Re-Rick Derringer

Rick Derringer played lead guitar on Under My Wheels by Alice Cooper back in 1971. I was producer. 

We were children. I wasn't yet 22 and he was turning 23 as were most of the band. 

We were recording in Chicago at RCA Mid-America Studios, 1 N. Wacker Dr, in studio B. Brian Christian was engineering as he was for so many of Jack Richardson's and my productions throughout the 70's and 80's. Joe Lopes was our assistant engineer. 

We were all super excited about making the new album after having had a foundational hit with I'm Eighteen on Love It To Death, our first album together and my first real production - under Jack's tutelage and watchful eye, of course. This time, I was on my own in the wheelhouse and I was thrilled with the responsibility and the freedom to expand on what we had started just 9 months before. In those days we were putting out albums every 9 months and the band was touring in between. It was non-stop magic and mayhem. 

When we were at the latter stages of recording on Killer, Rick was in town for a Johnny Winter show and we all thought it would be insanely cool to get him to do a guest turn on Under My Wheels. 

The song needed a blistering guitar solo - but something a little more sophisticated than what we'd been doing up to that point. The tune even had rock n roll horns on it (my first attempt at writing a horn chart) as well as blistering performances by the entire band from Alice's searing vocals to Mike and Glen's flaming rhythm guitars, Dennis' thundering bass and Neal's driving, pounding drumming. 

We scared ourselves a bit with how slick the song was sounding. I think there may even have been a little trepidation on the band's part about the "professional" sound of track. We were definitely leaving the barn but none of us could deny the power of it. 

Knowing Rick was around and wanted to pop down to the studio made it impossible not to invite him to play. We were all huge fans of his. 

He arrived as a fully realized rockstar - in all the right gear, with a guitar that was almost as big as him, a leather jacket studded jeans, scarf and Highway Patrol sunglasses. 

We hadn't yet met and I was prepared for rockstar vibes but was completely disarmed by his smile and demeanor. Genuine, warm and enthusiastic, he exuded a sense of authentic excitement mixed with a kind of quiet, humble professionalism that put the band and me at total ease. 

He was funny, swift, smart and profoundly proficient. He may have been there for all of an hour as I recall, most of which we all spent laughing about the road and the lifestyle. The nerves the band and I all had before he arrived melted away into a warm camaraderie and joyful sense of collaboration. 

I had a thought that doing his solo through a Leslie speaker (the spinning one that Hammond organs typically play through) might make it more special and help it to really stand out against what was already a thumping track. He liked that idea so we plugged him in, set some levels and rolled the tape (yes tape - with 16 whole tracks!) and then he played the solo that is on that record now. One take. Brilliantly. 

We all exploded in the control room and cheered out loud once it was done. I shouted "that's it!" and went out to the studio to thank him. On the one hand he seemed mildly shocked that he had satisfied us with his first take but on the other it was clear that this wasn't a first time for him. He was that good. 

Just as quickly as he had appeared and jumped in, we were hugging good-bye and resolving to stay in touch (which we did for a while) and he was out the door and back to Winter Land. 

I saw Rick a few times after that and always stayed on top of his musical adventures. I was and am still a huge fan of him as a musician and as a human being.  

As you know, I don't normally comment on the passing of contemporaries - and there have been far too many of those lately - but this news hit me particularly hard because it feels like just yesterday that we were kids playing together, and because he made such a huge impression on all of us.  

In hindsight I think having Rick play the lead on UMW might have hurt Glen's feelings somewhat even though he had seemed really enthusiastic about the idea. It was probably something that I should have been more careful with. But I was a baby. Not yet a Billion $ Baby, but just 24 months away from that adventure. 

God bless Rick - and our brother Glen too! They both created so much joy and excitement for millions of people and the sound of them will live on as long as rock n roll guitar has any meaning.  

Bob Ezrin
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For his family's privacy I won't give the name of our retirement community, but it's a very music-oriented place, that my wife and I recently moved to, and we were shocked and overjoyed to learn that Rick and his wife Jenda lived here!  We often saw him riding his red three-wheeled scooter around the hood, at the community restaurant, and at the local Publix. I hadn't had the chance meet him, only nodded hello a couple of times, but the musicians I know here ( there are MANY) spent plenty of time with him, and word was he loved sitting down and telling stories, in public and private. I know many musicians from NY and FLA who'd toured with him and worked with him, and loved and respected him. 

