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Chicago Tribune
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Review: The lesson of ‘Weird Al' Yankovic: We'll miss him when he's gone
As joyful and virtuosic and oddly as 'Weird Al' Yankovic's two-hour whirligig was on Sunday night at Ravinia Festival, I couldn't help watch without sadness: Here is the last of the great parody kings, the closing chapter, and the pinnacle, of a delightfully ridiculous tradition. Social media is not lacking in joke songs; the novelty artist today seems closer to routine than, well, novelty. And yet the world is too driven by algorithms, too fragmented in its tastes, to ever be on the same page again and get the same jokes. Will there ever be another 'Weird Al'? Even if we come across someone on TikToK or Instagram who shows a strand of that old 'Weird Al' DNA — the pillow-soft yucks, the devotion to honoring the spirit of the artist being spoofed, the open-hearted stupidity for stupidity's sake, the craftsmanship — can they get across the rigor involved in being this gloriously dumb without losing the laugh? Will they understand the funniest thing about 'Weird Al' has always been the insane amount of talent that goes into perfecting something so fundamentally idiotic? Particularly live, fronted by an eight-piece band that cuts seamlessly from the sleek corporate mellowness of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young to the grind of Nirvana to a spot-on Backstreet Boy glide, changing costumes each song, it's the best joke he's got. It's just hard to see a future for this tradition. Not because of a lack of skill, but how eroded common ground has become. Looking back, it's no surprise 'Weird Al' was necessary in the early 1980s, at a moment when Mad magazine no longer generated the same and Top 40 music was driven by legitimately iconic, ultra-ubiquitous images from overplayed music videos. 'Weird Al' wore the red leather Michael Jackson jacket for 'Eat It,' his 'Beat It' parody, and even if he never played the song, we'd get the joke. For 'Smells Like Nirvana,' he wore the forest green sweater that Kurt Cobain wore in his videos. The encore was a rousing embrace of 'Star Wars,' with Stormtroopers crowding the stage, a ballpark-organ cover of 'The Imperial March,' and 'Weird Al,' eyes tight, dramatically conflating Yoda and The Kinks: 'Weird Al,' at 65, with the same string-fry hair and Hawaiian shirts as the past five decades, hit a high point early with a delirious polka of contemporary hits, from Billie Eillish and Taylor Swift to Cardi B and Olivia Rodrigo, playfully sanitized for kids in the house — But 'Weird Al' is really a creature of the monoculture, the days when your grandparents and your 8-year-old neighbor had the same cultural references, when there were three TV networks, radio played the same Top 40 songs endlessly and everyone turned out for the same movies. Which means a 'Weird Al' concert does double duty as a kind of walk through the past 50 or so years of pop culture, squashing Spider-Man against 'Piano Man,' Flintstones against Red Hot Chili Peppers — think kaleidoscopic jukebox musical, but flexible, broad for long swaths then, turning on a dime, hilariously specific. A song about Disney's Jungle Cruise ride nodded to generations of slumming actors playing river guides, while secretly dreaming they were in 'Speed-the-Plow.' A CSNY parody showed how unnervingly easy it is to swap out the back-to-nature authenticity of '70s singer-songwriters with corporate speak: He even covered Helen Reddy's 'I Am Woman,' just because, as sincerely as possible. It's our cultural currency — as is 'Weird Al' himself, even more than many of the acts he's parodied. While the band changed outfits, we got video montages reminding us just how much 'Weird Al' is part of that currency, namechecked on 'The Simpsons,' '30 Rock,' 'Scooby Doo,' and on and on. You get the sense 'Weird Al' is not bragging with these videos, but honored to find himself, decades later, a human cartoon, swallowed whole by culture, as if tossed into a B-movie sci-fi vat. The show began with a liturgy of business nonsense — — and concluded with the band singing a remarkable extended mashup of nonsense lyrics, from the 'Grim Grinning Ghosts' song at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion to Somehow, it made perfect sense.
CBS News
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
Rick Derringer, who shot to fame with "Hang On Sloopy" and sang Hulk Hogan's theme song, dies at 77
Guitarist and singer Rick Derringer, who shot to fame at 17 when his band The McCoys recorded "Hang On Sloopy," had a hit with "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" and earned a Grammy Award for producing "Weird Al " Yankovic's debut album, has died. He was 77. Derringer died Monday in Ormond Beach, Florida, according to a Facebook announcement from his caregiver, 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," Wilson wrote. Guitarist Rick Derringer performs at Radio City Music Hall in New York on July 7, 2010. Evan Agostini / AP As a teen, he formed the McCoys with his brother, Randy, and found fame singing "Hang On Sloopy," a No. 26 hit about lovers from different socioeconomic circumstances. 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 Colors." He toured with Ringo Starr and The All-Starr Band. In 1985, he produced the World Wrestling Federation's "The Wrestling Album," which consisted mostly of pro wrestlers' theme songs, many of which he co-wrote, including what would become Hulk Hogan's theme song "Real American."
Arab Times
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab Times
Rick Derringer, who had a hit with 'Hang On Sloopy' and produced 'Weird Al,' dies At 77
LOS ANGELES, May 28, (AP): Guitarist and singer Rick Derringer, who shot to fame at 17 when his band The McCoys recorded "Hang On Sloopy,' had a hit with "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo' and earned a Grammy Award for producing "Weird Al ' Yankovic's debut album, has died. He was 77. Derringer died Monday in Ormond Beach, Florida, according to a Facebook announcement from his caregiver, 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,' Wilson wrote. As a teen, he formed the McCoys with his brother, Randy, and found fame singing "Hang On Sloopy,' a No. 26 hit about lovers from different socioeconomic circumstances. 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 Colors.' He toured with Ringo Starr and The All-Starr Band. In 1985, he produced the World Wrestling Federation's "The Wrestling Album,' which consisted mostly of pro wrestlers' theme songs, many of which he co-wrote, including what would become Hulk Hogan's theme song "Real American.'
Leader Live
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Hang On Sloopy singer and guitarist Rick Derringer dies aged 77
He also had a hit with Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo and earned a Grammy Award for producing 'Weird Al' Yankovic's debut album. 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.
South Wales Guardian
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Hang On Sloopy singer and guitarist Rick Derringer dies aged 77
He also had a hit with Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo and earned a Grammy Award for producing 'Weird Al' Yankovic's debut album. 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.
