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Rick Derringer, who had a hit with 'Hang On Sloopy' and produced 'Weird Al,' dies at 77

The musician who shot to fame at 17 when his band The McCoys recorded “Hang On Sloopy” died Monday in Ormond Beach, Florida.

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. 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. 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.

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