Hang On Sloopy singer and guitarist Rick Derringer dies aged 77
Derringer died on Monday in in Ormond Beach, Florida, according to a Facebook announcement from his caretaker, Tony Wilson. No cause of death was announced.
Derringer's decades in the music industry spanned teen stardom, session work for bands like Steely Dan, supplying the guitar solo on Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart and producing for Cyndi Lauper.
'Derringer's legacy extends beyond his music, entertaining fans with his signature energy and talent. His passing leaves a void in the music world, and he will be deeply missed by fans, colleagues, and loved ones,' Mr Wilson wrote.
As a teenager, Derringer formed the McCoys with his brother, Randy, and found fame singing Hang On Sloopy, a No 26 hit about lovers from different socioeconomic circumstances in 1965.
Derringer enjoyed his first solo hit with Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, which was used in the fourth season of Stranger Things.
His best-charting album was All American Boy in 1973, which included the instrumentals Joy Ride and Time Warp.
His sole Grammy was for Yankovic's Eat It, which had the Michael Jackson parodies Eat It and Who's Fat.
'I'm very sad to say that my friend, rock guitar legend Rick Derringer, has passed,' Yankovic said in an Instagram post with a photo of him and Derringer in the studio.
'Rick produced my first six 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.'
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Derringer worked extensively as a session musician, playing on albums by Steely Dan – including Countdown to Ecstasy, Katy Lied and Gaucho — Todd Rundgren, Kiss and Barbra Streisand.
He played on Air Supply's Making Love Out of Nothing at All.
In the mid-1980s he began working with Lauper, touring in her band and playing on three of her albums, including the hit True Colours.
He toured with Ringo Starr and The All-Starr Band.
In 1985, he produced the World Wrestling Federation's The Wrestling Album, which consisted primarily mostly of pro wrestlers' theme songs, many of which he co-wrote, including what would become Hulk Hogan's theme song Real American.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The tragic plane crash that changed Ozzy Osbourne's life: How Black Sabbath singer 'never got over' the death of guitarist pal Randy Rhoads in fireball tragedy that claimed three lives
In the early 1980s Ozzy Osborne's tour of the United States became associated with one of the most shocking incidents in the history of rock and roll. During the era of arena tours bands were associated with outlandish stunts, throwing televisions out of hotel windows and driving cars into atriums and swimming pools. However this incident involved a fatal air crash and nearly killed claimed the lives of Ozzy, his then partner Sharon and the rest of the band. The fireball cut short the life of 25–year–old Randy Rhoads, said to have been a genius in the mould of Eddie Van Halen and Keith Richards. Rhoads, a precocious talent, was hired by Ozzy to join his new band following the Birmingham man's departure from Black Sabbath. But as they set out on the tour bus driven by Andrew Aycock, little did they know the horror that lay ahead. Everything seemed fine until a routine fault developed with the bus's air conditioning system, prompting Andrew to stop at the Flying Baron estates near Orlando in Florida, where he hoped to get the fault fixed. Andrew, who had a pilot's licence, asked band's manager, Jake Duncan and keyboardist Don Airey to join him on a flight in a stolen plane when he decided to buzz the tour bus as a prank to wait anyone who was sleeping. The driver then landed the stolen plane, but decided on a second flight. On this journey he was joined by Rhoads, who boarded the Beech F35 despite a fear of flying. Rachel Youngblood, a makeup artist and hairdresser, also boarded the plane. Airey, the sole witness to the incident, said that he saw the Beachcraft approaching the tour bus at a very low altitude. At this point Don became concerned that the plane might hit him, so he threw himself to the ground. One of the craft's wings then clipped the bus, at which point it flipped over and collided with a colonial era mansion. The pilot and two passengers all died in the ensuing fireball, and had to be identified through dental records and jewellery they were wearing. A report in the New York Times read:'The lead guitarist of the rock group headed by Ozzy Osbourne was killed today, along with two other persons, when a plane in which they were buzzing a mansion struck a van and crashed into the house, the authorities said. 'Randall Rhodes, 25 years old, the guitarist; Andrew Aycock, 36, identified as the pilot, and Rachel Youngblood, 58, were killed in the crash, Deputy Sheriff Mike Smalt of Lake County said. 'Mr. Osbourne, known for such outrageous stage antics as biting off the head of a live bat, was in the van when one of the plane's wings clipped it but escaped injury, the deputy sheriff said. 