He recorded the hit song “Hang on, Sloopy” at just the age of 17. He collaborated with an eclectic mix of performers, including Barbara Streisand, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and Hulk Hogan.
And he was a first-rate musician, composer, producer, and performer, whose unbounded energy made his live performances something to remember.
Rick Derringer passed away at his home in Florida, according to his close friend Tony Wilson. He was 77.
In 1965, Derringer played lead guitar for a garage band called The McCoys and cut a single, “Hang on, Sloopy,” that soared to the top of the charts. The Ohio State football team adopted the song, and in 1985, it was named the “state rock song” by the Ohio legislature.
The list of bands and personalities with whom Derringer collaborated is a long one. It included both Winter Brothers, Johnny and Edgar, Alice Cooper, Todd Runyan, Meat Loaf, Kiss, and Bonnie Tyler. He produced six of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s albums, as well as two Runyan albums.
The collaboration with Weird Al raised a few eyebrows in the industry. But Derringer grew up listening to the novelty albums of Spike Jones, an early TV favorite in the 1950s. Jones’s “Never Hit Your Grandma with a Shovel (Use an Ax)” was a true classic of the genre.
While considered a classic rock guitarist, he played blues with legendary blues guitarist Johnny Winter. His biggest success as a recording artist was his recording of “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo,” a song he wrote while playing with Johnny Winter. Winter’s version of the song is distinctly bluesy, while his own version was quite different: “The one I did with Johnny was more in keeping with his style. When I did my version, it was my opportunity to play and create what I thought it could be. I went for it.”
He collaborated with Edgar Winter on several albums, including the classic “Roadwork” effort, which showcased Derringer’s incredible lead guitar chops.
His first solo album, “All American Boy,” released in 1973, was considered one of the best rock solo debut albums in music history. Reviewer Cub Koda writing in AllMusic, said “this is simply Rick Derringer’s most focused and cohesive album, a marvelous blend of rockers, ballads, and atmospheric instrumentals”, adding it was “one of the great albums of the ’70s that fell between the cracks.”
In the 1980s, he teamed up with Hulk Hogan and wrote his “Real American” theme song.
Derringer was a strong Donald Trump supporter.
In recent decades, Mr. Derringer moonlighted as a real estate agent in Florida, where he lived, The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported.
He also drew attention for his support of President Trump, which he amplified during a 2017 appearance with Roger J. Stone Jr., the longtime associate of Mr. Trump’s, on an Infowars podcast. The site, frequented by far-right supporters of the president, has been used to spread conspiracy theories.
On the show, Mr. Derringer said that several politicians had used his “Real American” song over the years, including Mr. Trump and former President Barack Obama, who he said had played it in jest at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in 2011.
His lead guitar riffs were jaw-dropping. Jeff Beck once described Derringer’s style as “dangerous” because he would put himself in musical corners only to escape miraculously and complete a fabulous riff, making it sound easy.
Derringer was the complete package: singer, songwriter, guitar soloist, producer, and collaborator. He was one of the top stage performers of all time and will be remembered as a classic 1970s guitarist.
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