Posted on 05/27/2025 5:44:57 PM PDT by chuck allen
Rick Derringer, the guitarist, songwriter and producer who wrote or contributed to a body of hits spanning decades, died on Monday at the age of 77.
Derringer's caretaker, Tony Wilson, shared the news on Facebook, and Guitar Player later reported it. The guitarist's wife, Jenda Derringer, told TMZ he died "peacefully" in his sleep after being taken off life support following a medical episode.
Born Richard Dean Zehringer on Aug. 5, 1947, in Celina, Ohio, and raised in the nearby Fort Recovery, Derringer began his burgeoning music career in earnest when he received his first guitar on his ninth birthday. ("I was a natural," he told Guitar Player in 2024.) He and his brother Randy Zehringer (later known as Randy Z) formed a band called the McCoys in their teens, with Derringer handling guitar and lead vocals.
The McCoys scored a No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965 with "Hang on Sloopy," which became the official rock song of Ohio. The band scored one more Top 10 hit with a cover of the R&B staple "Fever," and a cover of Ritchie Valens' "Come On, Let's Go" reached the Top 40.
In 1970, the McCoys backed Texas blues-rocker Johnny Winter on his album Johnny Winter And, which also served as the group's name. Derringer soon began working with Winter's brother, Edgar Winter, contributing to the Edgar Winter Group's multiplatinum 1972 debut album, They Only Come Out at Night.
(Excerpt) Read more at ultimateclassicrock.com ...
BFLR
The rest of the RD keyword, sorted:
“Skeeters start buzzing round this time of year.” RIP
Thanks for the post. I was raised in the Fort Recovery-Fort Greenville Mercer/Darke county area. My mom was from Fort Recovery and my Dad went to HS there too. Celina was the home of many family members.
My boy scout master was a Derringer, and WWII Ranger at Point Do Hoc on D-Day. He turned our troop into backpacking, river crossing infantrymen and we loved it, not knowing his past. I spent k-8 in Dayton but all my summers on two farms just off Ohio State Rt 49 near Lightville and Ft Recovery.
I’ve got a guitar collection of over 25 instruments and loved this guy’s music. It is sad when we lose the great ones.
I’ve seen that.
Learn something new everyday.
That is one of the most mind blowing performances on that show. The same song on “old grey whistle test” is even better.
CC
Just eat it...
Eat it...
If it's cold put it in the microwave
And reheat it!
From start to finish they rocked, and they were really enjoying it. One of those times when the live performance was better than the recording. This is my favorite music video.
Chuck Ruff on the drums cracks me up, Derringer looks like a little kid in pajamas, just killing it. They did Dan Hartmans Free Ride too on that show if Im not mistaken. .
If you’re a Steely Dan session man, you are top notch. Fagen and Becker only selected the best. There’s a good SD documentary out there, IIRC about the making of Aja, and their perfectionism just shined through.
Yeah. Me too. I was mistaken. It wasn’t his wife after all. Sorry.
I like the dancing chick.
I like her shirt.
She’s gonna get a black eye if she’s not careful.
I always heard of Rick Derringer but I couldn’t tell you any song he ever did.
But Hang On Sloopy is a classic everyone knows.
Thanks for linking it. I don’t know why, but when I try to use hotmail to link a video it hasn’t been working for me for some time now.
Here’s something I didn’t know. From Weird Al:
I’m very sad to say that my friend, rock guitar legend Rick Derringer, has passed. Rick produced my first 6 albums and played guitar on my earliest recordings, including the solo on “Eat It.” He had an enormous impact on my life, and will be missed greatly. RIP
“Derringer with Edgar Winter on Midnight Special 1973”
Derringer was the “And” in Johnny Winter And. Saw him live with both Johnny and Edgar Winter bands. Check out the guitar duel on “Mean Town Blues” on the Johnny Winter And live albums.
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