Rick Derringer’s positive force

The guy who wrote ‘Hang on Sloopy’ continues to rock in concert, giving fans the whole breadth of his career.

PREVIEW by Dave Richards Staff writer

Dave Richards can be reached at 870-1703 or by email at dave.richards@timesnews.com.

He was just a teenage guitarist in the 1960s, but Rick Derringer was the real McCoy. That’s the band he and his brother started — the McCoys, which racked up a No. 1 hit with “Hang on Sloopy” in 1965.

Derringer was all of 17 years old, yet sat atop Billboard’s Hot 100 after knocking Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” from the top, just as the Beatles would displace the McCoys a week later with “Yesterday.”

McCoys enjoyed several other hits — including the No. 7 “Fever” and “Come On Let’s Go” — but “Hang on Sloopy” is the one that’s played the most on radio and covered by wedding bands more than 40 years later.

“I still hear all three of them on radio occasionally, but ‘Hang on Sloopy’ has stood the test of time,” said Derringer, who’ll headline the last 8 Great Tuesday concert at Liberty Park this summer. Why that one? What makes it special?

“If people could answer that question,” mused Derringer in a phone interview. “I even heard Willie Nelson the other day, when someone asked him, and he said, ‘If I was smart enough, I’d write a hit every time, but I’m not that smart.’

“It’s a funny, cute answer, but the bottom line is, if we knew why that one was so big, as a songwriter you’d write a hit every time. But there are those intangible things.”

FOR DERRINGER, “SLOOPY” IS ancient history, though he revisits the song in concert.
“I know it was a big record, but for me, basically, it was a good starting point,” he said. “I try not to dwell on too many of the specifics. But it was a great starting point, something to shoot for — a No. 1 record.”

He doesn’t hang onto “Hang on Sloopy” memories — which include the McCoys opening for the Rolling Stones’ 1966 U.S. tour — because he’s enjoyed a productive career.

Derringer began a fruitful collaboration with Johnny Winter in 1969, and later Edgar Winter, producing and playing on his biggest CD, “They Only Come Out at Night.” In 1974, he scored a Top 25 hit — and classic-radio staple — on his own with “Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo,” which he originally wrote for Johnny Winter.

Derringer also played sessions for a variety of artists, including Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Alice Cooper, Air Supply, Weird Al Yankovic, and wrestler Hulk Hogan.

“I enjoyed Steely Dan,” Derringer said. “That was always a challenge, and I played on most of their albums and Donald Fagan’s first solo album. That was fun, just the expectancy of the challenge. I enjoyed playing with Barbra and Air Supply and on some of the Kiss music — that was fun.

“Other high points were Bonnie Tyler’s ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart.’ That was a huge record; I did all the guitar on that album. But also Todd Rundgren, some of his biggest hits. ‘Hello, It’s Me,” I play on that, and on a lot of big stuff he did. Alice Cooper, some of his earlier records I played on. It was always fun, but I didn’t enjoy playing on others’ as much as I enjoyed doing my own.”

In recent years, Derringer branched into smooth jazz and Christian rock, playing the latter with his wife, Jenda, and children, Marny and Lori. At 57, he still rocks but prefers music that uplifts.

“Music should be — and for the most part is — a very positive thing by nature,” he said. “That’s what I was always taught, and generally that’s true. But when you start to make it vulgar — or something that just looks at drugs, sex, and alcohol as being very important — that diminishes the positive aspects. But in general, music is a positive force.”

SO HE CONTINUES TO ROCK IN concert, giving fans the whole breadth of his career.
“We hit the high points people want to hear,” he said.

He will sing songs he wrote with Edgar and Johnny Winter, as well, but not the ones they’re most known for, such as Edgar’s “Free Ride” and “Frankenstein.” Derringer said he met up with Johnny Winter when his band played the Scene in New York City.

“Johnny was looking to change his music a bit,” Derringer said. “And the McCoys were looking to evolve, specifically to reach a wider group with hipper musical tastes. Someone brought Johnny and Edgar to see us at a club we were playing in New York City. They saw us and talked about the idea of joining forces.”

Derringer produced Winter’s first two albums, then joined Edgar Winter’s White Trash for a time. A tour is in the works for 2007 that’ll reunite all three — Derringer, Johnny, and Edgar Winter.

Derringer also plays in Rock and Roll Army with rotating members, such as Chuck Negron (Three Dog Night), Spencer Davis, Mitch Ryder, Felix Cavaliere (Rascals), and Joey Molland (Badfinger). But he’s partial to his tight trio, which includes bassist Charlie Torres and drummer Tom Curiale.

“The guys in my band have been doing this a long time, over 20 years,” he said. “When you do it that long, one thing happens — you get good at it.”

Just hang on if you’re waiting for “Sloopy.” Three bands will precede Derringer: Jason Ricci Band, which includes Erie’s Ron Sutton; Rick and the Roadhouse Rockers; and State of Mind.

Rick Derringer, Jason Ricci
Band, Rick and the Roadhouse
Rockers, State of Mind will perform
Tuesday at 5 p.m. at 8 Great Tuesday at Liberty Park. Admission is free. Note the earlier 5 p.m. start, instead of the
usual 6:30.