Rick Derringer

[Robert****]

Just chatted with Rick on Twitter. He's an awesome guy. Check out this clip with Edgar Winter from 1973. Great stuff! I love this song. One of the best rock'n roll songs ever written.

[bigG]

Cool, Robert. Love that song! One of the classics

We opened for The McCoys in Miami in 1967 at Thee Image (a converted bowling alley - made for a great rock venue! The 2 stages were set up where the bowling pins used to be at the end of the alley). I can't remember, but it might have been The McCoys and The Fudge...(The McCoys, for you who don't remember, had the hit 'Hang On Sloopy' [another classic, been compared to being on par with Louie, Louie in the frat-rock genre] and were touring off the fame of that. The band included Rick, with his brother on drums, and his schtick was to drum w/o a stool - standing up, using a regular kit.)

I remember they were running very late and finally showed up knocking at the backdoor just a few hours before showtime, towing a U-Haul trailer behind a car. Rick's eyes were SO freakin' red, he was zonked, man! Back in those days, you would have never figured he'd develop into the accomplished musician and sideman he became.

[Spudman***]

I got to hang out with Rick one night. He's a monster player. We went to the bathroom at the same time and as I was standing at the stall I kept saying in my head "man, I can't believe I'm taking a whizz next to Rick Derringer." He was a lot more laid back than I thought he was going to be. He appears to be a really nice guy all the time. No the bathroom wasn't the only place I was with Rick. He was playing the club I ran sound for.