Legendary guitarist and producer Rick Derringer has died, aged 77

Legendary rock guitarist and producer Rick Derringer, who fronted The McCoys and performed with Ringo Starr, Steely Dan and more, has died.

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Legendary rock guitarist and producer Rick Derringer has died, aged 77.

Derringer’s death was confirmed by his wife in a statement to TMZ. According to Jenda said he passed on Memorial Day (May 26) “peacefully” after being taken off life support following a “medical episode”.

Rick Derringer’s close friend Tony Wilson later shared the news on social media.

Born Richard Dean Zehringer, Derringer enjoyed a prolific career in music that spanned over six decades as a performer, songwriter and producer. He first experienced fame as the frontman of The McCoys in the 1960s. Their 1965 debut single ‘Hang On Sloopy’ charted at number one, and has gone on to be hailed as a garage rock classic.

The McCoys broke up in 1969, but not before releasing other hits like ‘Fever’, ‘Hang On, Come On’, and more. Derringer released hit debut solo album ‘All American Boy’ in 1973, which featured his biggest solo hit ‘Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo’.

While releasing solo material, Derringer also performed as a session musician on several Steely Dan classics, including ‘Show Biz Kids’, ‘Chain Lightning’ and ‘My Rival’. He would later go on to play with Cyndi Lauper on two of her solo albums, ‘True Colors’ and ‘A Night To Remember’, and performed as part of her touring band. In 1971, he appeared on the Alice Cooper album ‘Killer’, specifically on songs ‘Under My Wheels’ and ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’.

In 1983, he tracked guitar part for two major power ballads: Air Supply’s ‘Making Love Out of Nothing At All’ and Bonnie Tyler‘s ‘Total Eclipse Of The Heart’. The following year, he also performed on Barbra Streisand‘s ‘Left in the Dark’.

Elsewhere in the 1980s, Derringer produced ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic‘s first six albums, including the Grammy-winning Michael Jackson spoof, ‘Eat It’. In 1985, he co-produced and wrote several songs for the debut WWE (then WWF) compilation album, ‘The Wrestling Album’. Among the songs he wrote was Hulk Hogan’s theme song, ‘Real American’.

He would go on to continue with his prolific solo career, and in the 2010s went on three world tours with Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band across Europe, Russia, South America, Mexico and the United States.

In 2014, Derringer performed as part of Peter Frampton‘s ‘Guitar Circus’ tour alongside B.B. King, Don Felder, Cheap Trick‘s Rick Nielsen, TOTO‘s Steve Lukather and Pearl Jam‘s Mike McCready.

Following the news of his death, several musicians have paid tribute to Rick Derringer. Ringo Starr wrote: “God bless Rick Derringer. It was great playing with him in the All Starrs. I send peace and love to his family.”

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A post shared by Ringo Starr (@ringostarrmusic)

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic wrote on Instagram: “I’m very sad to say that my friend, rock guitar legend Rick Derringer, has passed. 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.”

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A post shared by “Weird Al” Yankovic (@alfredyankovic)

See more tributes below.

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