Rick Derringer may be the perfect artist for his own IN THE MIX compilation.
Who else achieved world-wide fame in their teens, hit another career highlight a few years later as a member of one of the hottest live acts in history, and had solo success to boot?
Rick’s first big hit with The McCoys; Hang On Sloopy landed at the top slot on the charts—holding The Beatles’ Yesterday at #2. Never one to hold a grudge, Ringo later hired Rick as part of his All-Starr Band. The McCoys also supported The Rolling Stones on their first U.S. tour.
Rick played guitar on several Steely Dan tracks, beefed up KISS records with his sizzling leads, and graciously backed Cyndi Lauper & Barbra Streisand (two of the biggest female artists of their respective generations) onstage and on record. And lets not forget that he’s also a great vocalist, songwriter, & producer who helmed gold & platinum albums for Edgar & Johnny Winter, as well as The WWF’s The Wrestling Album! Speaking of producers... Rick also played guitar on three Todd Rundgren albums.
I’m surprised it's all but forgotten that Derringer was instrumental in getting Weird Al Yankovich signed, and he produced every Weird Al album up to Off The Deep End—six in all. He also supplied guitar on Al’s Beat It parody EAT IT which invited side-by-side comparison to Eddie Van Halen—a comparison Derringer was certainly up to.
It wasn’t until I was fact checking this post that I realized how Rick Derringer got involved with Weird Al. Rick’s manager Jake Hooker had been in a band called The Arrows, and had co-written I Love Rock & Roll, which later became a hit for Joan Jett. When Al parodied it as; I Love Rocky Road, he had to get permission from Jake. Jake loved it & played it for Derringer who also loved it, and Rick convinced Cherokee Studios to give them studio time on spec.
I really enjoy Fil of Wings Of Pegasus’ YouTube channel, & he gave me an even greater appreciation for Derringer--he called Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo “one of the best hard rock performances I’ve ever seen”. Check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgJPVFbeYes.
The world owes Rick Derringer a lot more respect for his guitar playing than he gets. And I’ll fight any man who says different on two conditions: my opponent has to be in the same weight class as myself, & they have to listen to this compilation in front of the crowd before we enter the ring (so the crowd will be on my side).
“Did somebody say: ‘Keep on rockin’?’”
"There was a group called The Jokers, they were laying it down".
ReplyDeleteWhat other bands share their names with comic book characters?
IN THE MIX - THE RICK DERRINGER EDITION:
https://pixeldrain.com/u/EYWkqgZ5
Please scroll down for the new link!
DeleteWow, very interesting collection, I learned a lot again!, But no Weird Al song included?!
ReplyDeleteAs a fan (but not that serious) of Herge's Tintin an obvious answer is The Thompson Twins (not a fan though!) from the UK...
Ahhhh, you sneaked in his Eat It as a hidden track!
DeleteLordy mama, light my fuse -- another great comp, Stinky! Poco was originally called POGO, but the cartoon's creator (Walt Kelly) objected. If you expanded the comic book character question to include rappers (and their aliases), the list would be long! Dr. Doom, Jean Grae, Iron Man/Tony Starks (aka Ghostface)...
DeleteStinky am i wrong or was Rick in Johnny winter "And". when he did the original R "n" R hoochie koo ?
ReplyDeleteThe biggest banger from Derringer's collaboration with the WWF was of course this:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK7pGkBIzgY
sung and played by the man himself, so that would disqualify it from 'In The Mix', but not from inclusion elsewhere when the occasion arrives.
"Here comes the Ax...here comes the Smasher..."
As for the question of the day, The Jokers could face any of the half-dozen bands named The Batmen...pardon my ENglish, I meant Les Batmen...;-)
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzyl6tZFsOU
DOH! I left EAT IT off the track listing! Good catch, Koen. I'll fix it in the next couple of days, folks--when things slow down on my end.
ReplyDeleteIncluding just one Weird Al track wasn't easy--there are so many great songs on the six albums Rick produced, sang, & played on.
In making this compilation, I was also making a case for Rick's varied abilities, & body of work. In one interview Derringer says that his production work dried up after he worked with The Weird One because, when it would come up, the artists he was in talks to produce saw him as a "novelty producer". I guess none of them ever heard of George Martin!
The reality is that Weird Al's producer, like his band, have to be able to credibly reproduce every style of music. Easier said than done! That's why I consider Weird Al's combo to be "The World's Greatest Cover Band."
