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Rick Derringer, Singer of ‘Hang on Sloopy,’ Writer of ‘Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo’ and ‘Real American’ Wrestling Theme, Dies at 77
Rick Derringer, a fiery guitaris, lead singer of 'Hang on Sloopy' and writer of 'Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo' and 'Real American,' has died.
That partnership produced a massive single with 1972’s “Frankenstein,” an instrumental the band had been playing around with for years; the title came from the look of the master tape, which had so many segments spliced together that the musicians said it resembled the horror-movie character’s stitches. Throughout the 1970s and ‘80s Derringer also worked extensively as a session musician, playing on albums by Steely Dan (including “Countdown to Ecstasy,” “Katy Lied” and “Gaucho”), Todd Rundgren, Kiss and even Barbra Streisand; in the early 1980s he soloed on massive singles written by Meatloaf mastermind Jim Steinman, Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and Air Supply’s “Making Love Out of Nothing at All.” In the mid-1980s he began working with singer Cyndi Lauper, touring in her band and playing on three of her albums (including the hit “True Colors”), but perhaps more significant was the fact that it led to his entrée into the world of professional wrestling.
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