Rick Derringer’s been in the news for the last 24 hours because he brought a loaded gun on an airplane. The classic rock singer and guitarist has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay a $1,000 fine after stepping off a Delta Air Lines flight from Mexico with a loaded handgun in Atlanta’s airport. Derringer told a federal air marshal he kept his gun with him on commercial airline flights 30 to 50 times a year, and never before had a problem carrying it through airport checkpoints, prosecutors said. TSA spokesman Mark Howell said earlier that the agency investigates such statements when it can, but there’s no way to substantiate claims dating back years.
Derringer, who is now 69 years old, is best known for writing the hit songs “Hang on Sloopy” in 1965 and his biggest hit “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” which was included in the Dazed and Confused soundtrack. P.S. for all you wrestling fans out there you might remember that Hulk Hogan used to come out of the gates to the song, “Real American.” Yup, Derringer wrote that one too. He’s actually working on a remake of that song. He’s trying to get the new song to transcend politics and unify the nation.
While Derringer tries to make one song unify a divided nation I thought it would be nice to share a video of him singing “Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo” live in 1973.
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