Rick Derringer
Encyclopedia
Rick Derringer is an American guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist, vocalist, and entertainer.

1960s

When he was seventeen years old, his band The McCoys
The McCoys
The McCoys were a rock group that started in Union City, Indiana, in 1962.-Career:The original members, all from Union City, were guitarist Richard Zehringer , his brother Randy on drums, and bassist Dennis Kelly. This first line-up was known as The Rick Z Combo, and later known as Rick and the...

 recorded "Hang on Sloopy
Hang on Sloopy
"Hang on Sloopy" is a song by the pop group The McCoys which was #1 in America in October 1965 and is the official rock song of the state of Ohio and The Ohio State University...

" in the summer of 1965, which became the number one song
Song
In music, a song is a composition for voice or voices, performed by singing.A song may be accompanied by musical instruments, or it may be unaccompanied, as in the case of a cappella songs...

 in America before "Yesterday
Yesterday (song)
"Yesterday" is a song originally recorded by The Beatles for their 1965 album Help!. The song first hit the United Kingdom top 10 three months after the release of Help!. The song remains popular today with more than 1,600 cover versions, one of the most covered songs in the history of recorded...

" by The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

 knocked it out of the top spot. The song was issued by Bang Records
Bang Records
Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegün, Nesuhi Ertegün and Jerry Wexler...

. He adopted the Derringer stage name
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...

 which was inspired by the Bang Records logo which featured a derringer
Derringer
The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...

 pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...

.

After starting The McCoys, Rick changed the band's name to "The Rick Z Combo", and then "Rick and the Raiders". After recording "Hang On Sloopy", it was decided that the original name was best, and The McCoys were reborn.

One of the first opportunities for everyone to see them play 'live' came when they opened for the Rolling Stones on the entire 1966 American Tour.

1970s

Derringer also recorded and played with a version of Johnny Winter
Johnny Winter
John Dawson "Johnny" Winter III is an American blues guitarist, singer, and producer. Best known for his late 1960s and 1970s high-energy blues-rock albums and live performances, Winter also produced three Grammy Award-winning albums for blues legend Muddy Waters...

's band called "Johnny Winter And ..." and both Edgar Winter
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...

's White Trash and The Edgar Winter Group. Derringer also had a successful solo career, and his solo version of "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
"Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" is a rock song written by Rick Derringer. It was first recorded by Johnny Winter with Derringer in 1970. In 1973, Derringer recorded a solo version and it became his only Top 40 chart hit, peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at #23...

" was a hit single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

. He also recorded extensively with Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...

, playing lead guitar
Lead guitar
Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...

 on songs such as "Show Biz Kids" and "Chain Lightning".

Derringer appeared on Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...

's Killer album in 1971, playing the solo on "Under My Wheels
Under My Wheels
"Under My Wheels" is a rock song by Alice Cooper. It was originally released on the group's Killer album in 1971, and was also that album's first single release.The song was written by Michael Bruce, Dennis Dunaway, and Bob Ezrin...

."
Derringer opened for Led Zeppelin on their last American tour
Led Zeppelin North American Tour 1977
Led Zeppelin's 1977 North American Tour was the eleventh and final concert tour of North America by the English rock band. The tour was divided into three legs, with performances commencing on 1 April and concluding on 24 July 1977...

. Derringer was also a featured guitarist on several Todd Rundgren albums in the 1970s, including Something/Anything?
Something/Anything?
Something/Anything?, released in 1972, is Todd Rundgren's third solo album. It peaked at #29 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold three years after its release, and remains the singer-songwriter's best-selling album...

(1972), A Wizard, a True Star
A Wizard, a True Star
A Wizard, a True Star is a progressive rock recording by Todd Rundgren, released in 1973.The album, and especially the first side of the vinyl recording, is an extended medley after the fashion of the Beatles' late recordings; brief songs segue into one another, and the lyrics are frequently...

(1973), Initiation (1975) and the live album Back to the Bars
Back to the Bars
Back to the Bars is a live album by rock musician Todd Rundgren, which was released as a double LP in 1978.-Side one:# "Real Man" – 4:47# "Love of the Common Man" – 4:25# "The Verb 'To Love'" – 8:00# "Love in Action" – 3:44...

(1978).

1980s-1990s

Derringer also performed a track for the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

 on The Wrestling Album
The Wrestling Album
The Wrestling Album is a music album released by the World Wrestling Federation in 1985. It was the first album released by the WWF. It features mostly theme music of wrestlers on the roster at the time.- Production :...

. "Real American" would later be used as Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan
Terrance Gene "Terry" Bollea , better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American Semi-retired professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....

's entrance music (and was associated before with the tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...

, U.S. Express
U.S. Express
The U.S. Express was a professional wrestling tag team composed of Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham in the World Wrestling Federation. Windham was later replaced by Dan Spivey and the team was renamed the American Express.-Windham and Rotunda:...

