The McCoys were a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group formed in Union City,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single "

Hang On Sloopy "Hang On Sloopy" (originally "My Girl Sloopy") is a 1964 song written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns. Rhythm and blues vocal group the Vibrations were the first to record the tune in 1964. Atlantic Records released it as a single, which reached ...

". Their name was changed from Rick and the Raiders to The McCoys, taken from the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of The Ventures' hit record "

Walk, Don't Run ''Walk, Don't Run'' is a 1966 American comedy film directed by Charles Walters and starring Cary Grant, Samantha Eggar, and Jim Hutton. The film, which was Grant's last film role, is set during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. It is a remake o ...

" titled "The McCoy".

Career

The original members were all from Union City; however, the Zehringer boys were initially from

Fort Recovery, Ohio Fort Recovery is a village in Mercer County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,501 at the 2020 census. The village is near the location of Fort Recovery, first established in 1793 under orders from General Anthony Wayne. The town is loca ...

. The band members were guitarist and lead singer Richard Zehringer (later known as

Rick Derringer Rick Derringer (born Richard Dean Zehringer; August 5, 1947) is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer and songwriter. He came to prominence in the 1960s as founding member of his band, the McCoys. Their debut single, "Hang on Sloopy", was ...

), his brother Randy (later known as Randy Z) on drums, and bassist Dennis Kelly. This first line-up was known as The Rick Z Combo, and later known as Rick and the Raiders. When Kelly left for college, the Zehringers were joined by bassist

Randy Jo Hobbs Randy Jo Hobbs (March 22, 1948 – August 5, 1993) was an American musician born in Winchester, Indiana. Hobbs played bass for The McCoys during the 1965-1969 period and in the bands of the brothers Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter during 1970-1976 ...

, saxophonist Sean Michaels, and keyboardist Ronnie Brandon. This was the line-up that took the name of "The McCoys". Brandon left the group in 1965 and was replaced by Bobby Peterson on keyboards. Their best-known hit is "

", which was #1 in the United States in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in October 1965 and is the official rock song of the state of Ohio. It also is the unofficial fight song of the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

Buckeyes and is played at many Ohio State athletic events by the OSU bands. Sales of the single in the US alone were over one million copies. Other hits include a top 10 cover of "

Fever Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...

" (''Billboard'' #7) and a top 40 cover of

Ritchie Valens Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known professionally as Ritchie Valens, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens was killed i ...

's "Come On, Let's Go" (''Billboard'' #21). A cover of " Sorrow", the

of their version of "Fever", was a hit in the United Kingdom for

The Merseys ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

and later covered by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. Its opening line, "with your long blonde hair and eyes of blue" was quoted by

George Harrison George Harrison (25 February 1943 – 29 November 2001) was an English musician and singer-songwriter who achieved international fame as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. Sometimes called "the quiet Beatle", Harrison embraced Indian c ...

in the fadeout of "

It's All Too Much "It's All Too Much" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1969 album ''Yellow Submarine (album), Yellow Submarine''. Written by George Harrison in 1967, it conveys the ideological themes of that year's Summer of Love. The B ...

", featured on the 1969 soundtrack of '' Yellow Submarine''. "The McCoys" performed as part of Murray the K's Christmas show on December 18, 1965 at the Brooklyn Fox Theater. Also performing on the program were Peter & Gordon, Wilson Pickett, The Fortunes, The Moody Blues, The Toys, Lenny Welch, Cannibal and the Headhunters, The Vibrations, The Spinners, The O'Jays, Bloodless Revolutionaries, Patti Michaels, Bobby Diamond, and Diane Langan. The McCoys were being labeled as a

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...

act, much to the disdain of the band. In 1967, after the death of

Bert Berns Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece ...

, The McCoys broke free from

Bang Records Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegun, Nesuhi Ertegun and Jerry Wexler. The first letters of their names (Bert, Ahmet, Nesuhi, Gerald) formed the label's name. Forming the ...

in hopes of recording more serious music. They ended up signing a deal with

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

and recorded their last two records, ''Infinite McCoys'' (1968), and ''Human Ball'' (1969) for the label. The albums were The McCoys' attempt at making

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to ...

that would appeal to the mature listeners of that time. Both were commercial failures and did not chart anywhere. The two Zehringer brothers (then known as Rick Derringer and Randy Z) and Hobbs became

Johnny Winter John Dawson Winter III (February 23, 1944 – July 16, 2014) was an American singer and guitarist. Winter was known for his high-energy blues rock albums and live performances in the late 1960s and 1970s. He also produced three Grammy Award-win ...

's band for the albums ''

Johnny Winter And ''Johnny Winter And'' is the fourth studio album by Texas blues guitarist Johnny Winter, released in 1970. Besides Winter, the group included guitarist Rick Derringer, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs and drummer Randy Zehringer, all former members of the ...

'' and ''

Live Johnny Winter And ''Live Johnny Winter And'' is an album by Johnny Winter, recorded with his group Johnny Winter And live during the fall of 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City and at Pirate's World in Dania, Florida. It was released in March 1971. Beside ...

'' in 1970 and 1971 respectively. At first, the band was supposed to be called Johnny Winter & The McCoys, but was changed due to management warning Winter about their bubblegum past, and how it could hurt his reputation as a serious musician. As backing musicians, both Derringer and Hobbs contributed to Winter's later releases ''

Still Alive and Well ''Still Alive and Well'' is an album by blues rock guitarist and singer Johnny Winter. It was his fifth studio album, and his first since ''Johnny Winter And'' almost three years earlier. It was released by Columbia Records in 1973. Many of the ...

'' (1973), '' Saints & Sinners'' (1974), and ''

John Dawson Winter III ''John Dawson Winter III'' is the seventh studio album by Johnny Winter, released in 1974. It again follows Winter's pattern of mixing original songs with cover versions, including covering an Allen Toussaint song for the second album running. T ...

'' (1974). Derringer and Hobbs later played with

Edgar Winter Edgar Holland Winter (born December 28, 1946) is an American musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist, playing keyboards, guitar, saxophone, and percussion, as well as singing. His success peaked in the 1970s with his band the Edgar Winter Group ...

as well as appeared on '' Together: Edgar Winter and Johnny Winter Live'' (1976). Hobbs later toured with Johnny Winter, but without Derringer, on Winter's '' Captured Live!'' (1976). Derringer also played with

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from live ...

and

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

and formed bands such as DNA, with drummer

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( , born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is also Vinny Appice's ...

. Hobbs died of drug-related heart failure on 5 August 1993 (Derringer's birthday) at the age of 45. Peterson died in Gainesville, Florida on 21 July 1993 at the age of 47.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Notes

References

External links

Classic Bands: The McCoys
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCoys, The Rock music groups from Indiana Musical groups established in 1962 Bang Records artists Mercury Records artists People from Union City, Indiana People from Fort Recovery, Ohio 1962 establishments in Indiana