A legend, and a huge loss. 

Dave Arbiter
Florida
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Excellent coverage of the Winter Brothers and Rick Derringer. The  founders of Johnny, Edgar, Rick, and Blue Sky Records was Steve Paul, the owner of the famous club, The Scene in New York, and Johnny.

I was very close to Edgar Winter with the Frankenstein album, and Rick Derringer through his "All American Boy" LP. We stayed in contact with him and his first wife, Liz, through the years. A very kind and hard-working artist whom all the people at Epic adored working with on his music. I first heard "Hang on Sloopy" at a record hop in a bowling alley parking lot in Michigan, performed by the McCoys. Many years later, when Steve Paul brought him to me at Epic, we just immediately made him a priority. A brilliant guitar player and composer. Rick battled diabetes for a long time.

Ron Alexenburg
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Thanks Bob. When I got to work with Rick when he was on the great Steve Paul's Blue Sky, I had it easy. He was already a legend and smart and knew the drill. Anything we asked him to do promotionally he was game. I have fond memories of Rick and treasure the times. 

PS/ When Rick was releasing his alive album, a kickoff gig was scheduled for the Whiskey. Steve Paul called me to recommend a good opening act who could draw. I said 'Van Halen' - unsigned at the moment - straight away. Steve he'd call me back. Next day he did. 'Jim, give me another recommendation. Van Halen is too good.' He was so right. 

James F McKeon
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I worked with Rick in the 80's as part of his management team. That was one amazing time in NY. Rick was rock royalty, a musician's musician. I was there for the sessions with Steely Dan, Bonnie Tyler and others as well as his producing of the Weird Al Yankovic albums and his solo, "Good Dirty Fun", amongst so many other projects and his touring. He was one amazing guitar player and so loved by his fans. It didn't matter the size of the venue or occasion, he rocked. He didn't phone it in.  Lots of great memories from those days. Grateful I have them.

Best,

Cathy Goodman
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I've been obsessed with Lainey Wilson's cover version of this song since it came out in 2022! She plays it live a lot at her shows.

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
https://open.spotify.com/track/4h9GMqQ7bG7XbsC5kdXzNw?si=42e5e96ab5b14a45

Kami Knake
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Rick hit me at just the right age: 13, 14, 15, 16, years old. Loved all that stuff. Even the deep album cuts. I was going to list some of the best deep cuts but there are too many to list! Like I said if you were at a certain age, Rick Derringer *was* rock n roll ... but he was also quite poppy, satisfying whatever "power pop" urge you had. I was just playing "One Eyed Jack" from the "Derringer" Sweet Evil album a few weeks ago (perhaps intuiting that "my guy" was dying). But this song from "Spring Fever", 1975, says it all right now: 
"Don't ever say goodbye, I'll love you past the day I die."
Welp that day is here for Rick, as it will be for all of us eventually.

Emmett McAuliffe Esq.
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Teenage Love Affair was the track I loved.

Randy Schaaf
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In early September, 1974 I drove 120 miles to see The Edgar Winter band with opening act Bad Company on tour promoting their 1st album at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. To be truthful, I was mostly there for Bad Company, already being a huge fan of both Free and Mott The Hoople, and a little burned out on Edgar's Frankenstein the previous year while at university. To this day, it's still one of my favourite shows. Edgar was surprisingly good (Dan Hartman with the bass guitar built into his spandex jumpsuit!) but Derringer was the star of the show as far as I was concerned - a stone-cold rock star. I was sitting in the 10th row and at the end of the show, he flicked his pick into the crowd and hit me right in the face. I still treasure it. Loved his his All American Boy album and its cover art (Uncomplicated and Teenage Love Affair are my fave tracks). Then, like you, I lost track of him. Thanks for filling in the gaps for me, including the fact that he'd died, sigh…

Mike Campbell
Programming Director 
The Carlton
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Heres an under the radar Derringer story. 
I had the pleasure of doing a 3 tour with Rick in '88 as part of a band for the singer and supermodel Rosie Vela. It was a very eclectic mix of musicians which also included the late great Paul Griffin and Zev Katz. For most of the tour we were supporting Andy Summers, but for the few gigs we had on our own they booked us Rosie Vela with The Rick Derringer Band or something like that. I guess they figured no one knew who she was, very few people did. We played Rock'n Roll Hootchie Coo every night, and Rick was a total pro and a great guy ! 

