Trivia

Was a lead guitarist with The Edgar Winter Group and Johnny Winter.

Former member of The McCoys.

He wrote and performed "Real American". Wrestler Hulk Hogan has used it for his entrance theme music.

He produced all of 'Weird Al' Yankovic's albums in the 80s and did the guitar solo on "Eat It". He won his only Grammy Awards for his work with Yankovic.

He played guitar on two songs written by Jim Steinman, "Making Love Out of Nothing at All" by Air Supply and "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler. He also played guitar on Barbra Streisand's cover of "Left in the Dark".

After eighth grade, his family moved to Union City, Indiana, where Derringer formed a band he initially called the McCoys. He later renamed it the Rick Z Combo and then Rick and the Raiders before reverting to the original name.

In 2017, Derringer appeared on Alex Jones' Infowars several times. In one of those appearances Derringer was interviewed by political consultant Roger Stone about Derringer's support for Donald Trump.

According to Derringer, aside from his parents' extensive record collection, his first major influence was his uncle, Jim Thornburg, a popular guitarist and singer in Ohio.

In the 1980s, he produced the Kodomo Band and toured in Asia, including with Edgar Winter, during the 1990 White Light tour.

Rick Derringer was an American musician, producer, and songwriter. He gained success in the 1960s with his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang On Sloopy", became a number-one hit in 1965 and is now regarded as a classic track from the garage rock era.

He performed the guitar solo for an anti-bullying campaign version of "Hang on Sloopy" by the Love Love Kids, released in October 2019.

In 1973, Derringer found further success with his song "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo".

In 1973, Derringer released his first solo album, All American Boy, which featured his hit song "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo". By then, the song had already appeared on Johnny Winter And (1970) and the White Trash Roadwork (1972) albums. Derringer's version reached the Top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming his highest-charting single. However, despite the success of "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" as a single, All American Boy was not a successful album. One critic described the album as a "sadly neglected album of great merit".

Derringer went on three world tours with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band. For one rehearsals began in June 2010, and they traveled across Europe, Russia, South America, Mexico, and the USA. The tour featured Wally Palmar, Edgar Winter, Gary Wright, Richard Page, and Gregg Bissonette.

In 1983, Derringer also wrote "Shake Me" for his Good Dirty Fun solo album, accompanied by a video produced by Jake Hooker, the husband of Lorna Luft. Singer Lourett Russell Grant appeared in the video alongside Derringer.