Singer and guitarist Rick Derringer dies aged 77

RTÉ News​

27-05-2025

Guitarist and singer Rick Derringer, who found fame at 17 when his band The McCoys recorded Hang on Sloopy, has died aged 77.
He also had a hit with Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo and earned a Grammy Award for producing 'Weird Al' Yankovic's debut album.
Derringer died on Monday in Ormond Beach, Florida, according to a Facebook announcement from his caretaker, Tony Wilson.
No cause of death was announced.
Derringer's decades in the music industry spanned teen stardom, session work for bands like Steely Dan, supplying the guitar solo on Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart, and producing for Cyndi Lauper.
"Derringer's legacy extends beyond his music, entertaining fans with his signature energy and talent. His passing leaves a void in the music world, and he will be deeply missed by fans, colleagues, and loved ones," Wilson wrote.
As a teenager, Derringer formed the McCoys with his brother, Randy, and found fame singing Hang on Sloopy, a hit about lovers from different socioeconomic circumstances, in 1965.
Derringer enjoyed his first solo hit with Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo, which was used in the fourth season of Stranger Things.
His best-charting album was All American Boy in 1973, which included the instrumentals Joy Ride and Time Warp.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Derringer worked extensively as a session musician, playing on albums by Steely Dan - including Countdown to Ecstasy, Katy Lied, and Gaucho - Todd Rundgren, Kiss, and Barbra Streisand.
He played on Air Supply's Making Love Out of Nothing at All.
In the mid-1980s, he began working with Lauper, touring in her band and playing on three of her albums, including the hit True Colours.
He toured with Ringo Starr and The All-Starr Band.
In 1985, he produced the World Wrestling Federation's The Wrestling Album, which mostly consisted of pro wrestlers' theme songs, many of which he co-wrote, including what would become Hulk Hogan's theme song, Real American.