Rick Derringer

So Rick Derringer is coming to that little venue a block from my house that all the geezers are coming to these days.

Should I care?

Derringer is one of those people whose name I've known forever but have never bothered finding zilch out about. I know "Rock and Roll Hootchy Coo" (meh) and I think he was in the band that did "Hang On, Sloopy." Otherwise, he's a complete blank to me, unless there's a ton of stuff he's done but I had no clue it was him.

Is there any reason why I should make the arduous trek of 200 yards or so in order to see him? Let me know.



Post Edited (11-25-15 12:14)

He played on some Johnny Winter records (Winter does a superior version of "Hootchie Koo," in my opinion - looser and greasier), was part of the Edgar Winter Group (but not the famous recordings) and worked with Weird Al Yankovic in some capacity - producer, maybe? Otherwise you nailed his claims to fame. I think he makes blues records now.

Apart from the above-mentioned claims to fame, Derringer also has worked in the studio with Steely Dan, Alice Cooper, Todd Rundgren, Cyndi Lauper and others. He's toured quite a bit, most recently as a stalwart in Ringo's All-Starr Band.

I will say that I saw him once -- did lighting for him, in fact. He put on a really good rock & roll show. But that was over 30 years ago, so ...

Yeah, I always thought it was weird that Derringer ended up producing the first [checks] six "Weird" Al Yankovic albums. I didn't see that one coming, but I suppose, apart from The McCoys and "Rock + Roll Hootchie Koo" [not a favorite] that is where his greater fame lies for me.



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