'Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo' rocker and former Sarasota resident Rick Derringer dies
Guitar hero and rock 'n' roll legend Rick Derringer, of 'Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo' and "Hang On, Sloopy" fame, has died in Ormond Beach, according to reports on TMZ and other outlets.
The former Sarasota-Manatee resident was 77.
Derringer's wife, Jenda, told TMZ that the rock icon died "peacefully" after being taken off life support Monday night following a medical episode.
His caretaker and close friend, Tony Wilson, reported on the TMZ website that Derringer had undergone triple bypass surgery just two months ago, but had been doing well.
That changed on Monday night, Wilson told the website, when Derringer went into something that Wilson described as 'some sort of shock' as he prepared for bed. He died at an undisclosed hospital, according to the family.
It's unclear whether Derringer was a full-time resident in Volusia or Flagler counties, but he is listed as co-owner of a home at Latitude Margaritaville's 55-and-older community in Daytona Beach, according to Volusia County Property Appraiser records.
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In a six-decade career, Derringer was a Zelig-like figure who was involved in an astonishing array of music by performers that defied genre expectations.
Born in Celina, Ohio, Derringer was 17 when he scored his first chart-topping hit, 'Hang On, Sloopy,' with the McCoys in the summer of 1965. The song displaced 'Yesterday,' by the Beatles at the top of the pop charts.
From there, Derringer went on to an array of successful collaborations with luminaries that ranged from Johnny and Edgar Winter to Steely Dan, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Weird Al Yankovic, Cyndi Lauper and Barbra Streisand.
A fiery, versatile and high-profile presence on New York's rock scene during the 1970s and '80s, Derringer produced the Edgar Winter Group's 1972 No. 1 single 'Frankenstein,' in addition to playing guitar for the band for several years.
Rick Derringer's signature solo hit, 'Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo,' was released in 1973. The first verse includes the lyrics: 'There was a group called The Jokers, they were layin' it down, 'cause ya know I'm never gonna lose that funky sound.' The Jokers featured a pre-fame Dickey Betts, who grew up in the Bradenton area and died at his Sarasota County home in 2024.
About 15 years after the song's release, Betts and Derringer performed 'Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo' together—a recording that can be heard on the Betts concert album "Live from the Lone Star Roadhouse NYC 1988."
Derringer would eventually relocate to the same Sarasota-Manatee area that Betts had called home for most of his life.
Although 'Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo' was originally recorded by Johnny Winter, Derringer's version eclipsed the original — appearing on the soundtrack of the 1993 cult classic "Dazed and Confused" and resurfacing recently on the soundtrack for the fourth season of the Netflix hit series "Stranger Things."
Derringer also toured extensively throughout the 1970s, offering shows heavy on guitar dueling and showmanship, perhaps best captured on his '77 LP "Derringer Live."
In the early 1980s, he played guitar solos on two massive singles written by Meatloaf collaborator Jim Steinman: Bonnie Tyler's 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' and Air Supply's 'Making Love Out of Nothing at All.'
Derringer's collaborations with singer Cyndi Lauper in the mid-1980s resulted in a connection to the world of professional wrestling. In 1985, he produced the World Wrestling Federation's 'The Wrestling Album,' which included the Hulk Hogan theme song 'Real American.'
Like so many things that Derringer created, that song also endured. It has been employed by politicians ranging from President Barack Obama to presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as well as President Trump.
Rick Derringer's connection to Sarasota-Manatee dates back at least two decades and includes a stint as a Realtor. In 2006, the Herald-Tribune reported that the guitar great had become a sales agent for Sarasota's McKenna and Associates Realty.
That same year, Derringer also appeared as a pitchman for Fidelity Investments in a television commercial aimed at baby boomer retirees.
Derringer and his 'third and last wife,' Jenda, were born-again Christians who preferred to focus on the present rather than dwell on past rock 'n' roll excesses or successes, according to the Herald-Tribune. Still, Derringer knew that succeeding in real estate meant being visible: 'Letting people know what you do,' he said.
Raised Catholic, he was reborn in a 1998 river baptism. By 2006, Derringer was attending various evangelical churches across Sarasota and Manatee counties, where he sometimes performed. Married since 1998, he credited Jenda with helping 'manage the whole person, not just the career.'
The couple owned nine investment properties scattered throughout Southwest Florida, including rental units that generated cash flow, according to the Herald-Tribune.
Despite his wife's misgivings, Derringer still loved to perform live, playing about 30 shows annually. He told the Herald-Tribune he earned between $5,000 and $10,000 per gig, depending on the venue.
In the 1990s, Derringer met Damon Fowler, then a teenage guitar wunderkind from Brandon. Impressed by his playing, Derringer produced Fowler's 1999 debut album, "Riverview Drive." Fowler later moved to Anna Maria Island in Manatee County and became a national blues star, with his 2021 album "Alafia Moon" debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.
'Rick was a really great guy, a very interesting fellow, and I learned a lot from him,' Fowler said Tuesday, May 27, by phone from his Plant City home. 'I cherish the time I got to spend with him. He was an amazing guitar player — one of the most fantastic I've ever had the chance to hang out with and see in person.'
Fowler added: 'I don't think people realize how much Rick was involved in music. He played all kinds of genres. He was a producer. He played on Steely Dan records. He helped Cyndi Lauper get a record deal, toured with her, and played on her early demos. He worked with 'Weird Al' Yankovic. And of course, Johnny Winter and Edgar Winter. That's just scratching the surface. The guy was incredibly prolific. He truly loved music.'
Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Legendary rocker and former Sarasota resident Rick Derringer dies
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