I must admit I was a bit surprised when I saw the list of artists elected for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the ceremony will take place March 15, 2010)

Abba – on their second nomination in ten years of eligibility
Jimmy Cliff – first nomination, though eligible for twenty-one years
Genesis – also their first nomination, eligible for sixteen years
The Hollies – another first nomination after twenty-one years
The Stooges – finally, after eight nominations in sixteen years
 
Amazing to see that three of the artists were eligible for between sixteen and twenty-one years prior to even getting nominated, and then they get elected on the first try. That’s just odd. How do these bands never even get to the nomination stage and then make it all the way to the podium in one move? And what does that say about the rest of the talent pool still hanging by the telephone?

Alice Cooper is still waiting. So are Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Todd Rundgren…and KISS, of course. I could name dozens more who made bigger marks than some of the current inductees – Rick Derringer, The Faces, Lou Reed, Mott The Hoople – but I’d just get pissed off again, even though I know in my heart that it just doesn’t matter.

But it’s great to see The Stooges finally beat the door down – one would expect that a band that had been nominated so many times would eventually break through. And maybe the election of The Hollies opens the door for The Turtles or Herman’s Hermits, and Abba legitimizes the induction of The Monkees. Outside of Guns’N'Roses, there aren’t many newly eligible bands in the next two or three years to provide fresh competition. (Want to feel old? Julian Lennon became eligible for induction in 2009.)

And I certainly can’t argue with any of the songwriter nominations except to say…what the hell took you so long? Mort Shuman (Doc Pomus’ partner), Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry, Otis Blackwell, Jesse Stone…the real crime here is that Ellie won’t get to take that bow since she passed away earlier this year. Of course, the Songwriters Hall of Fame was on the ball and elected them way back in the 80s and 90s (only Stone is not yet inducted).


Source: drbristol.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/five-more-enter-the-hall/#comments

I only pray that by adding my two-cents worth, it may have just a little impact.

First: 31,000 very intelligent scientists have all signed a petition saying that man DOES not effect change in the weather. And also the 17% change in CO2 emissions, that our President endorses is - next to impossible, and will not effect change, except once again, taking a lot of change from our pockets and putting it in the pockets of people who will NOT help fix the climate of the Earth in ANY way!!

Second: Can't anyone else see that this "Cap And Trade" bill will only take money from us, then put in people's pockets who have NO ability to effect ANY change in the weather - positive or negative. AND: the man who is making, and has made the most money from this stuff is: AL GORE. How can anyone believe anything he has to say about climate change?

I don't know for sure, but if you're like me, you cannot afford more taxes, higher fuel costs, or home values falling one more dollar.

Rick Derringer
www.rickderringer.com

I want to sincerely thank all my supporters who've voted for my induction into the VG Hall Of Fame. It was your prompting that encouraged VG to nominate me in the first place...so...you are directly responsible.

It was quite an experience, and appears that I've won two times.

As everyone who subscribes, buys at the news-stand or has seen VG online, may have noticed the voting ended Nov. 15th with me ahead of Buddy Guy, by more than 6 percentage points. I was very happy to have won. I received many calls and emails on Monday, congratulating me on my victory.

Then on Tues. morning, the 17th, I opened my email to find one from VG that said, "LAST CHANCE TO VOTE". All of sudden Buddy Guy's votes shot forward at an amazing (some have said impossible) speed. The next email I opened read, "It looks like the 'fix' is in for Buddy Guy". I forwarded it to the editor of VG, who assured me that none of the votes after the 15th would be valid. None the less, the voting was going on.

I later found that the web master for VG had extended the voting until the 20th. All I could do was pray.

The good news is that last night, at the close of the new voting, I was again in the lead by more that 4 percentage points.

Now, all we can do is wait for the official announcement in February. 
I can hardly wait!

Rick Derringer
www.rickderringer.com

by Lance D Ziegler

Orange County Choppers (OCC) is doing more than building custom brand motorcycles these days. The elite bike building entity has cast its eyes on the making of a new Classic Rock album, OCC Rocks. Forged from the same quality hands that make OCC custom motorcycles, OCC The Band are employees of the company who have been playing together as a cover tune band for about five years. Band members include Steve Moreau (Guitar), Christian Welter (Drums), Tom Schimpf (Vocals, Bass) and Jon Randazzo (Vocals, Harmonica). In the past, The Band has performed as an opening act for Lynyrd Skynyrd and when asked if there are any other future developments or scheduled appearances, OCC responded by simply stating not just yet.

