Hang On Sloopy
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"Hang on Sloopy" is a hit song by the pop group The McCoys which was #1 in America in October 1965 and is the official rock song of the state of Ohio, USA. It was written by Wes Farrell and Bert Russell and is named for Dorothy Sloop, a singer born in Steubenville, Ohio on September 26, 1913 who used the name "Sloopy" on stage. She died July 1998 in Pass Christian, Mississippi.
The song became popular in Ohio after the Ohio State University's marching band began playing it at football games; it first played it October 9, 1965 after a band member, John Tatgenhorst begged the director to try playing it. After finally convincing the director, Tatgenhorst arranged the song and the band played. After the crowd reaction, the band began to play every game and now it is a Saturday tradition to play the song before the start of the fourth quarter of every Buckeye game. Since then, the song has become an unofficial fight song for OSU. In April 1985, a columnist for the Columbus Citizen-Journal, Joe Dirck, saw a wire service story about a proposal to designate "Louie, Louie" the state rock song of Washington and wrote a column about it. This goaded the 116th Ohio General Assembly into action and it designated "Hang on Sloopy" the state rock song by House Concurrent Resolution 16 on November 20, 1985. The General Assembly did not enact the measure into law—unlike "Beautiful Ohio" when it was made the state song—or even take it seriously, e.g., certain clauses read,
- "WHEREAS, "Hang On Sloopy" is of particular relevance to members of the Baby Boom Generation, who were once dismissed as a bunch of long-haired, crazy kids, but who now are old enough and vote in sufficient numbers to be taken quite seriously"
- "WHEREAS, Adoption of this resolution will not take too long, cost the state anything, or affect the quality of life in this state to any appreciable degree, and if we in the legislature just go ahead and pass the darn thing, we can get on with more important stuff".
The song was originally titled "My Girl Sloopy" and was first recorded by The Vibrations in 1964 on Atlantic Records (45-2222), and has also been recorded by Arseno Rodriguez (Bang 1966), The Supremes (Motown 1966), The Kingsmen (WAND 1966), Little Caesar and the Consuls, and The Yardbirds. A 1973 cover version by Ramsey Lewis won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance in 1974. In 2000, Aaron Carter recorded his version, included as a bonus track on his second album, Aaron's Party (Come Get It).
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See also
References
- Eric Lyttle. "The Real Story of Hang on Sloopy." Columbus Monthly. September 2003.
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