Yup, Weird Al is actually a really good artist who deserves much more credit than just 'novelty guy'...
ReplyDeleteTo appease Anonymous, when I fix the track listing, I'll change the "Rock & Roll" to "Rock And Roll” (the most common spelling), although it seems to be spelled both ways (“Rock ’n’ Roll”).
ReplyDeleteRick was in both Johnny Winter and Edgar Winter's groups. In one interview that I watched to help me assemble this, he says he was playing with Johnny Winter, and Johnny went into rehab, which left Rick without a job. Derringer had produced Edgar Winter’s most recent White Trash album, & knew Edgar was unhappy with his guitarist—so he asked if he’d want him to join his group. So he had one foot in each camp… Rick Derringer having played with both of them is only ONE reason I’ve always had a hard time keeping those guys straight if I'm not LOOKING at them. I'm thankful, Edgar never wore a cowboy hat.
You’re right Anonymous; “Rock AND Roll Hootchie Coo” (with the AND spelled out) first pops up when The Johnny Winter group was called “Johnny Winter And”. Derringer says his group The McCoys was in danger of being turned into a “bubble gum” group so he had to convince Johnny and his handlers that they were the perfect backing band to add a little pop sensibility to Johnny’s bluesy style.
So Rick set to work writing a song that married pop & blues. He incorporated the pop phrase; “rock & roll”, with the blues phrase; “hootchie coo” to serve two masters. Which, by the way, is something the born again Derringer no longer aspires to.
https://www.discogs.com/release/1877436-The-Penguin-The-Penguin
ReplyDeleteHe is quite allright. Good Billy album
Which leads us to another almost candidate: Batmobile (Dutch psychobilly band)
DeleteYou sure know your classics Koen
DeleteLet us not forget the sensational guitars of Dan & Dale... https://sunramusic.bandcamp.com/album/batman-and-robin
DeleteDaaaaannnngggg looks like Meatloaf got totally eclipsed on that album! You guys really are doing "the needful" (as our India factory contacts at work like to say) done!! Congrats Stinkshevski! Shabba-Doo!!!
ReplyDeleteNEW LINK!!
ReplyDeleteIN THE MIX - THE RICK DERRINGER EDITION:
https://pixeldrain.com/u/2Wbar83e
Hi Viacom: Yeah, I left Meatloaf off, because Rick didn't play on his best albums, and there was a wealth of material. But I hope you won't mind a little more trivia... after all the IN THE MIX series is meant to be "part mixtape and part trivial pursuit game". Even though they'd stopped working together, songwriter Jim Steinman offered; "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All" & "Total Eclipse Of The Heart" to Meatloaf (which are included). But legal wranglings kept them from being able to make it happen. I can hear Meatloaf singing both of them, & vocally "chewing the scenery", in my head. Derringer was working closely with Steinman at the time, so he likely would have played on Meatloaf's versions.
ReplyDeleteIf you should ever entertain a Volume 2, please consider the interplay between Rick and Danny Johnson on the title track of his solo album
ReplyDelete"Sweet Evil". It gets your spleen agitatin'.
Hello there, efredd, and thank you for your comment!
ReplyDeleteDERRINGER's Sweet Evil is great! Danny Johnson (of Alcatrazz) is a perfect foil for our boy Rick. I'll definitely include it on a future IN THE MIX.
There are some volumes devoted to a specific artist in the series (Ringo Starr, Rick Derringer), but there are also installments that feature tracks by different artists on each cut--and it's perfect for one of those. I was bunching them by era/decades, but a dearly beloved bunch of freelance fact checkers frequent our blog ("That track was actually released in 1980--so it doesn't belong on IN THE MIX IN THE '70s") so I've stopped doing that. Please check back to see your suggestion incorporated!
Check out Sweet Evil here--it's got a nice slow build and some tasty licks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6v50tg-CiY
And please check out the IN THE MIX comps that have been posted so far here--there are about 15 more in different stages of completion: https://jonderblog.blogspot.com/search/label/In%20The%20Mix
"You got MUSIC on my TRIVIA!"
"You got TRIVIA on my MUSIC!"
i think your golden age may be coming, for this is, by decree, the end of fact-checking, except by approved AI receptacles. Oy!
DeleteHi efredd: You make a good point! I'm anti-AI all the way! "Bah, Humbug!"
ReplyDelete