Frank Vilardi
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1974. The Edgar Winter group with Rick Derringer played Spokane's minor league baseball stadium during Expo '74. Do they still have those? Yes they do.

The stage was set up in deep centerfield, which allowed the crowd access to the entire grass outfield for fun and blanket music. A pretty mellow scene to be honest until "Rock and Roll  Hoochie Koo" started to echo through the antique sound system in full force. The crowd immediately heard the call and had no choice but to rush the stage.

A true working musician from the age of 17.  Respect.  Hang on Sloopy Hang on.

Wayne Larson
Spokane, WA
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Spin the FM dial anytime between 1965-1985 and you couldn't miss Rick Derringer - "Hang On Sloopy", "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo", "Chain Lightning", "Show Biz Kids", "Under My Wheels", "Free Ride", "Frankenstein", "Total Eclipse Of The Heart", "Making Love Out Of Nothing At All", "I.G.Y" - his sessionography reads like a pocket version of the Rolling Stone Record Guide.  

A rock 'n' roll brother himself - he formed the McCoys with his brother Randy - he went on to become the only producer to not only work with both of the Winter Brothers but produce their all time best-selling albums - Live Johnny Winter And and They Only Come Out At Night respectively. He is also the only guitarist to be in bands with both Appice brothers - with Vinny in Derringer and Carmine in DBA.

The first time I saw him was at a guitar expo in downtown Orlando - I was wandering around looking at guitars I couldn't afford when I heard someone behind me kind of quietly shredding - but like a monster - so I turned around and there he was, absentmindedly noodling on an electric guitar while chatting with a fan about Johnny Winter. 

The last time I last saw him he was with his wife walking down Main Street in Sanford - I looked up from my desk and there they were - coffees in hand - cruisin' past my window. 

Vince Welsh
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sometimes all you need is one speck of DNA
Lordy, mama, light my fuse -- in an allycat howl
how many fastback Mustangs, Mercurys, TransAms, Firebirds and MGBs did i hear that blasting out of?
nothing said looking for tail like Derringer's blaring take on "Rock & Roll Hoochie Koo" --
Mayfield Rd, Cleveland, Ohio
the summer swelter was on + the hunters were throbbing
too young to get in on it, i remember

viva Rick Derringer
holly gleason
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Great send off for Rick Derringer. I too am shocked he was only 77. That's only eight years older than me.
I was always a fan of Rick Derringer. Thought he was a great guitar player and created some good music. I think he might have been playing with Johnny Winter when I saw Johnny in the early 70s. But I could be wrong. 
Never knew what happened to him so it brought joy to my heart when I learned from your email the career he had.
Rest in peace, Rick

And thanks for the memory Bob.

Charlie Vanture
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You left out the two Derringer albums where he teamed up with and championed an 18 year old Danny Johnson. Must listens for guitarists in the day

Tag Gross
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sorry to hear of Rick Derringer's passing. saw his group 'Derringer' play the Golden West Ballroom in Norwalk, CA in 1978. great show. also saw them a year before at the Long Beach Arena opening for 'Foghat'. Rick will be missed. a little side note to the "Rock & Roll Hoochie Coo" lyrics...  (There was a group called, "The Jokers" they were layin' it down)... The Jokers were a hot 1960's bar band from Florida whose lead guitarist was a young Richard "Dickie" Betts!
love the articles, keep up the good work,
Jeff

Jeff Jines
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I really wanted "Rock and roll hoochie koo" to be my wedding song. For some reason, that idea didn't go over well with my bride to be. A missed opportunity to this day. Just a great rock and roll tune. 

