1965: Treat Her Right & Hang On Sloopy

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and in this episode I will discuss the back stories behind two hit songs from 1965:  "Treat Her Right" and "Hang On Sloopy"!  Both songs reached their peak in the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the month of October 1965.  I chose those two particular songs primarily for two reasons.  First, because they both have had a lasting legacy.  Second, there is a common thread between the careers of the two bands who were credited with these hit songs.

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott. The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John. It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then.
Multiple promo videos and photos for Rock and Roll Flashback Podcasts are available on the following social media sites:

https://www.youtube.com/@RockandRollFlashback

https://www.facebook.com/rockandrollflashbackpodcast

https://www.instagram.com/jumpinjohnmcdermott/

Bill and John welcome your feedback and comments, and they can be emailed to rockandrollflashback@outlook.com.
Thank you for listening to Rock and Roll Flashback Podcasts!
Until next time...
Rock On!

Transcript

Thank you for that introduction, and welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Jumpin' John, and in this episode I will discuss the back stories behind two hit songs from 1965:  "Treat Her Right" and "Hang On Sloopy"!  Both songs reached their peak in the Billboard Hot 100 charts in the month of October 1965.  I chose those two particular songs primarily for two reasons.  First, because they both have had a lasting legacy.  Second, there is a common thread between the careers of the two bands who were credited with these hit songs.

Roy Head was born in Three Rivers, Texas in 1941 and moved to San Marcos, Texas in 1955.  In 1957 at the age of 16, Head and fellow high school student Tommy Bolton formed a musical group known as The Traits.  The original group consisted of fellow high school students Roy Head on vocals, Tommy Bolton on rhythm guitar, Gerry Gibson on drums, Dan Buie on piano, Clyde Causey on lead guitar, and Bill Pennington on bass.  Various lineups of The Traits would perform and record for the next nine years.  The band started their recording career at the TNT Recording Company in San Antonio, Texas.  In 1959 and 1960 The Traits established themselves as one of the premier teenage Texas-based rock and roll bands and had three regional hits at TNT: "One More Time", "Live It Up", and "Summertime Love".  They mostly played the sock hop, college, and dance hall circuits throughout Texas.  In 1963 Roy left for the Army Reserves while the band continued.  By the time of Roy's return, the band had settled into a lineup that included drummer Gerry Gibson, guitarist Ken Williams, and a new bassist, San Antonio born Gene Kurtz.  In early 1965 the new line up caught the attention of a Houston musician, songwriter, and producer named Charlie Booth.  On Booth's recommendation, the band signed with the record producer Huey Meaux of Houston, Texas.  

One song in particular emerged from The Traits' Texas dance hall performances.  The story goes that the song was a mistake, born when guitarist Williams played the wrong riffs to "Ooo Poo Pah Doo" by Jessie Hill.  Roy Head began improvising lyrics based on the old standard "Milk Cow Blues Boogie", while the guitarist continued playing a unique and very danceable rhythm.  The dance floor filled up, and the resultant song was called "Talkin' Bout a Cow".  Though a hit on the dance floor, the song really had no structure or rhyme.  Live performances could last anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes, depending upon dancer enthusiasm.  Gene Kurtz and Roy Head reworked the cow lyrics to be a more relatable song about a woman.  Charlie Booth was impressed with the newer version, so on June 6th, 1965 The Traits headed into Gold Star Studio in Houston.  Musicians credited on the recording included Roy Head on vocals, Johnny Clark on lead guitar, Frank Miller on rhythm guitar, Gene Kurtz on bass, Dan Buie on keyboards, Danny Gomez and Tommy May on tenor sax, Johnny Gibson on trumpet, and Jerry Gibson on drums.  Production was credited to Huey Meaux, but Roy Head always maintained that Charlie Booth actually ran the production.  Booth and Meaux sold the record to Don Robey's Back Beat Records, a racially integrated soul label.

After its release, the single "Treat Her Right" by Roy Head and The Traits quickly climbed the Billboard R&B chart, peaking at the #2 position in October.  On October 16th "Treat Her Right" also went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.  It was kept out of the Hot 100 #1 spot by The Beatles' "Yesterday".  The song reached #8 in Canada and #28 in the UK.  

