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Rick Derringer music biography continued...

Ohio, Derringer burst into the spotlight when he was 17 years old, and recorded "Hang On Sloopy," with his band the McCoys. The tune became a number one song in the summer of 1965, before "Yesterday" by The Beatles knocked it out of the top spot. The song was issued by Bang Records. Because the Zehringer name was often misspelled, he adopted the Derringer stage name which was inspired by the Bang Records logo which featured a derringer pistol. Derringer left the McCoys at the end of the 60s, and was recruited by Johnny Winter into his band, with Derringer playing guitar and also producing. He emerged as a solo artist in the wake of his playing with Edgar Winter's White Trash. Derringer first made a name for himself as a solo artist in the early/mid-'70s, with a new version of his own "Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo" off his heavy metal-influenced debut album, All American Boy. Derringer soon had his own band, called Derringer and within a couple of years, with his hard-driving rock concerts, established himself as a popular favorite. Though he took several years between releases, as late as the 90s, Derringer was performing 200 shows a year, pleasing long-time fans and bringing new ones into the fold.



By the early 90s, Derringer began to mellow, recording again for Shrapnel Records with the albums Back to the Blues and Electra Blues. Starting in the late 90s, Derringer began to experiment with new musical genres ranging from jazz to gospel to Christian rock. He also got his whole family in on the musical act. The Derringers "We Live" CD, released in the fall of 2008, featured Rick, his wife, Jenda, their son, Marn, 15 and daughter, Loving, 16. According to Derringer, he and his family "aim to please" everyone from teen to adult fans, and it's clear they are doing just that.