The McCoys

The McCoys were an American rock group formed in Fort Recovery, Ohio in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single "Hang On Sloopy". Originally named Rick and the Raiders, they changed their name to "The McCoys" from the B-side of The Ventures' hit record "Walk, Don't Run" titled "The McCoy".The original members were all from Union City, Indiana; however, the Zehringer boys were initially from Fort Recovery, Ohio. The band members were guitarist and lead singer Richard Zehringer (later known as Rick Derringer), 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, 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 "Hang On Sloopy", which was No. 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 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" (Billboard No. 7) and a top 40 cover of Ritchie Valens's "Come On, Let's Go" (Billboard No. 21).A cover of "Sorrow", the B-side of their version of "Fever", was a hit in the United Kingdom for The Merseys and later covered by David Bowie. Its opening line, "with your long blonde hair and eyes of blue" was quoted by George Harrison in the fadeout of "It's All Too Much", 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.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.