the verse about a “red dress”, that’s the long version from before it was edited down to the hit single.
Rick Derringer…singer-songwriter-guitarist-producer…was 77.