# Interpreting "Hang On, Sloopy" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 8, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038 "2017-04-08T03:43:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/21 "2017-04-10T03:41:10Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Actually, she’s the fisherman’s daughter from the Every Mother’s Son song [Come on Down to My Boat](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTvUbAQIefA). In that song the band points out that no one knows her name, so obviously “Sloopy” became her nickname because she lives on a fishing sloop. Wikipedia has an explanation for the name new to me. > [@](#): > > According to Rick Derringer, the original version of Sloopy was written by a “high school kid in St. Louis” and sold to Bert Russell, a.k.a. Bert Berns.[3] If true, the answer to the age old question “Just who is Sloopy?” lies with him. Dorothy Sloop, a jazz singer from Steubenville and a student at Ohio University, is said to be the inspiration for the song. Doesn’t seem that likely to me. Wes Farrell and Bert Berns wrote lots of hits individually. But do you know who wrote the original for “Come on Down to My Boat”? Wes Ferrell. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/22 "2017-04-10T12:39:37Z")
Based on the McCoy’s album cover, Sloopy was a badly-drawn girl (“I’m just drawn that way”) with a weird polyhedral nose. She apparently got the nose from her alcoholic, unshaven father. [![](https://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/385016714_b75754e4d4.jpg) ](https://farm1.static.flickr.com/186/385016714_b75754e4d4.jpg) I always thought it was kinda weird. Of course, when I first heard the song as a kid I thought they were singing “Hang on Snoopy”, which is even weirder. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/23 "2017-04-10T13:58:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I was wondering about that, too. I think “curvy” is being used as a euphemism for “buxom” there. She’s not buxom at all; she’s quite thin. And she really needs a bra. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/24 "2017-04-10T14:35:46Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > She’s not buxom at all; she’s quite thin. And she really needs a bra. OK, I mean, she has very noticeable breasts. (To me, “buxom” simply means “full-bosomed,” as in [definition 1 here](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/buxom?s=t). Not necessarily plump. Or if you scroll down to the British definition, it’s definition 2 there. Perhaps it’s a UK vs US thing. Are you from the UK?) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/25 "2017-04-10T15:47:51Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, I mean, she has very noticeable breasts. (To me, “buxom” simply means “full-bosomed,” as in [definition 1 here](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/buxom?s=t). Not necessarily plump. Or if you scroll down to the British definition, it’s definition 2 there. Perhaps it’s a UK vs US thing. Are you from the UK?) This is why I love the SDMB. I make a passing reference to the girl in the video and now those words are being hashed out 😉 My only point was that she was shakin’ it and has enough to shake to get a person’s attention. And I was trying to do so in a way that didn’t feel skeevy. Within that context she’s plenty curvy enough. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/26 "2017-04-10T16:08:29Z")
Google image results for [buxom -lipstick -mascara](https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&biw=1080&bih=1780&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=buxom+-lipstick+-mascara&oq=buxom+-lipstick+-mascara&gs_l=img.3...13608.15800.0.16068.9.9.0.0.0.0.109.706.8j1.9.0....0...1c.1.64.img..0.0.0.wTTxwZlNzR4). (Buxom is a brand name and messes up the results.) An amazing variety of body types pictured. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/27 "2017-04-10T16:45:54Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > OK, I mean, she has very noticeable breasts. (To me, “buxom” simply means “full-bosomed,” as in [definition 1 here](http://www.dictionary.com/browse/buxom?s=t). Not necessarily plump. Or if you scroll down to the British definition, it’s definition 2 there. Perhaps it’s a UK vs US thing. Are you from the UK?) No, American, but I was only ever familiar with def. 2. That’s why I was surprised when I saw her. No big whoop. 🙂 I think we can all agree that no matter what you call it, she’s got a nice rack. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/28 "2017-04-10T17:10:02Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > This is why I love the SDMB. I make a passing reference to the girl in the video and now those words are being hashed out 😉 > > My only point was that she was shakin’ it and has enough to shake to get a person’s attention. And I was trying to do so in a way that didn’t feel skeevy. > > Within that context she’s plenty curvy enough. Pretty hot, no doubt. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2017, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/29 "2017-04-10T19:48:14Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > She’s Patches’ sister. Thank you for that laugh. ---
**Author:** ![mavisgold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/58956e/32.png) [@mavisgold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mavisgold)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/30 "2021-11-05T18:42:45Z")
The original video was a promo for the Rick Derringer 1975 remake of _Hang On Sloopy_ . People have posted various edits and added different audio from the original video. The dancer in the Hang On Sloopy Video is Lisa Leonard Dalton. Liz Brewer was never married to Rick Derringer. Liz Agriss married Rick Derringer but was not the dancer in the video. Rick did not know the dancer. The video was made for the 1975 remake of _Hang On Sloopy_ by Rick Derringer as a solo artist. The most popular version of the song was in 1965 by The McCoys with Rick Derringer lead singer. More info on Sloopy Girl Lisa Leonard Dalton: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/wQvNxN1lSdw/maxresdefault.jpg "A Dancer for the Ages!") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQvNxN1lSdw) > **[Sloopy Girl - Lisa Leonard Dalton](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClRn3E43flevhReqr7WAApg)** > > 𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 "𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥" 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐓𝐮𝐛𝐞. 