Here is Roy Head and The Traits' version of "Treat Her Right":

Even though "Treat Her Right" was relatively short in length, at just 2 minutes and 4 seconds, it would go on to sell over 4 million copies worldwide.  "Treat Her Right", with its blazing horns and punchy rhythm, established Roy Head as a prime exponent of blue-eyed soul.  Video clips from this time period show Head to have also been a dynamic and versatile dancer, with his footwork including jumps and slides while he sang.  In the aftermath of the song's success, Roy appeared, without The Traits, on American TV shows such as American Bandstand, Where the Action Is, and Shindig!.  

The song remains a beloved classic, known for its upbeat energy and catchy rhythm.  "Treat Her Right" has been covered by multiple recording artists.  Jimmy Page, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sawyer Brown, and Bon Jovi are just a few.  Bob Dylan, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Tom Jones performed live versions of "Treat Her Right".  At one of his live performances of the song, Bruce Springsteen said to his audience that [and I quote] "that song has magic in it" [end quote].  The version by George Thorogood and the Destroyers in 1988 had an accompanying music video in which Roy Head had an acting cameo and danced in the final chorus.  A version of "Treat Her Right" was part of the soundtrack for the successful 1991 motion picture, The Commitments, and "Treat Her Right" also appeared in Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.   

With his newfound success, sultry voice, and gymnastic stage moves, Roy Head should have had the world in the palm of his hand.  The Traits faded away and in 1967 Roy signed with Mercury Records, but no hits followed.  Roy began drinking heavily and behaving erratically.  However, Head later enjoyed a successful solo career with several hits on the country and western charts between 1975 and 1985.  Roy Head and The Traits held reunions in 2001 and 2007 and were inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame in 2007.  Additionally, Roy Head is a member of the Gulf Coast Music Hall of Fame, the Texas Country and Western Music Hall of Fame, and the Austin Music Awards Hall of Fame.  During his career of some 50 years, Head performed in several different musical genres and recorded for an array of record labels, but unfortunately some were too small to provide national marketing and distribution.  Roy Head died of a heart attack in 2020, at the age of 79.  

The Strangeloves were a fictitious band, supposedly from Australia, created in 1964 by the New York City songwriting team of Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, and Richard Gottehrer.  The three men wrote a song in 1965 with songwriter Bert Berns.  Called "I Want Candy", it reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1965.  Based on that single's success, Feldman, Goldstein, and Gottehrer, started performing gigs around the country as the Strangeloves.    

A year earlier Bert Berns and Wes Farrell had written a song called "My Girl Sloopy".  Through their work with Bert Berns, the Strangeloves were very familiar with "My Girl Sloopy" and with a 1964 recording of it by the Los Angeles soul group called The Vibrations.  At a July 1965 gig in Dayton, Ohio the Strangeloves had a young rock group open for them and provide backing instruments on their performance.  Calling themselves Rick and the Raiders, this young band from Union City, Indiana was popular in the local Ohio-Indiana region.  Their members in 1965 were guitarist and lead singer Richard Zehringer, his brother Randy Zehringer on drums, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs, saxophonist Sean Michaels, and keyboardist Ronnie Brandon.

When Feldman, Goldstein, and Gottehrer heard Rick and the Raiders cover "My Girl Sloopy" as part of their opening act, they sensed that the band’s rowdy delivery could recast the song for the rock market.  The Strangeloves asked Rick and the Raiders if they wanted to professionally record some songs.  The boys jumped at the opportunity, so everyone went to New York City.  To avoid confusion with Paul Revere and the Raiders, Rick and the Raiders became The McCoys.  The name was taken from the B-side of The Ventures' hit record "Walk, Don't Run" titled "The McCoy".  Also Rick Zehringer changed his stage name to Rick Derringer.  "My Girl Sloopy" was retitled "Hang On Sloopy", and was edited down to two verses for the single.  “Hang On Sloopy” was recorded at Bell Sound Studios, with Feldman, Goldstein, and Gottehrer handling the producing duties and backing tracks.  The McCoys, with Rick Derringer on vocals and guitar, then added their own vocals to those instrumental tracks.  The result was a high-energy rock song, with a catchy refrain and energetic rhythm.  The upbeat and driving tempo would make it a popular anthem of the time, with its simple but memorable lyrics.  Bert Berns’ label, Bang Records, released the song in August 1965, and it entered the U.S. and Canadian charts on August 14th, 1965.  "Hang On Sloopy" quickly climbed the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at #1 on October 2nd.  It reached #5 in the UK.  Sales of the single in the U.S. alone were over one million copies.  