Doug Weinstein
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Thanks for covering this and letting those that might not be aware, of his brilliance. I just lost a hero.

Tony Cardenas-Montana
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He played numerous times at the legendary My Father's Place where I worked. Delicious shows; inventive; charismatic ... he was a rock star. That's why he was featured on the cover of the book on the club FUN and DANGEROUS.
Exemplary musician.
 
David Saldior
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Bob, I've, literally, gone to tens of thousands of live music gigs in the last 55 years (including every conceivable genre). One of those gigs still stands out 53 years later.
It was a double bill of Billy Preston and Edgar Winter's White Trash in the gym at SUNY New Paltz in 1972. Billy, who had recently come off his appearance at the Concert for Bangladesh and his stint as the 5th Beatle, was great. But, White Trash was soul shaking!
I didn't see Rick play with Johnny prior, but I did see him sit in with him later. And, I saw Rick a few times over the years in various configurations. But, that set with Edgar, Jerry, etc was incendiary! I'll never forget the three of them trading riffs on a totally improvised wordless vocal scat initiated by Jerry - Edgar on his sax and Rick tearing it up on his guitar.
It's so clear and vivid to me that it could've happened yesterday. Then again, I can barely remember yesterday.
Time's a weird thing. It can fly, and it can stand still.

Best
Jeff Douglas
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Lawdy momma…..light my fuoooooooooose!

What a banger Bob! 
Thanks for the history … only knew the Rick version…

Love it 

Blaine
Clarksville, Arkansas (today…) 
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In just about every cover band I was in we played "Hoochie Koo". It's as fun to play as it is to listen to.

Joseph Barbarotta
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My first concert experience was hearing Rick Derringer with The McCoys (headliners), The Beau Brummells, Freddie & The Dreamers, and Charles Christy & The Crystals. Of course we had no idea of the time that he was Rick Derringer. 

Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo was one of those next tier garage rock standards (Train Kept A'Rollin' was another) that everybody with a guitar learned and played after mastering basic songs like Gloria, Louie Louie, and Hey Joe.

I met Rick at NAMM in 2009. Nice guy. 

He'll be missed. Glad we have his music. 

~Mark Towns 
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I knew Rick back then. Corky Laing got me an audition in upstate NY to play with Rick. He was putting a band together for Edgar to tour. He was happy, fun and full of energy. I didn't get the gig but he had something in his spirit that was undeniable. 
You have said it before but it never gets old because you express the authentic fact. "Music was EVERYTHING. Thanks for a heartfelt beauty of an obit!

Marty Simon 
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The world was different but still the same.  My friends and I were 18 and that summer we saw Derringer, Jeff Beck and Aerosmith at Comiskey Park in Chicago.  Beautiful sunny day, we were all tripping (I can say this now because my parents are gone) and at some point there was a fire in the stands and we all ran.  I believe this was during Beck: Freeway Jam/black smoke against the sky, it was epic.  It was triple bill, no opener.  You were right Bob, everyone knew these hits, there were fewer choices back then, and of course our parents hated this sh*t.  Food and parking are more expensive these days but the kids love what they love. Glad to hear Derringer continued to work and hopefully he appreciated being on top, RIP Rick.

Brad Cole
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When I was n college I worked at a place called Jacks Oyster House.  One night a group of guys came in wearing royal blue tights and leather.  I went up to one of the guys and said "OK, who's in town" and the guy said we're with Rick Derringer...you wanna go?
Turns out they put me on yhe guest list.  Rick kicked ass and The guys were the Expensive Winos I believe.
What a great night!
From RJG
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Many people know "Hang On Sloopy" and "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo", both classics and they should be too. 

But cue up Track 1 on the 1976 Derringer album "Let Me In". Kinks-like, Power Pop masterpiece with the best intro of almost any song. 

The intro single guitar is joined 30 seconds later by another, following the same riff. In between is the infectious groove by Vinny Appice. The song launches into the stratosphere after that. Rick worked with both Appice Brothers (Carmine-DNA and Vinny).

I first saw him at Anaheim Stadium in 1976 with Edgar Winter, and I became a forever fan with over 100 45's spanning his whole career. 