The album has an impressive line-up of 14 Classic Rock songs, which were hand-picked by OCC founder Paul Teutul, Sr., and is sure to capture the audience of OCC followers, motorcycle riders and Classic Rock enthusiasts alike. The compilation features some of the greatest all time classic tunes to ever hit the air waves and three additional original tracks, with Paul Sr. singing vocals on The Band's "Summertime Blues."

Despite all the great music they have chosen, one particular song picked by Paul Sr., was "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo." A sure-fire song that has held the "Rock Classic" title for over 3 decades; and, no matter how old it gets, it still has an empowering effect that makes you move to the beat the minute it starts playing. Literally, one of those songs that never looses that "Funky Sound!"

I asked the guys from OCC what inspired them to choose the classic rocker and they responded, "The song is one of those Classic Rock songs that they just had to include and is one of Paul Sr.'s favorites."

The song "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" was written and composed by Rick Derringer. "It was originally released on Johnny Winter, And in 1969, but the big version came out in 1973 on my first solo album, All American Boy", stated Derringer. Shortly after its release, Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo remained a hit single for 14 weeks straight on Billboard Magazine.
 
More recently, Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo was featured as the #1 soundtrack for the 1993 hit movie, Dazed and Confused. In 2001, Rick was awarded by BMI for 1 million broadcasts and in 2007, the mega hit was inducted into Xbox 360's Guitar Hero 2.

Derringer, who is well known for his many contributions to the music and entertainment business, has always been one to give inspiring and positive support for young artists. From Rick's perspective, "This album is perfect for our demographic. People still love my music, and bikers in particular. I am very grateful that they have chosen 'Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo' for their very special release."

It comes as no suprise that Derringer supports the success of OCC Rocks. Throughout his entire career, Derringer has produced, collaborated with and promoted many entertainers into the spotlight of success and fame. From his early years with Johnny Winter, And (And referring to Rick's already world famous band, The McCoys), to founding Weird Al Yankovic and Cyndi Lauper, to playing with countless famous Musicians from Rock, Blues and Jazz genre, Derringer has brought so much to the entertainment industry. It's a wonder why he hasn't been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet.

The album, OCC Rocks, which is signed under the Sony Red label, is due to be released in stores October 27. In addition, the second episode of the new season American Chopper, airing on TLC Thursday, October 29 at 9:00 PM E/PT, will be focusing on the making of the album and unveiling a custom theme bike to include on the album artwork. 

www.rickderringer.com
 

With nearly 5 decades of entertaining and the release of his 40th album, Rick Derringer has become an American icon in the music industry and has influenced so many to seek out their dreams to become a musician, songwriter or producer. Besides being one of the greatest guitarist of all time with a style of playing and discipline unmatched by anyone, Rick has also helped many young artists like Danny Johnson, Cyndi Lauper, Weird Al Yankovic and countless others fulfill their dream of achieving a successful career in the music industry. He has accomplished what most artists only dream of. Most of us know Rick by his association with the Winter Brothers and the huge amount of success he created for them by producing the only gold and platinum records to achieve such status. Yet few realize and are unaware of the numerous artists he has collaborated with. Artists like Steely Dan, Bette Midler, Todd Rundgren, Meatloaf and a list that spans four and a half decades. Here is a man that has dedicated his whole life to the industry as a multi-talented player, songwriter and producer with hit albums in Rock & Roll, Jazz, Blues and Christian genre.

With all that said, Rick needs your help with his latest project. A retrospective film of his life and career is currently in the works and Rick wants you to be a part of it. He is asking you to donate any video footage, still photography or sound recordings to help in the making of this exciting film. You can become part of Rock & Roll history by donating your media to the production of this once-in-a-lifetime film making event and have your name included in the credits as contributors. The retrospective film of Rick is being produced with the utmost quality and professionalism.

Rick's project is headed by Gary Mayes of PopCultureToday.Com, Inc, an award winning, multi-faceted and state-of-the-art entertainment company specializing in full length broadcasting quality productions. Gary has been writing, producing and directing for the entertainment industry since the early 80's and has an impressive list of high profile clientele that includes: Phyllis Diller, Pete Best, Dick Van Patton, Sonny West of the Memphis Mafia and Ted Nugent to mention a few. Gary also has an extensive background in buying and selling rare to find Rock & Roll memorabilia and has one of the largest Beatles collections in the US.

When complete, Rick's retrospective film is going to be one to add to your collection of Rock & Roll memorabilia.

According to Gary, "There is still a lot of work to be done and we are trying to get as much media as we can. Once we feel we have enough material we will be able to sit down with Rick and decide on the final content." He also added that additional financing is always welcomed to help achieve some tough goals in the production.