𝐈'𝐦 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐚 𝐋𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧 -- 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 "𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥" 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫. 𝐘𝐞𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐦𝐞, 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝟏𝟗, 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐑𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐃𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫'𝐬 "𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐧 𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐲." 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐞'𝐝 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐨, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲... see sloopy-wives-fact-and-fiction at pugetsound.media ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/31 "2021-11-05T19:40:25Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > If the guys that own this song could have collected from every garage band that played it in the day, they’d be richer than Bill Gates. Of course it didn’t work out that way, even though they owned the business. Joel Selvin wrote an excellent biography [_Here Comes the Night: The Dark Soul of Bert Berns and the Dirty Business of Rhythm and Blues,_](https://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Night-Business-Rhythm/dp/1619025418/ref=sr_1_1?crid=29EKOC35H53BI&keywords=%22bert+burns%22&qid=1636140524&sprefix=bert+burns+%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-1) that covers Berns’ career from the early days of r&b through the Beatles era, stopping with his early death in 1967. The book covers the small production companies that were pretty much all the rock business before the mainstream giants took over when the big money appeared. And it gives awesome details into the way music was made, recording sessions of motley groups of pros backing whatever singers they threw into the studio. Selwin pulls no punches on the the business being mobbed-up in New York, and the reality that those singers got screwed over seven ways from Sunday. Burns was writer and/or producer for a huge number of classic rock songs (see [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Berns)) and should be a lot more famous than he is. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/32 "2021-11-06T01:34:05Z")
That video link don’t work no more. Darn. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2021, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/33 "2021-11-06T02:06:21Z")
I assume this is the same video. It’s slightly racy, so I broke the preview. [MaCoys - Hang on sloopy.mpg - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlTKhPkZSJo) ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/34 "2021-11-24T21:00:18Z")
The last thing she needs is a bra. They all should have been burned years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2021, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/35 "2021-11-24T21:45:54Z")
I had forgotten all about this thread, and then quite by chance I stumbled upon this video. It’s an interview with Rick giving his thoughts on who wrote the song: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/l6yAMuaPHNo/maxresdefault.jpg "Rick Derringer Talks About "Hang On Sloopy," Jimi Hendrix & Jenda's CD 'Hot And Cool'") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6yAMuaPHNo) Regarding the dancing girl, This girl might have lifted a move or two from her: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Sr2JneittqQ/hqdefault.jpg "Groovy Dancing Girl") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr2JneittqQ) ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/36 "2021-11-25T03:39:43Z")
I was surprised to see a vibraphone in the band. Not something I usually associate with Rock music. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2021, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/37 "2021-11-25T07:54:01Z")
That looks like a marimba. If you’re wondering why you’re not hearing it in the video, that’s because someone potted in the McCoys version to the 1975 Rick Derringer solo version. Here’s the actual sound that goes with the video, given a slightly Carribean twist and you can hear the marimba though obviously not played by the guy on stage. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/vtxRO1JOWSc/maxresdefault.jpg "“𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗴 𝗢𝗻 𝗦𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽𝘆” 𝐑𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗗𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 & 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝐰/ 𝟭𝟵𝟳𝟱 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐚𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 "𝐒𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐲" 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐠)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtxRO1JOWSc) Of course we purists like the old version better, but the newer one is not without its charms. Sloopy history is convoluted. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/38 "2021-11-26T02:46:52Z")
Well, that answers that. I like the McCoys sound better. The sound on this version was rather shrill, although I don’t know if that’s them or just the recording. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/39 "2021-11-26T02:56:45Z")
The McCoys version sounds a lot more like Summer Nights from Grease than the Derringer version does. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2021, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038/40 "2021-11-26T15:16:25Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > Regarding the dancing girl, This girl might have lifted a move or two from her: Completely different, beyond that both end up being good dancing. The Groovy Dancing Girl is clearly highly choreographed and practiced, and if she were to do a second performance, it would be exactly the same moves in the same sequence. And I suspect that there are a lot of video editing tricks in there, too (maybe a deliberately-low framerate to make the moves more abrupt?). But what’s so appealing about “Sloopy” in the video is how spontaneous her dancing is (or at least, appears to be). She’s not following a set plan; she’s just moving as the mood takes her. The only “choreography” or planning in it is that she in fact takes off her hat and lets her hair down when the lyrics are saying “Let your hair down”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/interpreting-hang-on-sloopy/784038.md?page=3)