A part of my childhood died with his passing....

Tom Braun

P.S. Don't forget Rick's own "Stairway To Heaven" with "Loosen Your Grip" on the same album Derringer. 
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A tip of the hat as well for his solos with Steely Dan on a few song songs -  Show Biz Kids, Chain Lightning, My Rival

Stephen Marquez
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In grade school Hang On Sloopy drew the quarters at the pizza place juke box.  Someone always played it.   Then middle school and Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo and the guy with the so-cool name is a guitar god.   You could catch him on Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, killing it.

One day in 1979 a guitar playing friend and I were in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York, and we drove by a club advertising Rick Derringer, playing that night!  What the hell was he doing here, we wondered?  We went.  The place held maybe 150 people (and was packed).   Derringer came out and played all his hits and things we didn't know.  He should have been playing to thousands at the Palladium in NYC but instead he was there.   He must have needed the work.

In any event we were the lucky ones.

Michael Alex
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You didn't mention Rick Derringer's solo moment on the Johnny Winter And Live album, the Rock 'n Roll Medley. I saw them perform it live at the Fillmore East when they headlined while the Allman Brothers Band recorded their live album. Rick was at CD another level.

Bob Levy
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I was so surprised to see Rick Derringer on all the or so many Steely Dan records because I never had much regard for him as a guitar player- Until I saw he played on those records- No one plays on Steely Dan records unless they are incredible incredible.

It was just the first weirdo al album, but Rick produced.

I remember, he insisted on playing the solo to beat it Even though long time, Grammy award winning weird al guitarist Jim Kimo West had been practicing so hard to do it. He has done all the guitars on every record.

And Rick nails them all.

I keep telling him he should put out a plug-in with all of his sounds because he can get every single sound instantly

Amazing artist

Enjoy the reads as always

Rick Derringer. Wow. 

So many passings of stars and singers lately- Many of them younger than I am, I am 70 well soon to be.

And it is so funny well, it's not funny but interesting most often. I don't even know the bands They were from

William Anderson
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My pal, Greg Williams had the first White Trash album with Rick Derringer.  A smokin' R&B review.  They then put out Roadwork with I can't turn you loose, save the planet and rock and roll hoochie koo.  Remember hearing save the planet by the white trash on fm radio?

My brother and I were in our teens in Cincinnati.  We went into a music store in late 72' and the sales guy with long hair pulled out his Gibson SG and played RR hoochie koo. This was before it blew up.  We had never heard the song before.

Edgar and Rick moved onto White Trash's Roadwork which captured a blistering set of r & b.  Edgar's about to introduce Johnny. Edgar says everybody keeps asking me where's your brother. Then on the microphone you hear Johnny "yeahhhhhhh." 

Lastly, the Johnny Winter and Live with some studio edits.  Another white hot set of blues rock ensemble with Johnny and Rick trading licks. The drummer on this set was Bobby Caldwell who is probably one of the best rock drummers ever.  

That, was rock and rolll!!!!!

Tim Pringle
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Whenever Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo is on the radio, it gets turned to maximum volume! It never sounds old and quality of the recording still amazes me. It's as good as a Beatles song….and the line "gettin' high all the time, hope you all are too" made us partakers feel right at home. Thank you Rick Derringer.

Jeff Sacks
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 I remember seeing Rick in 1980 or 1981 at the Paradise in Boston. (got in using a fake ID of someone who kind of looked like me!) About 500 of us were blown away by his talents!  For his encore, he came back and said "here's a song I recorded a long time ago" and broke into Hang on Sloopy. I'd bet half the audience didn't know he was in the McCoys!

Gary Sender
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Loved Rick Derringer…. when I bought my first crappy electric guitar I took some lessons and told the teacher the first song I wanted to learn was "Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo". The guy was like, ummmm…. how about "Smoke On The Water"? But I insisted, so we spent weeks on it til I finally kinda got it down. I still stand by that choice; when I started producing records many years later I was doing an album on a kid and I had Stevie Ray Vaughn's band in the studio to cut the tracks. I suggested we do a version of "R&R HK" and was met with deafening silence. The artist wasn't having it, the band wasn't having it but the death knell was when Tommy Shannon said in his kindest and gentlest southern drawl…."well, I played on that one and I think once was enough". 

