"Hang On Sloopy" (originally "My Girl Sloopy") is a 1964 song written by Wes Farrell and Bert Berns. Rhythm and blues vocal group the Vibrations were the first to record the tune in 1964. Atlantic Records released it as a single, which reached No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is associated with Ohio State University and is Ohio's official rock song. 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. A version by the rock group the McCoys was the most successful, when it reached number one in the singles chart. Recordings by additional artists also reached the charts, including versions in Spanish and Portuguese. By one account, the inspiration for the song was Dorothy Sloop, a jazz singer from Steubenville, Ohio, and a student at Ohio University. McCoys version In early 1965, the Strangeloves, a New York City rock band, wanted to make the song the follow-up to their hit single "I Want Candy" and began performing it in concert. However, the Dave Clark Five, with whom they were touring, told the Strangeloves that they were going to record their own version when they returned to England, copying the Strangeloves' arrangement. The Strangeloves realized that the Dave Clark Five's cut would likely be a hit, but they were not yet ready to release a new single because they were still enjoying the success of "I Want Candy" from a few months earlier. The answer presented itself when a young rock group named Rick and the Raiders opened (and provided backing) for the Strangeloves in July in Dayton, Ohio. The Strangeloves, three writer-producers from Brooklyn, New York City, recruited Rick and the Raiders to record the song under their name. Their 16-year-old leader, Rick Zehringer, was flown to Bell Sound Studios in New York to record his lead vocal over the Strangeloves' already-recorded backing tracks. It was decided to change the name of Rick's group to the McCoys to avoid confusion with another popular band at the time, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and Rick began using the stage name Rick Derringer. The single was issued on Bang Records and entered the chart on August 14, 1965. It reached the top position on October 2. Contrary to the Strangeloves' expectations, the Dave Clark Five version was never even released.