By Jem Aswad, Variety | Rick Derringer, whose six-decade career spanned teen stardom as lead singer of the ‘60s smash “Hang on Sloopy,” a ‘70s solo hit with “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo,” session work with artists from Steely Dan to Barbra Streisand, and extensive work as a writer and producer of wrestling themes, including Hulk Hogan’s seemingly ageless “Real American,” has died, according to an announcement from his caretaker, Tony Wilson, and Guitar Player magazine. Wilson’s post states that Derringer died Monday evening in Ormond Beach, Fl. No cause of death was announced although Derringer had been in ill health in recent months; he was 77.
A remarkably versatile guitarist, a strong singer and a high-profile presence on New York’s rock scene of the ‘70s and ‘80s, Derringer also produced the Edgar Winter Group’s 1972 smash single “Frankenstein” and served as the band’s guitarist for several years; worked closely with Winter’s brother Johnny as a guitarist and producer; produced “Weird” Al Yankovic’s first album; and even gave Patti Smith her first major credit, on the song “Jump” from Derringer’s 1973 debut solo album, “All-American Boy.”
His eponymous band released several albums and toured heavily throughout the 1970s – the band’s final major incarnation featured Neil Giraldo, who immediately afterward scored major success as Pat Benatar’s cowriter and guitarist (and husband to this day). Derringer and his first wife, Liz, were also members of Andy Warhol’s extended circle and frequently appeared in rock magazines of the era. In his later years he worked extensively with singer Cyndi Lauper, produced Weird Al Yankovic’s first album, and wrote and produced many popular theme songs for wrestlers, including Hulk Hogan’s “Real American,” which has the curious legacy of being used as a theme song by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Born Richard Dean Zehringer in Ohio in 1947, the young Derringer received a guitar for his ninth birthday and began playing gigs with his uncle, a country musicians. As a teen he formed a band called the McCoys with his brother Randy. In the summer of 1965 the songwriting-production team the Strangeloves – who’d scored a major hit with “I Want Candy” – hired the group as a backing band and soon after enlisted them to record the song “My Girl Sloopy,” the title of which was later altered to “Hang on Sloopy.” The song reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 that summer – replacing Barry McGuire’s grim “Eve of Destruction” – around the time Derringer (still working under his born name) turned 18. The hit has become a kind of theme song for Derringer’s home state of Ohio and, in a foretelling of his later years making music for professional sports, has been a staple of Ohio State football game for decades.
> > > > > > > > Read more about Mr. Derringer’s career here:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/rick-derringer-singer-of-hang-on-sloopy-writer-of-rock-and-roll-hootchie-koo-and-real-american-wrestling-theme-dies-at-77
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OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS, Including Barry Poss of Sugar Hill Records
From AirShow Mastering: When Airshow transitioned its focus from remote recording to mastering in 1990, one of our first clients was Barry Poss of Sugar Hill Records. Barry was very supportive and trusted us with mastering some of the coolest Americana albums of the time (before that term entered the lexicon): The Seldom Scene, Jerry Douglas, Chris Hillman & Herb Pedersen, Tim O’Brien, Peter Rowan, Ranch Romance, Doc Watson, Tony Rice, Nashville Bluegrass Band, Terry Allen, Robert Earl Kean, and many more. Barry passed away this month and the music world lost one of the really good guys. To remember Barry and the music he championed, give a listen to “Big Bug Shuffle” from “Skip, Hop and Wobble” by Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg and Edgar Meyer (Mastered by David Glasser; engineered by the late Bil Vorndick,1995. This album is still considered a reference by many audiophiles.)
https://youtu.be/HeTShE2PiQI?si=p3ONT1bNXqD84Eck
Sugar Hill Records is an American bluegrass and Americana record label.
It was founded in Durham, North Carolina, in 1978 by Barry Poss and David Freeman, the owner of County Records and Rebel Records. Poss acquired full control of Sugar Hill in 1980 and owned the label until 1998, when he sold it to the Welk Music Group, owner of Vanguard Records. Poss stayed on as president, and in 2002 was promoted to chairman. In 2006, Poss won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Americana Music Association. In 2008, Welk Music Group appointed EMI as distributor of its labels including Sugar Hill. Sugar Hill continued to operate from Durham N.C. until 2007, when Poss moved the label to Nashville, Tennessee. In 2015 the label was acquired by Concord Bicycle Music.
Among the many notable artists who have released albums on the label are Nickel Creek, Doc Watson, Townes Van Zandt, Ricky Skaggs, Guy Clark, Robert Earl Keen, Sam Bush and Dolly Parton. One of Parton’s albums for Sugar Hill, Halos & Horns (2002), included a song called “Sugar Hill”, which she wrote as a tribute to the label.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Hill_Records_(bluegrass_label)
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Warning Signs of Suicide – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or if you want to discuss, call the old numbers at 800-273-TALK or 800-273-8255 for English and 888-628-9454 for Spanish. Learn the signs of someone who may be contemplating suicide.
If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, please check them out at http://www.wikipedia.com
MAY 2025
28: Per Nørgård, 92, Danish composer.
27: Freddie Aguilar, 72, Filipino musician and singer-songwriter (“Anak”), multiple organ failure; Irianti Erningpraja, 59, Indonesian singer; Brian Kellock, 63, Scottish jazz pianist.
26: Gigi Canu, 66, Italian guitarist (Planet Funk); Rick Derringer, 77, American musician (The McCoys), songwriter (“Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo”) and record producer (“Weird Al” Yankovic); İlhan Şeşen, 76, Turkish musician, lung cancer.
25: Simon House, 76, English multi-instrumentalist (Hawkwind, David Bowie, Third Ear Band); Michael Sumler, 71, American musician (Kool and the Gang), traffic collision; Foday Musa Suso, 75, Gambian musician and composer (Village Life, Jazz Africa, Message from Home).
24: Masao Akashi, 68, Japanese music arranger.
23: Lillian Boutté, 75, American jazz singer.
22: Guy Klucevsek, 78, American accordionist, neuroendocrine tumor; Dan Storper, 74, American record label executive (Putumayo World Music), cancer; Notable Americans killed in the San Diego Cessna Citation: Dave Shapiro, 42, music agent; Daniel Williams, 39, metalcore drummer (The Devil Wears Prada)
21: Frank Gibson Jr., 79, New Zealand jazz drummer.
20: Mark Greene, American singer (The Moments); Dre Love, 55, American-born Italian singer and rapper; Michael B. Tretow, 80, Swedish record producer and sound engineer (ABBA).