'Several other members of the group were in the two–story colonial house, but fled before it was destroyed by flaming gasoline. 'The group was staying at the mansion before a concert appearance that was to be held today in Leesburg but fled before it was destroyed by flaming gasoline. 'The group was staying at the mansion before a concert appearance that was to be held today in Leesburg.' Speaking to Rolling Stone about the crash which claimed three lives, Ozzy said: 'To this day, as I'm talking to you now, I'm back in that field looking at this f***** plane wreck and a house on fire.' 'You never get over something like that. You're in shock.' Ozzy wanted to abandon the tour, but Sharon is said to have reminded of him of the age old dictum that the 'show must go on' The tour did continue, only for a second incident which nearly claimed Sharon's life at New York's Madison Square Garden. A fan threw a firework on stage, which bounded around and then hit Sharon on the neck and then exploded, leaving her on the floor in a pool of blood. At this point the lights went on and Ozzy had to perform. Bernie Tormé, who was drafted in to replace Rhoads, recounted the incident to Rolling Stone. Mr Tormé, who once played with Deep Purple, said: 'Someone in the audience chucks a firework or something, which does the impossible and bounces under the [scrim] and hits Sharon in the neck, where it explodes — boom — right in front of me. She goes down like a rag doll — blood everywhere — two crew guys run out and pick her up and she's gone. 'There was just a pool of blood left. I seriously thought she was dead. But the thing was, I was the only one in the band who could see any of this happening. 'No one in the band knows about what happened, and there's no chance to tell Ozzy. It's not like a Rolling Stones gig where Keith can stroll up to Mick and say, "Hey, man, I think your old lady's taken incoming." 'I was more than a bit distracted for the first half of the show until one of the crew signaled to me that she was OK.' A subsequent report by the National Transportation Safety Board later found that the aircrash which claimed three lives was due to 'pilot error'. The board deemed the plane to have been 'stolen' by Aycock in that he did not have permission to fly it. The report read: 'The pilot, who was a rock group driver, took an aircraft from the hangar without permission to joy ride members of the group. 'During the second flight the aircraft wing hit the bus during one of several low passes over the area. The aircraft then hit a tree and a residence. A post crash fire occurred. The pilot's last medical certificate was dated 11/16/79.'
Telegraph
19 hours ago
- Telegraph
Oasis, Wembley Stadium, review: Enough tears to fix the water shortage
I was slightly hoping, from a purely critical point of view, that the eighth concert of Oasis's much-hyped reunion tour – and their first of seven shows at London's Wembley Stadium – might somehow deviate from the raucous joy-filled carnival of the first seven. Some on-stage tension between Liam Gallagher and older brother Noel, perhaps. Or a steadfast refusal by Liam to sing the right notes in the right order. Britpop's enfants terribles couldn't still be on blistering form, could they? Well, yes. Scorching form, actually. This was raw, loud, bracingly unpretentious, thankfully apolitical… and proof that rock and roll is the ultimate democratic artform. The stage set was simple. Liam, in fine voice and sporting a velvet beanie hat, may have looked like an urban gillie, but, my goodness, his voice was powerful. Some Might Say and Slide Away were momentous. And Noel seemed the most relaxed he's been all tour. This was the gig at which all the band's celebrity chums were present. Sienna Miller, Noel's ex-wife Meg Mathews, and tennis star Jack Draper, were among the celebs. But they were, at best, a side show. This was all about the 90,000 fans. I pulled pints at an Oasis concert in Finsbury Park in 2002 – after the band's mid-1990s imperial phase but before they imploded in 2009 – and it was among the most miserable days of my working life. Pouring rain and 50,000 gnarly drunk people. A corridor of police horses awaiting outside. No thanks. Here, the intoxication was celebratory. What changed? Nostalgia's a mollifying cushion. But mainly those fans grew up and had kids, many of whom were here. The sense of occasion was off the scale, and rightly so. Oasis are only playing 17 UK shows; they'd need to play 170 to satisfy last year's demand for tickets. The band were tight, held together by rhythm guitarist Paul 'Bonehead' Arthurs. He left the band in 1999 but, as tonight proved, provided the 'Oasis chug' that gave many of the songs their heft. Noel's solo numbers – Little by Little and The Masterplan – were the emotional heart of this extraordinary show. Live Forever, with Liam back on vocal duty, was dedicated to the late Ozzy Osbourne. It's astonishing that all but