Song:Hang On Sloopy
Album:Hang On Sloopy: The Best Of The McCoys
Hang On Sloopy was a number one hit for The McCoys in 1965. The guys behind The McCoys were also behind the phony group The Strangeloves, Richard Gottehrer, Jerry Goldstein & Bob Feldman along with Bang Records owner Bert Berns. The McCoys were from Union City, IN. Singer guitarist Ricky Zehringer (born Aug. 5, 1947 in Fort Recovery, OH) was the leader along with his brother Randy Zehringer on drums and Richard Kelly on bass. They were known as Rick & The Raiders. Kelly left and was replaced by Randy Jo Hobbs. Sax player Sean Michaels and keyboard player Bobby Peterson also joined. The group was actually recruited to be The Strangeloves. The group name was changed to The McCoys after Hang On Sloopy was recorded. Bert Berns was behind that. Berns wrote Hang On Sloopy as Bert Russell along with veteran songwriter producer Wes Farrell (he produced The Partridge Family). The song was originally recorded by R & B group The Vibrations as My Girl Sloopy in 1964. The song hit number one in Oct. 1965. The McCoys also had a top ten hit with their follow up single Fever. Other McCoys songs were too much like Hang On Sloopy to be successful. They left Bang and recorded a couple of albums for Mercury. This comp has their Bang recordings. By this time, Ricky Zehringer had changed his name to Rick Derringer and he and his brother began a long association with Johnny Winter and his brother Edgar Winter. Derringer went on to a long career as a producer and had a big hit with Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo. Here's The McCoys performing Hang On Sloopy in 1965.
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