Rick Derringer Gone at 77

Renowned guitarist blurred the lines between rock and pop

May 27, 2025May 28, 2025 Ron Hart 0 Comments Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Edgar Winter, Hulk Hogan, Johnny Winter, Patti Smith, Rick Derringer, RIP, Steely Dan, The McCoys, Thurston Moore, Weird Al Yankovic

Rick Derringer All American Boy promo poster (Image: Blue Sky Records)

Rick Derringer, whose career in popular music spanned six decades, has died.

Though no cause of death has been revealed at press time, a message from the acclaimed guitarist’s friend and caregiver Tony Wilson posted on Facebook announced the news of his passing.

“Rick Derringer received his wings and passed on this Memorial Day,” read the note. “[Derringer] passed on at 8:09 PM, surrounded by his loving wife, singer-songwriter and band member of 28 years, Jenda Derringer, and his caretaker and close friend Tony Wilson (AKA) Young James Brown.”

The note then began to list the guitarist’s many accolades, which began over 60 years ago when he and his brother Randy Z formed The McCoys and earned a hit with their version of the Wes Farrell/Bert Berns composition “Hang On Sloopy” in 1965. It would become the official rock song of the state of Ohio, where Derringer was born.

VIDEO: Rick Derringer and the Edgar Winter Group play “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” on The Midnight Special

But it was during the 1970s when Derringer’s star would truly rise, first as a member of Johnny Winter’s band before embarking on a successful solo career with 1973’s All American Boy, which spawned the hit single “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,” originally recorded three years earlier for the Johnny Winter And LP. The song would see a revival in the ‘90s as part of the soundtrack to Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused and, most recently, get utilized during the fourth season of Stranger Things in 2022.

The ‘70s also saw Derringer work extensively with Steely Dan, playing guitar on Countdown to Ecstasy (“Show Biz Kids”), Katy Lied (“Chain Lightning”) and Gaucho (“My Rival”), not to mention the likes of Richie Havens, Dan Hartman, the Edgar Winter Group (particularly “Frankenstein”) and Bette Midler as well.

By the time the 1980s rolled through, Derringer began working with master song satirist “Weird Al” Yankovic, producing his first six albums, including 1984’s breakthrough “Weird Al” Yankovic In 3-D.

“I’m very sad to say that my friend, rock guitar legend Rick Derringer, has passed,” Yankovic wrote on Facebook. “Rick produced my first 6 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. RIP.”

The ‘80s also saw Derringer work in collaboration with the former WWF (now WWE) on a pair of albums, 1985’s The Wrestling Album and 1987’s Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II, producing both and recording entrance themes for then-World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan (“Real American”) and onetime tag team champs Demolition (“Demolition”) while also re-cutting “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” with songwriter-turned-wrestling announcer “Mean” Gene Okerlund.

AUDIO: Rick Derringer “Real American”

The ‘80s additionally found Derringer working with Barbra Streisand on her 1984 album Emotion, playing lead guitar on her version of Jim Steinman’s “Left in the Dark,” and taking the solo on Bonnie Tyler’s massive hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” also written by Steinman. He also worked with Meat Loaf on his 1986 LP Blind Before I Stop, writing the song “Masculine” for the record. Additionally, that year saw him in collaboration with fellow wrestling fan Cyndi Lauper on her True Colours LP, and then three years later on 1989’s A Night to Remember.

By 1997, Derringer sold his soul to Christian Evangelism, and began his shift into right-wing politics. By 2017, he was a regular guest on InfoWars, getting interviewed by Roger Stone and rewriting “Real American” for the MAGA crowd. It would alienate a portion of his fanbase who disagreed with him.

However, despite such late-career shifts in ideology, we salute this All American Boy for the amazing rock ‘n’ roll he gave us back in the day.

“Rick Derringer was a huge rock ‘n’ roll inspiration playing guitar with Johnny and Edgar Winter and setting Patti Smith’s words to music (‘Hold’ on his seminal 1973 All American Boy LP) that whole transitional period before punk with him and Blue Oyster Cult and Kiss and Alice,” wrote former Sonic Youth guitarist Thurston Moore on his socials. “Those people were our rock n’ diamonds before the CBGB explosion. Rest in Peace and thank you🙏 @rickderringerofficial.”

If you want to get into some of Derringer’s solo material from the ’70s, check out our playlist below.