). Derringer also performed the entrance theme for WWF Tag Team Demolition
Demolition (professional wrestling)
Demolition is a professional wrestling tag team most prominent during the late 1980s / early 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation made up of Ax , Smash , and later Crush . In WWF, Demolition were three-time Tag Team Champions, and hold the records for both the single longest tag title reign...

 on Piledriver:The Wrestling Album 2
Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2
Piledriver: The Wrestling Album 2 was an album released by the World Wrestling Federation in 1987. It featured actual vocal performances from several of the wrestlers themselves....

, as well as a duet version of "Rock 'n Roll Hoochie Koo" with Gene Okerlund
Gene Okerlund
Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan...

.
In the 1980s, Derringer expanded his producing skills, working with "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...

 as well as Mason Ruffner. He also played on the second Silver Condor album on the track "Thank God For Rock and Roll", produced and sung by Joe Cerisano. He has played for "Weird Al" on many of his albums, playing guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 and mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...

; on the track "Eat It
Eat It
"Eat It" is a hit single by parody artist "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is a parody of the song "Beat It" by pop star Michael Jackson. The single reached #1 in Australia, and it was his highest-charting U.S. single on the Billboard Hot 100 at #12 until "White & Nerdy" peaked at #9 in October 2006...

", Derringer played the guitar solo, an homage/parody to Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen
Edward Lodewijk "Eddie" Van Halen is a Dutch-American guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter and producer, best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of the hard rock band Van Halen, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

's solo on the Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 song "Beat It
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones . It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his...

".

In the summer of 1983, at Right Tracks studio in NYC, Derringer guested on the KISS album "Lick It Up" (their first record without make-up and first Platinum seller in four years), playing the solo on the opening track, "Exciter". Derringer was not credited, per KISS' usual practice of masking guest musicians appearing on their albums over the years. Derringer commented about KISS' Paul Stanley, "Paul's a much better guitarist than I would have thought."

In 1986, he co-wrote and sang back-up vocals on "Calm Inside The Storm" on Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...

's True Colors album. He served as one of her tour musicians from 1986–1992, prompting him to compare Cyndi to Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...

: "She's better live than Barbra."

Derringer was once again sought after by Edgar Winter and in 1990, performed for the LP, Edgar Winter and Rick Derringer Live in Japan. Then in 1999 Rick and Edgar were back together again for their collaboration on his Winter Blues CD.

Derringer also recorded four blues CD's starting in '93 with Back To the Blues followed by Electra Blues, Blues Deluxe and his 2000 release Jackhammer Blues. At about that same period Derringer, who seems to be constantly in motion, released his destined-to-be-classic Tend the Fire in Europe to rave reviews and is eagerly expected by his loyal fans here in the US.

2000s

Rick Derringer's Tend The Fire was released in Europe and England (1997), DBA-Derringer, Bogert & Appice (2001).

Free Ride Smooth Jazz (2002) with Jenda Derringer Hall, Rick's wife, singing the title song "Free Ride" and writing the Top Twenty Hit "Hot & Cool", which charted at #16. "Hot & Cool was written by Jenda in 1998.

"Aiming 4 Heaven" launched Derringer's gospel rock career, with wife Brenda, her eight year old son Marn and Rick's nine year old daughter Loving.
The Derringers We Live CD was released in fall of 2008.

Derringer guested on the Tom Guerra
Tom Guerra
Tom Guerra of Hartford, Connecticut is an American guitarist.Since the late 1970s, Guerra has been a popular guitarist on the New England club circuit, playing with a host of leading blues, rock n' roll and R&B acts...

 project Mambo Sons
Mambo Sons
Mambo Sons is an American guitar-based rock and roll indie trio led by guitarist Tom Guerra and vocalist/bassist Scott Lawson, and rounded out by drummer Joe "the Cat" Lemieux...

(1999) and Damon Fowler's Riverview Drive (2000). He also appears on the Les Paul
Les Paul
Lester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...

 album American Made World Played (2005), on the track "Good Morning, Little Schoolgirl".

Derringer strongly proclaimed his Christianity during this period. Mild success followed Derringer, as always. The old lyric of "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" was rewritten into "Read the Word Live It Too" and his new life was breathed into "Still Alive And Well". Both lyrics were written by Rick's co-writer wife, Jenda Derringer.

In 2006, he appeared in a Fidelity Investments television commercial.

In May 2009, he released the album Knighted by the Blues and its single, "Sometimes", also written by Jenda.

His current band consists of drummer Tom Curiale and bassist Charlie Torres.

Rick Derringer was touring with Ringo Starr's 11th All-Starr Band
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
To date, Ringo Starr has toured with eleven versions of his All-Starr Band where "everybody on stage is a star in their own right." Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band is a concept that was created by producer David Fishof...

 in summer 2010 a band that included long time friend and partner Edgar Winter
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...

.

In other media

"Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
"Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" is a rock song written by Rick Derringer. It was first recorded by Johnny Winter with Derringer in 1970. In 1973, Derringer recorded a solo version and it became his only Top 40 chart hit, peaking on the Billboard Hot 100 at #23...

