He was the All-American boy, urging Sloopy to hang on. Ohio-born rocker Rick Derringer died Monday at age 77.
The singer and guitarist from Celina began his career with the McCoys, who topped the charts in 1965 with 鈥淗ang on Sloopy.鈥�
Derringer, a teenager at the time, was brought in to sing lead on the single that鈥檚 become synonymous with Ohio sports. It鈥檚 played in Ohio Stadium at the end of the third quarter of Buckeye football games, as well as during Cleveland Guardians games, as fans have grafted the 鈥淥-H-I-O鈥� chant into the chorus. In 1985, it was .
In the 1970s, Derringer had another hit with 鈥淩ock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,鈥� from his LP 鈥淎ll-American Boy.鈥� The album鈥檚 guests included Joe Walsh and David Bromberg.
Derringer also began producing, eventually helming the first big hits for 鈥淲eird Al鈥� Yankovic. For 1984鈥檚 鈥淓at It,鈥� he was tasked with playing a replica of Eddie Van Halen鈥檚 iconic guitar solo from Michael Jackson鈥檚 鈥淏eat It.鈥� Derringer also recorded with a wide variety of artists such as Steely Dan, Bette Midler, Cyndi Lauper and Richie Havens. From 2011-14 he toured with Ringo Starr.
In his later years, Derringer spoke of his and a 2017 interview on Alex Jones鈥� radio show about support for President Donald Trump. Political strategist and Trump advisor Roger Stone tweeted a photo of the two on Tuesday, calling Derringer 鈥渁 great songwriter and a great patriot.鈥� Former collaborator Joe Bonamassa also tweeted about the guitarist, saying it 鈥渨as an honor to know you, work with you and call you a friend.鈥�
No cause of death has been released. A March 12 message on his Facebook page mentions ankle surgery, while an April 17 message states, 鈥淲e鈥檙e all feeling great.鈥