three of the 23 songs played tonight were released in an 18-month blitzkrieg between April 1994 and October 1995, many of them as B-sides. Surely only The Beatles between 1962's Love Me Do and 1964's Can't Buy Me Love can beat that in terms of mass cultural impact. Or perhaps ABBA, following the release of SOS in 1975. The rockers, like Roll With It and Rock 'n' Roll Star were phenomenal. Yet the music's only one thing. These concerts matter for another reason. The economy's shrinking, taxes are rising, pubs are permanently shuttering, trains are creaking, supermarket food costs so much it's security tagged and Britain hasn't produced a decent mainstream rock band for decades. In other words, the UK feels about as effervescent as Keir Starmer's haircut right now. Reasons to be cheerful? Lionesses, Lions and Bazballers aside, there aren't any. So, believe it or not, something as slight as a rock concert by greying men in their 50s can actually make a difference. Sometimes the shallow end is where the important stuff happens. If last summer belonged to the Swifties, this summer belongs to Oasis and their fans. Here's a way to end the current water shortage. Attach a water butt to Wembley and catch 90,000's people's tears. When Noel sang Don't Look Back in Anger, and Liam Wonderwall, there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Extraordinary scenes. Will there be more after this tour? I don't know, but assuming vocal cords and brotherly relations hold firm, I'd bet they do three or four Knebworths next summer with a valedictory sign-off at Glastonbury 2027. They'd be daft not to. Prepare to refresh your browser. It was utterly mesmerising.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Birmingham: Rock and heavy metal fans to unite for Ozzy memorial
Hundreds of rock and heavy metal fans will gather together to pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham on Saturday.A memorial meet-up will be held in Victoria Square at 13:00 BST, and they have been invited to share their stories about the Black Sabbath singer, who died on Tuesday at the age of 76. Ozzy fans are also expected to visit shrines across the city on the day, including Black Sabbath Bridge, the mural of the band on Navigation Street, and the Working Class Hero exhibition at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery. Organiser Ash Farley, from Bartley Green, said 1,500 people have shown interest in the memorial event, with 200 fans already confirmed to attend. He told the BBC how "heartbroken" he was over the Sabbath star's death. "It was the effect he had on my life. I know people in Birmingham feel the same way - all over the world."I thought the best thing to do was gather people from far and wide, talk about the stories and concerts they've visited, and spread positivity about it all."The head metal fan posted the event on Facebook on Tuesday evening, shortly after Birmingham-born Ozzy's death was announced. He said: "It was unbelievable. I'm gobsmacked at how many people have got in contact with me. "People are coming from as far as Bristol and Wales to share the memories - share the good times that they've experienced with Ozzy, Sabbath and all-around metal music."Speaking about a fitting tribute the city could install to commemorate the star, he suggested an Ozzy statue outside Birmingham Children's Hospital to reflect his charity work. He added: "Ozzy was true to himself; he always loved Birmingham, it was his home. "He's always been a man of the people."Fans also want to rename Birmingham Airport after the singer as a way to honour him. A petition, with nearly 14,000 signatures so far, said the move would recognise his "undeniable" influence on music and culture. The petition stated: "Naming our international airport after him would be a fitting tribute to his extraordinary career and contributions to the arts." Artist Mr Murals returned to Navigation Street to add to the iconic Black Sabbath mural. He is in the process of adding an image of them from their farewell performance at Villa Park earlier this month. Mr Murals, who has previously painted Ozzy in black and white, told the BBC: "This image is one of the last images of them together from the gig. "I started it a couple of weeks ago but didn't get to finish it in time. Since then, with Ozzy passing, it's heartbreaking. "The mural will be finished on Saturday, with Ozzy and Tony Iommi left to complete. The artist said he would have finished the mural sooner, but has been inundated with fans wanting to stop and talk about the said: "You can see how much he meant to people. There are people here from New Zealand this morning that still haven't gone back since the gig. "I didn't give the same appreciation to Ozzy fans that have grown up with him and supported him his whole life. "In the short time I've been painting this and having them engage in the posts online - you can't really beat that." Follow BBC Birmingham on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