Such a great song though!

Kevin Bowe
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Well that clears it all up. I was confused about the song Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo, the Rick Derringer thing, and Hang On Sloopy. It was a mess in my brain, just sitting there, unsorted, like a pile of gitch and socks from a dryer load years ago. 

I saw Johnny Winter live several times. Last time I brought my wife and teenage kids to see him in Oakville Ontario. He didn't play Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo which made us mad at the time but I get it more now. 

Johnnys slight change in tempo is so southern and awesome, but Rick's version is better, hands down. It's electric. 

I also saw Rick Derringer in a small Mississauga club in the 90s? On an unusually low stage, like maybe a 6" riser. Fun show, he played Hang on Sloopy, which was weird. That song was weird. 

I saw Edgar Winter at Barrymore's in Ottawa in prolly 1985. Dude stood on my table and played Frankenstein. I will never forget that. 

And Free Ride. What a great song. I don't recall knowing that Rick Derringer was part of that. 

The laundry room of my brain looks better this morning, thanks for helping me sort it after all these years. 

Rest in peace Rick. 

Kind regards, 
Rob Whittaker
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In the summer of 1965, my high school-cum-college bar band, Ivan and the Sabers, were riding high in the Dayton, Ohio, area. Our locally produced single, "Just Let Her Go," had been played on both local Top 40s – WING and WONE – and we were commanding top dollar at all the radio station-sponsored dances and such.
 
On an upcoming Saturday night, however, we were in a quandary as to which gig to take: WING's teen event at nearby Frankie's Forest Park or WONE's competing 18+ age function at LeSourdsville Lake amusement park south of town. The teen event paid $100 , but the resort event paid $125, plus all the beer we could drink while cavorting with young women in bathing suits. We chose the latter.
 
So the in-town event was relegated to the upstart new band in town, the Rick Z Combo from Union City, Indiana, with two brothers on guitar and drums (Rick and Randy Zehringer) and a bassist, all teens. Also, the WONE event would feature an appearance by the Strangeloves, three record producers from NYC – Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer – not so well disguised as Australian bush natives and singing their pop sugary hit, the Bert Berns-written-and-produced "I Want Candy." We, trying to hang on to our cred as a real rock band, weren't all that interested in sharing the stage with this clown act, let alone backing them up, so we deferred.
 
Unbeknownst to us, the three guys in the Strangeloves were on a new indie label called Bang and they were looking for bands to record and send on the road so they wouldn't have to do it themselves. They were so impressed with the newly named Rick Z and the Raiders, that they hurriedly signed them on the spot and the band was shortly in NYC recording "Hang On Sloopy" and calling themselves The McCoys.
 
So much for my band's brush with fame. Although let the record reflect that we had a wonderful time that same evening at LeSourdsville Lake and got to split the $125!

Larry Butler
Nashville
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I feel extremely privileged to have worked with Rick Derringer. The relationship began when I became Product Manager for Johnny Winter, circa the b/w album, which included "Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo." In retrospect, the act's sinking sales curve likely influenced why the job was passed down to me. 
 
Historically, Johnny's debut on Columbia drowned in its own hype, akin to "Greetings From Asbury Park," sans the great songwriting on that record. The second album, known as the 1 & ? record set, drew comparisons to the release of 5 simultaneous Moby Grape singles, in terms of Hall of Shame marketing. Its sales, at several hundred thousand (then middling at best) were half that of the debut album. The public was walking away, but not as fast as the label.
 
There wasn't much I could do short term, except build a circle of trust within the organization. Several facts are worth noting here. First, their name, Johnny Winter And, had nothing to do with label input, who were deprioritizing the act. I was always under the impression it was also not McCoys overthink to deflect the bubblegum nature of that act (as Rick's past-ironically a jam of theirs called "Human Ball Blues" can hardly be described as Bubblegum) so much as the organization thinking it was cute. After all, the trio now behind Johnny was only 2/3's former McCoys. Drummer Bobby Caldwell (later Captain Beyond cofounder) was not in that band. The descending sales curve motivated Johnny to forego his blues roots for rock, and this trio did it with a vengeance. 
 
