About Me
Three catchy words was all it took to send Rick Derringer to fame back in 1965. His band The McCoys recorded the #1 hit Hang on Sloopy, beating out The Beatles "Yesterday." Rick was only 17 years old at the time, but was already on his way to a life time of music success. After a little longer with the McCoys, Rick met the newly emerging Edgar Winter, and the two began a long career together. Rick began producing and playing for Edgar, beginning with his solo album, Entrance. After this, Edgar formed White Trash, which Rick produced/played for in 1971. They released two albums, Edgar Winter's White Trash and Roadwork, the latter reaching Gold status. This band broke up in '72, and The Edgar Winter Group was formed, with Dan Hartman on bass, Chuck Ruff on drums, and Ronnie Montrose on guitar. Rick produced their double platinum album, They Only Come Out at Night, with hits like Free Ride, Hangin Around, and the #1 Frankenstein. It was around this time in November that Rick decided to cut a solo album. Entitled "All American Boy," it got Rick a great hit with Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo. Other excellent songs were on the album, such as Teenage Queen, Hold, and Jump, Jump, Jump. Edgar guest played on the album on several songs. After this, Ronnie Montrose left The Edgar Winter Group, and Rick joined as producer/lead guitarist. They released the gold album Shock Treatment in 1974, and a year later, Derringer released another solo album, entitled Spring Fever in '75. This same year, Rick put together a band called "Derringer" and they released several albums including Sweet Evil and Derringer Live. 1975 also saw the release of another Edgar Winter Group album, "The Edgar Winter Group with Rick Derringer." This was their last as a group. Rick went off and released albums like If I Weren't So Romantic I'd Shoot You and Face to Face. Since then, Rick has done several more solo albums, including a lot of blues and jazz work. His family has done group albums together as well. Rick still tours extensively throughout the US, sometimes with the Edgar Winter Band, and other times with Tom Curiale and Charlie Torres. Rick Derringer will always be remembered for his EXTREME talent on the guitar as well as vocally and his song writing ability. The work he did at such a young age, especially producing a double platinum album, is extermely impressive. Rick was one of the defining people in true Classic Rock and still is to this day.
