Rick Derringer

Rick Derringer - Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, The Best of Rick Derringer - 1996 - Sony

One of the greatest American rock guitarists of modern times, Rick Derringer's amazing c.v is too long to list here. If you ever want to hear some of his greatest work, then buy his brilliant "Jackhammer Blues" album, and listen to his live album, the King Biscuit "Rick Derringer and Friends" which is simply outstanding. For an example of how blues guitar should be played, listen to his version of "Pride And Joy" on the "Hats Off To Stevie Ray" tribute album to SRV. If you want to hear some mean slide guitar, listen to Rick's playing on Steely Dan's "Show Biz Kids" from their "Countdown To Ecstacy" album. Rick also played on the Dan's classic "Katy Lied," and "Gaucho" albums, and on Donald Fagen's incredible "The Nightfly" album. He has also played with the great Todd Rundgren. We could be here all night talking about Rick Derringer's work, but suffice to say that "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" is a great compilation of Rick's most memorable tunes.

TRACKS

Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo
I Didn't Ask to Be Born
Time Warp
Teenage Queen
Let Me In
Still Alive and Well
Let the Music Play
Modern Love
Everything
Sleepless
Need a Little Girl (Just Like You)
Hang on Sloopy
Sittin' by the Pool
Don't Ever Say Goodbye
Teenage Love Affair
Beyond the Universe

All songs composed by Rick Derringer, except "Let Me In" by Derringer/Cynthia Weil, "Sleepless" by Derringer/Patti Smith, "Hang On Sloopy" by Wes Farrell,/Bert Russell, & "Sittin' By The Pool" by Derringer/Larry Sloman

MUSICIANS

Rick Derringer (Guitar (Acoustic)), (Bass), (Guitar), (Guitar (Electric)), (Guitar (Rhythm)), (Maracas), (Tambourine), (Vocals), (Vocals (Background)), (Guitar (12 String)), (Sitar (Electric))
Dan Hartman (Organ), (Bass), (Guitar (Rhythm)), (Vocals (Background))
Joe Walsh (Guitar (Electric))
Danny Johnson (Guitar), (Vocals)
Randy Jo Hobbs (Bass)
Kenny Passarelli (Bass)
John Siegler (Bass)
Donnie Kisselbach (Bass), (Vocals)
Kenny Aaronson (Bass), (Vocals (Background))
Myron Grombacher (Drums), (Vocals)
Jimmy Wilcox (Drums), (Vocals)
Vinny Appice (Drums),(Vocals (Background))
Chuck Ruff (Percussion), (Drums), (Vocals (Background))
Bobby Caldwell (Drums)
John Siomos (Drums)
Joe Vitale (Drums)
Bobby Ramirez (Drums)
Edgar Winter (Organ), (Percussion), (Keyboards), (Piano (Electric)), (Saxophone), (Vocals (Background))
Benjy King (Keyboards), (Vocals (Background))
Roger Powell (Organ)
Neil Geraldo (Piano)
Paul Harris (Piano)
Jerry Lacroix (Saxophone)
Jon Smith (Saxophone),(Vocals (Background))
Tilly Lawrence (Trumpet)
Mike McLellan (Trumpet)
Joe Lala (Conga)
Todd Rundgren (Vocals (Background))
Jerry Lacroix (Vocals (Background))
Kasim Sulton (Vocals (Background))
Tasha Thomas (Vocals (Background))
Carl Hall (Vocals (Background))
Allen Nichols (Vocals (Background))
George I. Isaac (Vocals (Background))
Emmanuel Riley (Vocals (Background))

SHORT BIO

It seems like Rick Derringer has been on the rock & roll scene forever -- actually, it's only been since 1965, which makes him one of the more enduring veterans of his generation. Derringer's work with his band the McCoys in his midteens, highlighted by the bubblegum anthem "Hang On Sloopy," gave him a claim to low-level rock & roll immortality, and his subsequent playing with Johnny (and later Edgar) Winter provided him with a degree of credibility that a lot of guitar players can only envy, especially after the release of the Edgar Winter live double album Roadwork. Derringer began getting production experience with the McCoys, but they were never able to overcome their bubblegum rock image, and by the end of the 1960s, Derringer and his brother Randy were recruited by Johnny Winter into his band, with Derringer playing guitar and also producing. He emerged as a solo artist in the wake of his playing with Edgar Winter's White Trash. Derringer first became popular in his own right during the early/mid-'70s, beginning with a new version of his own "Rock & Roll, Hoochie Koo" (which Johnny Winter had covered for him a few years earlier) off Derringer's heavy metal-influenced debut album, All American Boy. Derringer soon had his own band, called Derringer, on the road -- although his guitarist and bassist, Danny Johnson and Kenny Aaronson, left in 1977 to form Axis -- and within a couple of years had established himself as a popular favorite. Derringer's recorded history was somewhat spotty, however, as his record sales never matched his favor with concert audiences -- a huge gap also existed between releases, which didn't bother him; even in the late '90s, Derringer played close to 200 shows a year. He spent most of the late '70s and 1980s, however, as a producer, working with artists as diverse as Bette Midler, Kiss, Meat Loaf, Cyndi Lauper, Barbra Streisand, and Weird Al Yankovic. Derringer is known for his hard-rocking live shows, which don't necessarily translate well to recordings, or lend themselves to much originality. As he neared age 50 in the 1990s, however, he had mellowed, and this showed when he began recording again for Shrapnel Records in 1993 with the albums Back to the Blues and Electra Blues. Years of fair to average rock and adult contemporary albums followed, but in 2002 Derringer did an about-face and tried his hands at jazz with the adventurous Free Ride. © Bruce Eder, All Music Guide