Here is The McCoy's version of "Hang On Sloopy":

The single’s runaway success vaulted the McCoys from weekend warriors to national headliners almost overnight.  They toured with the Rolling Stones and shared bills with the Yardbirds.  They appeared on TV shows like Shindig! and Hullabaloo.  The McCoy's debut album, entitled Hang On Sloopy, was released in November 1965 and reached #44 in the Billboard Albums chart.  Two other singles by The McCoys also reached the Top 40:  "Fever" at #7 and "Come On, Let's Go" at #21.  Unfortunately, the band's popularity would not last.  In 1967 The McCoys left Bang Records in hopes of recording more serious music.  They ended up signing a deal with Mercury Records and recorded their last two albums, Infinite McCoys in 1968 and Human Ball in 1969, for the label.  The albums were The McCoys' attempt at making psychedelic music that would appeal to the mature listeners of that time.  Both LPs were commercial failures and did not chart anywhere.

After The McCoys, Rick Derringer would go on to have a prolific song writing, recording, and production career.  He had a hit song with “Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo” and performed with both Johnny and Edgar Winter’s bands.  Derringer produced gold- and platinum-selling albums for both groups.  He also produced for Cyndi Lauper and produced six albums for “Weird Al” Yankovic.  Derringer earned session credits from a wide variety of performers.  His guitar can be heard on recordings by Steely Dan, Bette Midler, Alice Cooper, Todd Rundgren, Barbra Streisand, Kiss, and more.  Later he would tour the world three times with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band.  Rick Derringer died in 2025 at the age of 77.

"Hang On Sloopy" by The McCoys has since become a classic rock favorite.  The song became standard fare for garage bands and, in 1965, it became one of the first songs recorded by the Yardbirds with guitarist Jeff Beck.  It's cultural impact resulted in the state of Ohio in 1985 proclaiming "Hang On Sloopy" as 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.  

So what was the common thread between The Traits and The McCoys?  What both bands had in common was Texas blues guitarist Johnny Winter!  In the early 1960's Johnny Winter would sometimes sit in on guitar with Roy Head and the Traits when they performed in the Beaumont, Texas area.  In 1967, Winter recorded a single on Universal Records with The Traits: "Tramp" backed with "Parchman Farm".  The songs featured Johnny Winter's vocals and blistering guitar leads.  At the time, no one knew that Winter was just months away from bursting upon the national scene with his appearance at Woodstock.  Johnny Winter later re-released the track of "Tramp" he recorded with The Traits in his 1988 compilation album, Birds Can't Row Boats.

In 1970 Johnny Winter formed a new band with the remnants of the McCoys: guitarist Rick Derringer, bassist Randy Jo Hobbs, and drummer Randy Zehringer.  Originally to be called "Johnny Winter and the McCoys", the name was shortened to "Johnny Winter And".  In September 1970, Winter's fourth studio album, called simply Johnny Winter And, was released.  The LP, which was jointly produced by Winter and Derringer, reached #24 on the Billboard Albums chart.  It included the previously-mentioned "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo" and signaled a more rock-oriented direction for Winter.  Rick Derringer would have production credits on Johnny Winter's next three albums.

Thank you for traveling back in time with me to the year 1965 on another episode of Rock and Roll Flashback!  On December 25th, 1965, when Billboard magazine published their top Hot 100 singles from 1965, "Hang On Sloopy" was ranked #14 and "Treat Her Right" was ranked #43.  As a special bonus, I will conclude this podcast with The Commitments' 1991 version of "Treat Her Right"!  So, fellow time travelers, may your path be smooth and your music always be rockin'!  And until next time...Rock On!