If you have any type of media from as early as 1960's to present day and you would like to donate it to Rick's film production, you can contact Gary Mayes by going to www.popculturetoday.com or contact Gary directly by email at
gary@popculturetoday.com.

As you already know, I'm a "God, Family, Country" kinda guy. We've all got to do our part, so Jenda and I are going to the Teaparty here in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We'll report on the progress to take our country back as soon as we return. Check in for latest Teaparty news right here.

Rock Star & Meteorite with wife Jenda


RD
www.rickderringer.com

I read this recently, and I thought that you guys might want to see it.

Recently in my ultra-liberal city of Portland, I found myself driving behind a car with just one bumper sticker. “So many Christians,” it read, “So few lions.” I wondered what could possess a person to adorn their car with this one homicidal sentiment—and then possess my community to let them drive around, unaccosted. A friend and I discussed later what other slogans might be put on a bumper sticker.

What if it said “So many Jews, so few gas chambers”? It could read, “So many blacks, so few nooses.” Or “So many Muslims, so few Abu Ghraibs.” How long would it take for a car with that sticker to be pulled over? Twenty minutes?  

The double standard is evident everywhere.

A superior court judge recently ruled that the National Education Association can discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation—if they’re discriminating against ex-gays. The NEA refused to let an ex-gay organization run an information booth at their conference, and the judge said this was fine. The DC Office of Human Rights said ex-gays aren’t protected from discrimination because their sexual orientation obviously isn’t “immutable;” (they abandoned practicing homosexuality). This kind of wordplay just shows the power of legal activists to manipulate discrimination laws to protect some citizens not others.

The Washington Times reports that a ten-year-old New Hampshire girl has been ordered to attend public school; the state disapproves of her mother’s firm Christianity and says she must be exposed to other religious faiths. Would they have done this to a Jewish or Muslim child? Unlikely.

By “exposure to other religious faiths,” the court really means “exposure to severe skepticism about Christianity.” In time for next Easter, children’s author Philip Pullman will treat us to his latest book, The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ. The book claims the apostle Paul cooked up the “story” that Jesus was divine. Pullman told The Times that Paul’s “fervid imagination” is the only reason anyone thinks Jesus was the incarnated God. A rep from Canongate Books calls it a “book of genuine importance, a radical and ingenious retelling of the life of Jesus that demystifies and illuminates this most famous and influential of stories.” But you don’t have to wait until Easter for more pseudo-history claiming to uncloak the real facts about Jesus’ illegitimacy, bastard love child with Mary Magdalene, or other attacks on the faith. Christmas is right around the corner, and it brings scholarly attacks on Christianity as dependably as supermarket poinsettias.

The double standard also extends to those notorious cartoons. The Danes’ one-panel Mohammed cartoon created a ruckus around the world. Jews fight back too: the Arab European League is being prosecuted for a one-panel cartoon less than reverent about the Holocaust. But what about Christians? An entire comic book, Prince of Pieces, skewers a zombie Jesus—and no one fears hate crime charges. By Sam Miserendino, the comic book is about “a pissed off zombie Jesus returning to devour the flesh of sinners…As one character wryly observes, "For two thousand years you've been eating His flesh and drinking His blood... Now it's His turn."” The comic book isn’t even enough; a film is in the works, too.

This is not a time for Christians to go silent. Visit www.truthtellers.org for easy-to-follow steps to protest legislative threats to our freedom: threats going forward in Congress right now. This matters far more than protesting even the most grotesque media assault.

There is something each of us can do. My youngest sister reposted one of our stories on Facebook. Sheets of letters to the president, protesting his upcoming signing of the hate bill, sit near our fax machine. I’ve been considering how to carve out twenty minutes daily to call Congress, or commit to call just twenty names.

We need to make protest part of our daily lives, as the attack only thickens. There is reason for hope. Democrats dominate both houses of Congress, making them highly vulnerable at this time of intense voter dissatisfaction. God could still reverse the insidious tide sweeping us out to anti-Christian, anti-freedom seas—if we unite our faith with action.

What really empowers rampant anti-Christianity?

So few Christians who will put lions in their cages.

RD
www.rickderringer.com

I am blown away by the lead story in this issue (October) of Vintage Guitar Magazine. I'm the first name listed on the cover, and then a huge photo of me on the 'table of contents' page. There's even more full-color photos in the actual interview. I didn't expect such a lavish layout. Be sure to check it out while it's still on the stands.

Rick Derringer's latest record, Knighted by the Blues, is an amazingly varied album from a guitarist who has been in the music industry for more than four decades. Story by John Heidt

PS. Be sure to keep watching. I may have a huge announcement within the next days !!!

RD
www.rickderringer.com