As the album failed to break the act, fact two is that Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo did not serve as a vehicle. However the good news was that unbeknownst to the label, this act was breaking live on a nightly basis. They were killer on stage.
 
When it came time to discuss a follow up to the b/w album, the live success of the group, as well as the currency of big live albums, precipitated Johnny Winter And/Live. Management asked me to oversee the live recording as Rick would be on stage, and Clive's indifference resulted in a Product Manager producing, which was not the norm. Label peers, unaware of the band's live presence, regarded it as career suicide. And while there were many decisions to make at various recordings, I always felt the most important was talking Johnny out of a 2-record set.
 
Sitting with Rick while he mixed the record was enormously influential. There were other Forrest Gump moments as well. Johnny pulled me out of a session to go to a "meeting" downtown at the 1 Fifth Avenue, without letting me know it would be with Duane Allman. Or supporting management (along with Danny Fields) as White Trash was being put together. It was during that time that Rick walked in one day all excited, wanting to play the results of the session he had just come back from doing in Manhattan. Turned out to be my favorite Steely Dan song ("My Old School") with Rick playing the solo, which may be his best.
 
It shouldn't have surprised me that he could run the floor with studio greats like Fagen/Becker/Katz. Rick was generous to do a few projects for me and I always found it special when he could punch a single note in and out of a blinding solo when analogue made those ins and outs seemingly impossible.
 
Both as a person and a guitarist, Rick easily makes Top Ten.
 
Murray Krugman
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The news of Rick's passing hit me hard. It crushed places in me I thought were protected—places I didn't expect would ever have to mourn him so soon.

When I think about the five people who've made a dramatic and lasting impression on my life—who helped shape the direction it took—Rick was one of those five!

As a guitarist, and song writer, Rick was one of my idols. I learned so much from him—by watching, listening, absorbing. On stage. In rehearsal. In the studio. He expected a lot from all the players in his band. Was insistent that you played above your ability at all times.You could not slack off ever! He was always listening but at the same time teaching if YOU were listening!

Rick was a brilliant guitarist! He could play blues, country, jazz, etc. One of my favorites things he did was play cranked up bluegrass riffs in the middle of solo sections in songs. He didn't always show that but when he did look out!

It was the late 70's when i joined his band. It was a dream come true. And I'll always be incredibly grateful for that opportunity.

I was young, impressionable, hungry. And Rick, as he reminded me a few years ago, was my age, 22, when he joined Johnny Winter. That meant something to him. And it meant even more to me.

We went to Bearsville Studios in Woodstock, with Rick and Todd Rundgren producing what became the Guitars and Women record. I was mostly on piano but that was ok I was just happy to be there. The pressure was real, but so was the progress. I knew I was moving forward fast—and Rick was a big reason why.

Over the years, we spoke many times—not as many as I wish now—but we stayed close. Recently, I even talked about him working on my Christmas/Holiday record. I started writing a song with him in mind. The plan was to finish it together this year and record it. But life, as Rick would've said, follows God's plans—not ours.

I think about Rick all the time. He's still there and always will be in my heart and in my hands!

May his legacy live on! Rest in peace, my good friend.

—Neil Giraldo
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?I saw a triple bill in Binghamton, NY the fall of 1977 with opener Cheap Trick, then Derringer (the band) and Foreigner headlining. It was incredible. Huge fan of Rick starting in the early 70's.
But here's where it gets weird. I have worked in the Contemporary Christian music space since 1979 (radio, then labels, and indie promo since 1998). Rick found me years ago and wanted me to work a new version of "Rock and Roll Hootchie Coo" with gospel lyrics. I will never forget my phone call with him in my early 50's - knowing that my teenage self would never believe this. I turned him down and we never spoke again. This might just be too painful for you to bear, but here goes nothin'!

https://youtu.be/Du4Aa-BxyrM?si=_DQrXY9wdCyEsJ7d
Chris Hauser
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Did somebody say keep on rockin?

Dan Millen


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