" is featured in the 1993 film Dazed and Confused
Dazed and Confused
"Dazed and Confused" is a song by Jake Holmes, which was covered by The Yardbirds, and later reworked by Led Zeppelin who hold a separate copyright on the song.-Jake Holmes:...

, as well as in the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...

 version of Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero...

in 2007.

"Real American" is featured in the episode "Gumball Special" of Jackass
Jackass
A jackass is a male donkey.Jackass may also refer to:In entertainment:* Jackass ** Jackass: The Movie, 2002** Jackass Number Two, 2006 film** Jackass 2.5, a DVD release** Jackass: The Game, a video game...

. The song is featured in an episode of Eastbound & Down
Eastbound & Down
Eastbound & Down is an American comedy television series broadcast on HBO, starring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball pitcher, who after an up and down career in the major leagues is forced to return to his hometown middle-school in Shelby, North Carolina, as a...

(Chapter 8) as Kenny Powers
Kenny Powers
Kenny Powers is the fictional main character from the HBO television series Eastbound and Down, played by American actor Danny McBride. Powers is portrayed as a once dominant baseball pitcher, whose poor work ethic and short temper jeopardized his professional career...

' entrance song to his return to baseball playing for The Charros (a Mexican baseball team). The song is also featured on Episode 20 of TeamFourStar's Dragonball Z Abridged as Goku's arrival to Namek music, and was used to comedic effect by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 at the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner.

Rick Derringer

  • All American Boy
    All American Boy (album)
    All American Boy is an album by Rick Derringer, released on Blue Sky Records in 1973. "Joy Ride" and "Time Warp" are instrumentals.- Track listing :...

    (1973)
  • Spring Fever (1975)
  • Guitars and Women (1979)
  • Face To Face (1980)
  • Good Dirty Fun (1983) When Love Attacks duet with Bonnie Tyler
    Bonnie Tyler
    Bonnie Tyler is a Welsh singer, most notable for her hits in the 1970s and 1980s including "It's a Heartache", "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart".-Early life:...

  • Exciter (1983) Lick It Up guest solo with KISS
  • Back to the Blues (1993)
  • Electra Blues (1994)
  • Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, The Best of Rick Derringer (1996)
  • Tend the Fire (Europe only release) (1997)
  • King Biscuit Flower Hour
    King Biscuit Flower Hour
    The King Biscuit Flower Hour was a syndicated radio show presented by the D.I.R. Radio Network that featured concert performances by various rock artists.-History:...

    (1998)
  • Blues Deluxe (1998)
  • Live In Japan (1998) (With Edgar Winter)
  • Guitars And Women (1998) - CD release with bonus tracks
  • Rick Derringer & Friends - Live with Edgar Winter
    Edgar Winter
    Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...

    , Ian Hunter (singer)
    Ian Hunter (singer)
    Ian Hunter Patterson is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer of the English rock band Mott the Hoople from its inception in 1969 to its dissolution in 1974, and he again fronted them at the time of their 2009 reunion. Hunter was a musician and songwriter before Mott The Hoople, and...

    , Dr. John
    Dr. John
    Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr. , better known by the stage name Dr. John , is an American singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist, whose music combines blues, pop, jazz as well as Zydeco, boogie woogie and rock and roll.Active as a session musician since the late 1950s, he came to wider...

    , Lorna Luft
    Lorna Luft
    Lorna Luft is an American television, stage, and film actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and Sid Luft, and the half-sister of singer and actress Liza Minnelli.-Biography:...

    , Hall & Oates
    Hall & Oates
    Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...

     (1998)
  • Jackhammer Blues (2000)
  • Free Ride (2002)
  • Live at Cheney Hall (2006) (also released on DVD)
  • Rockin' American (2007)
  • Knighted by the Blues (2009)
  • The Three Kings of the Blues (2010)
  • Rock spectacular. Live at the Ritz 1982 (2010) (also released on DVD)

Derringer

  • Derringer
    Derringer (album)
    Derringer is a 1976 album by Derringer and was released on the Blue Sky Records label.-Track listing:# "Let Me In"# "You Can Have Me"# "Loosen Up Your Grip"# "Envy"# "Comes a Woman"# "Sailor"# "Beyond the Universe"# "Goodbye Again"-Personnel:...

    (1976)
  • Live In Cleveland (1976)
  • Sweet Evil (1977)
  • Derringer Live (1977)
  • If I Weren't So Romantic I'd Shoot You (1978)
  • Required Rocking - Sony Music compilation (1996)

DBA

(trio with Tim Bogert
Tim Bogert
John Voorhis "Tim" Bogert III is an American musician. He graduated from Ridgefield Memorial High School in his hometown in 1963...

 Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice
Carmine Appice is an American rock drummer of Italian background and is the older brother of drummer Vinny Appice by 12 years. He received a classical music training and was influenced by the jazz drumming of Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa early on...

)
  • Doin' Business As Derringer Bogert Appice (2001)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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