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Rick Derringer, the singer, guitarist, and songwriter central to a number of pop-iconic creations — together with singing the no. 1 hit “Cling on Sloopy” — died Monday in Ormond Seaside, Florida.
He was 77.
His demise was confirmed by his pal Tony Wilson on Fb Tuesday.
Derringer was born August 5, 1947, in Fort Restoration, Ohio. He tasted success early on — together with his band the McCoys, he topped the charts singing “Cling on Sloopy” at simply 17. The music went on to develop into an adopted state anthem in Ohio.
The McCoys logged six extra Sizzling 100 songs.
In 1973, Derringer recorded a solo model of his music “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” which had been a minor hit for Johnny Winter And. It was his solely solo Prime 40 hit, reaching no. 23 in 1974.
He collaborated with Barbra Streisand, Todd Rundgren, Donald Fagen, Peter Frampton, Steely Dan, and with the Edgar Winter Group produced the instrumental no. 1 “Frankenstein” in 1972.
One among his most profitable collabs got here through producing satirical songs for “Bizarre Al” Yankovic, together with “Eat It” (1984) — the second-highest charting hit of Yankovic’s profession — and “Fats” (1988), each Michael Jackson parodies.
Yankovic reacted to Derringer’s passing on Instagram, writing, “I’m very unhappy to say that my pal, rock guitar legend Rick Derringer, has handed. Rick produced my first 6 albums and performed guitar on my earliest recordings, together with the solo on ‘Eat It.’ He had an infinite impression on my life, and can be missed drastically. RIP.”
He additionally produced two albums for the World Wrestling Federation on the top of the crossover between professional wrestling and pop, bringing him into the orbit of Cyndi Lauper and Hulk Hogan, for whom he wrote the broadly repurposed anthem “Actual American.”
After turning into a born-again Christian, he launched a collection of Christian-rock albums within the 2000s.