One of the jobs of our countdown is to pay tribute to musicians who have passed away this year. The first (and, sadly, not the last) in this year’s playlist is Rick Derringer, whose career reads like a who’s who of classic rock.
Seriously, he played with just about everybody, from the 60s through the 80s. Derringer and his brother started The McCoys, whose big 60s hit “Hang On Sloopy” would later be named Ohio’s official state rock rock song. He played in bands with Johnny Winter and Edgar Winter, wrote songs with Patti Smith before she became a musical icon, and played guitar on albums by countless big name acts: KISS, Cyndi Lauper, Steely Dan, Bette Midler, Les Paul and Bonnie Tyler, to name a few. He had a bonafide smash hit of his own, “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo,” and he toured with both Peter Frampton and Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band.
And we’re not even close to finished! Derringer also played on, and produced, six – count ‘em, six – “Weird Al” Yankovic records. The classics. The ones that made Al a legend. It’s his guitar doing the exploding Eddie Van Halen parody solo on “Eat It.” And along the way, Derringer helped forge the 80s rock ‘n’ wrestling connection, playing on several World Wrestling Federation albums. He wrote and performed “Real American,” maybe the first huge song that was originally an entrance theme for a wrestler. It was first earmarked for an exciting tag team combination known as the US Express, but it went on to be the theme for Hulk Hogan (who also passed away this year. The Hulkster didn’t make a Christmas album, but one of these days I will finish watching his movie Santa With Muscles and add it to this site!)
More recently, Derringer made some Christian-themed music with his wife and family, including a Christmas album called “Winter Wonderland.” As of now, very little is available for streaming, but “Christmas Valentine” is a sweet and cheerful track and worth a listen. (If you want something a little less specifically for the holidays but with a bit more spice, try “Winter,” from another Derringer family collaboration.) Or hey, why not also enjoy his hard rock theme for the tag team Demolition. Whichever way you go, you won’t go wrong.
