Song of the Day 8/29: The McCoys, “Hang On Sloopy”

You surely know this cover version of the song, credited to the McCoys. You probably haven’t heard the original by the Vibrations, titled “My Girl Sloopy,” though it reached No. 26 in 1964. As the Atlantic Records label should tell you, they were a black band, and in their interpretation the song has a clear Latin flavor.

The song is credited to industry impresario Bert Berns, who produced and managed bands for his Bang label. It was still common then for white rockers to cover black R&B, and bands on both sides of the pond raced to get theirs out first. The Strangeloves, Bang’s hot band at the time, were still touring behind “I Want Candy,” and when Berns heard the Dave Clark Five were planning on cutting a single he moved fast.

Berns signed an obscure American group from Union City, Ind., called Rick and the Raiders, led by the Zehringer brothers, Rick on guitar and vocals and Randy on drums. To avoid legal entanglements with Paul Revere and the Raiders, Berns changed their name to the McCoys, after a B-side by the Ventures, and Rick Zehringer was rechristened Rick Derringer. The youngsters banged out a definitive garage-rock version that climbed to No. 1 in October 1965. It has since become the official rock song of the state of Ohio.

Eric Clapton got ahold of the Vibrations single in 1964 and brought it back to the Yardbirds, but he left the band before they recorded it. They tackled it the next year with Jeff Beck on guitar, under the original title.

So how did it get to be Ohio’s state rock song? Union City, Ind., is just over the border from Fort Recovery, Ohio, the Zehringers’ hometown. Both are less than two hours west of Columbus, and fans of The Ohio State University are treated to this every fall.