Rock Icon Rick Derringer Dies in Ormond Beach at Age 77

Rock music icon Rick Derringer passed away this week in Ormond Beach, according to a report from
TMZ. He was best known for the song “Hang On Sloopy”, which he released with his band The McCoys in 1964.

According to TMZ’s report, Derringer suffered heart failure on Monday and passed after being taken off life support later that day. His wife reportedly shared these details with the entertainment outlet, and described his passing as ‘peaceful’.

Derringer was also reportedly still in the process of recovering from a triple bypass earlier this year, something which was not believed to have been causing him ailments up to this point. He was in hospital care in Ormond Beach when he passed away.

Born in Celina, Ohio in 1947, Derringer said he learned to play guitar while still in grade school. He formed his band the McCoys in 1962, releasing five studio albums with them as their guitarist. As a teenager he recorded the song “Hang On Sloopy”, which was a number one hit in America and would later become closely associated with Ohio State University football.

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Derringer penned another hit with “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo”, which peaked at #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. Though Derringer released the track as a solo artist and recorded most of the instrumentals himself, the track did have fellow rock icon Bobby Caldwell sitting in on drums.

From the 1970’s into the 1990’s Derringer was a frequent collaborator of some of the biggest names in rock music. He played guitar on Bonnie Tyler’s iconic ballad “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, as well as the Steely Dan song “Show Biz Kids”. Other artists Derringer worked with included Cyndi Lauper, Todd Rundgren, Meat Loaf, and Johnny Winter.

In the mid 1980’s, Derringer wrote the song “Real American”, which became famous as the theme song for WWF wrestler Hulk Hogan. He also produced six studio albums for Weird Al Yankovic, one of which garnered him a Grammy Award.