Castles Made of Rock
We Lost A Great One dept.
Cornerstones of Rock
We lost Rick Derringer this week. The veteran songwriter and guitarist/producer passed away at 77 but his signature Summertime anthems Hang On Sloopy (written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns) and Rock’nRoll Hoochie Koo will live forever wherever kids get out of school for the summer. I never got to play directly with Rick but we did share the stage in 2015 for a production called The Cornerstones of Rock. As promo for the event stated:
Cornerstones of Rock is a new concert series filmed in WTTW’s intimate Grainger Studio where the groundbreaking music series Soundstage began more than 40 years ago. The first special in the series will bring together Chicago area’s iconic rock groups of the 1960s and ’70s for a once-in-a-lifetime concert special.
Cornerstones of Rock: American Garage
WTTW’s Grainger Studio, Chicago
October 16, 2015 (taping)
Cornerstones of Rock: American Garage is a nostalgic celebration of the local “garage bands” that rose to national prominence in the 1960s and ’70s, and remain as favorites today with their sing-along hits. This special shines a spotlight on the local groups from the Chicago area who defined this era as they rose through the teen clubs all the way to national prominence.
Jim Peterik of The Ides of March (the house band for the evening, playing their chart-topping hit “Vehicle”) and WGN radio personality Wendy Snyder will host this historic reunion, as many original members of these popular bands return to the concert stage to play their greatest hits, including:
The Buckinghams – Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna with special guest and original singer Dennis Tufano (“Kind of a Drag”)
The Cryan Shames – Tom Doody, James Fairs, and Jim “J.C. Hooke” Pilster (“Sugar and Spice”)
The New Colony Six – Bruce Mattey, Ronnie Rice, and Ray Graffia (“I Will Always Think About You”)
The Shadows of Knight – Jimy Sohns with Dennis Tufano and Ted Aliotta (“Gloria”)
The McCoys – Rick Derringer (“Hang On Sloopy”)
The American Breed – Gary Loizzo, Al Ciner, Chuck Colbert, Jr., and Lee Graziano (“Bend Me Shape Me”)
Yours truly was there to perform as part of a tribute to the band CHASE whose 1971 hit single “Get It On” (studio version) put the band on the map. I was the band’s lead singer and bassist from April 1973 until August 1974. As the promo stated:
The concert will close with two special tributes:
Tribute to "Get it On" by Chase – performed by The Ides of March, powered by four trumpets and an historic appearance by Chase member Dartanyan Brown
Tribute to the late Mitch Aliotta – featuring The Ides of March, Ted Aliotta, and all of the groups performing the legendary Chicago anthem “Lake Shore Drive”
I’ve written here about Midwestern youth music circa 1964-70, but Rock’nRoll certainly didn’t stop there. As Rock established it’s place alongside the other ‘indigenous’ music forms including Jazz, rhythm and blues and country and western, It stood to reason that Rock, (America’s 20th century folk music) would reflect the character of the country that spawned it. Brash, yet vulnerable, loud, a little over-confident but saved from itself by its own daring and humanity. It was White music, it was Black music it was a form that could not have existed anywhere else but in a multi-racial society destined to acknowledge that reality.
Rock’n Roll, was moving past the image of four guys in a garage with Fender guitars and a drummer. Oh, that was still there alright but like tailfins on a 1960’s Cadillac, (or the way Rock Candy forms) the music attracted hybrids i.e. Jazz (Jazz/Rock) Blues (Blues/Rock) Country (Country/Rock) and more.
You readers and listeners of a certain age would remember the music of:
The Buckinghams – Carl Giammarese and Nick Fortuna with special guest and original singer Dennis Tufano (“Kind of a Drag”)
The Cryan Shames – Tom Doody, James Fairs, and Jim “J.C. Hooke” Pilster (“Sugar and Spice”)
The New Colony Six – Bruce Mattey, Ronnie Rice, and Ray Graffia (“I Will Always Think About You”)
The Shadows of Knight – Jimy Sohns with Dennis Tufano and Ted Aliotta (“Gloria”)
The McCoys – Rick Derringer (“Hang On Sloopy”)
The American Breed – Gary Loizzo, Al Ciner, Chuck Colbert, Jr., and Lee Graziano (“Bend Me Shape Me”)
My late teenage years were spent listening to KIOA, Des Moines ‘cool’ radio station with disc jockeys Dic Youngs and Doug McKinnon. One interesting fact about the bands listed above is that they were all located somewhere in the great Middle West. Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota. Chicago however was the battery that powered the Midwest scene. Rock was leaving the hobbyist stage as bands like the Ides Of March morphed from sock hops into million-selling artistic icons.
I write today in remembrance of Rick Derringer, guitarist and songwriter for The McCoys. He passed away this week at 77 one of the brightest lights that I remember from the 1970’s music scene.
Others can describe his career path with more detail than I can but for myself, a musician grounded in Blues and Jazz, I encountered very few with his combination of talent, humanity, and fire.
It took something very special to be a rock star in an era that actually spawned them and Rick (born Richard Dean Zehringer in Celina, Ohio 1947) was a natural. Whether playing live with The McCoys or with The Winter Brothers, Johnny and Edgar, you knew you’d better put on your asbestos underwear ‘cause the show was going to be HOT!!
In 2015 I finally did get a chance to meet and jam with Rick during the Cornerstones Of Rock TV taping. In this pre-Hip Hop, pre-Prince world, blues was still a prime influence and Blues/Rock phenom Rick Derringer will always be known as one of the best.
Live Music no computers bro…
Live Rick Derringer playing Rock’nRoll Hootchie Koo with Johnny Winter and Edgar Winter 1971
Live Chase 1972 Live at the Budokan Hall Japan (original tour)
It was a much different era. Rock’nRoll was now 20 years past Little Richard and Buddy Holly, 11 years past the Beatles and James Marshall Hendrix, 5 years past Jimmy Page and Led Zepplin. Artistically though, the ferment wrought by those artists was still simmering away in the city of Big Shoulders and even bigger guitars.
Rick Derringer may be gone and Bill Chase may be gone but as my friend Huey Lewis says: “The heart of Rock’n Roll is still beatin’”
Listen with your heart and you can still hear ‘em.
Special Thanks to Jim Peterik for his talent and his heart. Shout outs to my Iowa musician brothers trumpeters Jim Oatts and Joe Morrissey, special, special thanks to drummer, the great Tommy Gordon who got me into the Chase band. We were on tour and in the studio with Bill Chase in 1973-74 and, thank the Lord we’re all still Rockin’ (and Jazzin’) today.
Huge thanks (again) to Julie Gammack for introducing me to the Iowa Writers Collaborative and persuading me to get past my qualms about social media to try Substack. It’s been almost as fun as when I first started plugging my bass into huge amplifiers.
The Iowa Writers Collaborative is fast becoming a favorite destination for Stories, Songs, Images and…Recipes
And with KIOA's McKinnon, don't forget "Scratchy"1
Thanks for the tribute, the remembrance, the music, stories, pictures, and links to the days of our youth! Keep rockin' and sharing!