Rick Derringer 1947-2025

Rock and roll guitarist-singer-songwriter Rick Derringer died yesterday at the age of 77.  After going into what he called some sort of shock, he died at a hospital in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Richard Dean Zehringer was born in Celina, Ohio and grew up in Fort Recovery, Ohio and Union City, Indiana.  His parents were John Zehringer and the former Janice Thornburg.  During his teenage years, he and his brother Randy, who played drums, formed a band which became known as the McCoys, with their neighbor Richard Kelly on bass.  Kelly was later replaced by Randy Jo Hobbs, and they added Bobby Peterson on keyboards.  This lineup recorded a successful cover of Hang On Sloopy, which became an unofficial theme song for the state of Ohio.

Derringer would become involved with guitarist-singer Johnny Winter and his brother keyboardist-saxophonist Edgar Winter.  Around 1970, the Zehringer brothers and Hobbs joined Johnny Winter in a band they called Johnny Winter And.  Derringer later joined Edgar Winter's White Trash and became producer for and later a member of the Edgar Winter Group.  In 1973, he had his first solo hit with Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, which had first been recorded by Johnny Winter And.  As a session musician, Derringer worked with Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, Bonnie Tyler, Cyndi Lauper, and Barbara Streisand.  During the 1980s, he produced six albums by singer-parodist "Weird Al" Yankovic.  Derringer recorded an album in 2001 with Vanilla Fudge alumni Tim Bogert (bass/vocals) and Carmine Appice (drums/vocals).  He was also a member of Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band, where he was reunited with Edgar Winter.

From what I can tell, Derringer was married three times, first to Liz Agriss; later to a woman named Diane, who gave birth to his only child, Mallory; and most recently to a woman named Jenda, who was with him during his final moments.

Read more at Variety, Guitar Player, TMZ, Ultimate Classic Rock and Rock Cellar.

Here's a lip-synched performance of Hang On Sloopy by the McCoys.  Randy Zehringer (later known as Randy Z) plays drums standing up, and keyboardist Bobby Peterson faces away from the camera.  Like many people, I must plead guilty to at one time thinking that "Sloopy" was "Snoopy".

Finally, here's a live performance of Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, in which Derringer is backed up by the Edgar Winter Group.  Besides Winter on keyboards and vocals, the band includes Dan Hartman on bass and vocals, Jerry Weems on guitar, and Chuck Ruff on drums.  Derringer would later replace Weems.