Editing Rick Derringer (section)

===Early life and 1960s===
Derringer was born in [[Celina, Ohio]], on August 5, 1947 and grew up in [[Fort Recovery, Ohio|Fort Recovery]], Ohio. He was the son of John Otto  Zehringer and Janice Lavine (Thornburg) Zehringer. His father was a section foreman on the [[Nickel Plate Road|Nickel Plate Railroad]].<ref name="lives">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JI4LHXgz7YEC&q=Janice+Thornburg+Zehringer&pg=PA160 |title=Gallagher, Marriott, Derringer & Trower: Their Lives and Music |first=Dan |last=Muise |publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation |year=2002|isbn=9780634029561 |quote="I was born a year and a half later, August 5, 1947, in Celina, 22 miles away. Fort Recovery didn't have a hospital." }}</ref> According to Derringer, aside from his parents' extensive record collection, his first major influence was his uncle Jim Thornburg, a popular guitarist and singer in Ohio. Derringer recalled first hearing him play guitar in the kitchen of his parents' home and knowing immediately that he wanted to learn the instrument. He was eight years old at the time, and his parents gave him his first electric guitar for his ninth birthday.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/classic-interview-rick-derringer-august-1975|title=Classic Interview Rick Derringer August 1975|website=GuitarPlayer.com}}</ref> Soon after, he and his brother Randy began playing music together.

After eighth grade, the family moved to [[Union City, Indiana]], where Derringer formed a band he initially called [[the McCoys]]. He renamed it the Rick Z Combo and then Rick and the Raiders before reverting to the original name.

In the summer of 1965, before Derringer turned 18, the McCoys were hired to back up a New York-based band called [[the Strangeloves]] in concert. The Strangeloves, who were also record producers from New York City, were looking for a band to record the song "My Girl Sloopy" and chose the McCoys. Derringer later persuaded the producers to change the title to "[[Hang On Sloopy]]". After the Strangeloves recorded the guitar and instrumental parts, the McCoys were brought into the studio to sing on the recording, which was then released under their name. The song reached number one on the [[Hot 100]] when [[Barry McGuire]]'s "[[Eve of Destruction (song)|Eve of Destruction]]" fell from number one to number two and [[The Beatles]]' "[[Yesterday (Beatles song)|Yesterday]]" zoomed from number 45 to number three.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/the-mccoys-hang-on-sloopy/ |title=The Story of the McCoys' Trip to the Top of the Charts With 'Hang On Sloopy' |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |date=October 2, 2015 |access-date=January 5, 2017}}<br />{{cite news |url=http://www.billboard.com/archive/charts/1965/hot-100 |title=The Hot 100 – 1965 Archive {{!}} Billboard Charts Archive |newspaper=Billboard |access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> "Hang On Sloopy" has since become synonymous with Derringer's home state of [[Ohio]], as fans of the [[Ohio State Buckeyes]] often chant "O-H-I-O" during breaks in the song's chorus, and it is frequently played at [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|home football games]] at [[Ohio Stadium]]. The song is also played during [[Cleveland Guardians]] home games at [[Progressive Field]]. It is also traditionally played at the end of every tour given at the Ohio Caverns, with the original record played hanging on the wall in the gift shop.

Derringer married Liz Agriss in 1969.<ref>{{Cite magazine |first=Kofi Fosu |last=Forson |url=https://whitehotmagazine.com/articles/in-conversation-with-elizabeth-derringer/2609 |date=August 2012 |title=August 2012: In Conversation with Elizabeth Derringer |magazine=[[Whitehot Magazine of Contemporary Art]]}}</ref>