Influential rock guitarist Rick Derringer – who played on some of the biggest songs of the 1980s and enjoyed a storied career – has died aged 77. The news was announced on Facebook by his close friend, Tony Wilson.
“Legendary musician/entertainer Rick Derringer Received His Wings And Passed On This Memorial Day,” the post reads. “Derringer's legacy extends beyond his music, entertaining fans with his signature energy and talent. His passing leaves a void in the music world, and he will be deeply missed by fans, colleagues, and loved ones.”
The guitarist “passed on at 8:09 PM on May 26th, surrounded by his loving wife, singer/songwriter, and band of 28 years Jenda Derringer, [and] his caretaker and close friend Tony Wilson.”
After forming his first band, the McCoys, while still in 8th grade, a young Derringer helped the group score a number-one hit with Hang On Sloopy in the early 1960s. It was released a year after the Vibrations’ original version, My Girl Sloopy, and even charted higher than the Beatles’ Yesterday.
“Here I was, 17 years old, and I was in a successful band with a hit record, and we were playing all over the world. I was so happy,” Derringer told Guitar Player last year during a wide-ranging interview.
Following the success of the McCoys, Derringer then formed the backbone of Johnny Winter's backing group, which he held down while also regularly work with Edgar Winter in the early 1970s.
While working with Johnny Winter, Derringer would pen some of his most famous original tracks, including Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo, which the guitarist would re-record for his 1973 solo debut record.
Across his career, Derringer also lent his distinct musical services to some of the biggest artists of his time, and contributed to a wide range of hugely influential songs. His work on three Steely Dan records – Countdown to Ecstasy (1973), Katy Lied (1975), and Gaucho (1980) – led to a fruitful period in the 1980s where he worked as something of an in-demand gun for hire.
Notably, he provided lead guitar on two classic Jim Steinman power ballads: Air Supply's Making Love Out of Nothing at All, and Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of the Heart. He was also brought into the studio for Meat Loaf's Midnight at the Lost and Found shortly after, and wrote Masculine for his follow-up, Blind Before I Stop.
Derringer was also an influential figure in making B.C. Rich's left-field Mockingbird guitar a must-have 1970s axe and was one of many talented soloists to guest on Kiss records, famously playing lead on 1983's Lick It Up.
Other session gigs saw him work with Cyndi Lauper, Barbra Streisand, and Bette Midler. In 2000, he featured on Joe Bonamassa's debut album A New Day Yesterday, playing on a cover of Al Kooper's Nuthin' I Wouldn't Do (For a Woman Like You).
Reacting to the news, Bonamassa lead tributes to Derringer, writing, “Rest in Peace my friend. It was an honor to know you, work with you, and call you a friend.”
