Rick Derringer Loathed Being a Rock Star; He Had a Darn Good Music Career Anyway

Rick Derringer and the McCoys had their biggest hit with "Hang On Sloopy," a song that Derringer grew tired of playing even though fans clamored for it. Eventually, he went on to create a career that suited him better. 

He sang and played guitar as a solo artist, and he collaborated with a wide range of other artists including Ringo Starr, Barbra Streisand and "Weird Al" Yankovich.

Also a songwriter, Derringer wrote "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo," which is on his "All American Boy" album. You can see a shot of the cover in the chapters. The album is available on Amazon Streaming or you can listen to an official version of the song here.

Derringer also wrote "Real American," Hulk Hogan's entrance theme. 

As for "Hang On Sloopy," which Derringer didn't write, it stays current as the unofficial anthem of the Ohio State University Marching Band. Here's a 1965 video of the McCoys playing the song with one memorable young woman dancing along. Many thanks to my brother-in-law, Bob Jones, for introducing me to this little piece of Ohio history. And talk about intriguing history, here's an interesting video about the song itself and how it became connected with Ohio State.

The thumbnail photo shows Derringer performing in 1974. It's credited to Jim Summaria, http://www.jimsummariaphoto.com, CC BY-SA 3.0. You can find it on Wikimedia Commons. That photo is in the chapters too, along with a shot of Derringer playing with Ringo's All-Starr Band in Paris in June 2011. The more recent photo is credited to Dr. Jean Fortunet, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. You can see a larger version here.

The art that frames two sides of the thumbnail photo was created by Bob Jones. 

Song of the Day creator Sheldon Zoldan researched, wrote and narrated this short story, one of 35 tributes to music stars who passed away in 2025. Song of the Day used to be a daily feature delivered to an email list of subscribers. Sheldon ended it in early 2026 which, I suppose, means that Song of the Day deserves a tribute of its own. The good thing is that the tributes to music makers live on. Each is a snapshot of the life of one music maker whose work made an impact on the lives of many.

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This is Kate Jones. Thank you for listening to Everyday Creation®, available on YouTube and in podcast directories including Apple, Spotify, iHeart and Audible.