Rick Derringer (born Rick Zehringer in Indiana in 1949) started his musical career with The McCoys at the age of 13, with his younger brother drumming, and a neighbor on bass. Never heard of The McCoys?
Ever heard of Hang On Sloopy?Sloopy hang on, da-dow, da-dow, da-dowdadadow
He went on to play with Edgar Winter (and his brother Johnny). He produced several albums for them, including They Only Come Out At Night and the number one hit single (one of the few instrumental rock hits) Frankenstein.
In 1973, Rick cut his first solo album, All American Boy. The single from this album, Rock and Roll Hootchie Coo, reached number 15. Written by Derringer, it was previously recorded by the Winters. In addition to his lackluster solo career (opening for Blue Oyster Cult, Foghat, and Aerosmith, always a bridesmaid, never a bride), he played session guitar for Steely Dan, Bette Midler, Todd Rundgren, and Alice Cooper. His session career was always better than his solo work, it seems.
The last time I heard about Rick Derringer, he played The Boardwalk, a tiny (maybe 250 people tops) venue in a suburb of Sacramento. One person who was present reported that
"He played a fifteen minute medley of his hit."
"Hollywood" Hulk Hogan's theme song, "Real American", is also Derringer, as is "Fever", a #7 hit for the McCoys in 1965, the same year the Sloopy held on.
I would like to thank Orange Julius and the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll for parts of the information in this writeup.