Today’s song is “Hang on Sloopy” by The McCoys, an upbeat rock tune you may recognize if you’re a Buckeye fan.

Fun Facts

• Songwriters Bert Berns and Wes Farrell penned “Hang On Sloopy” in 1964.
• Bronx native Berns also wrote the classic Isley Brothers song Twist and Shout, which was later covered by The Beatles.
• R&B group The Vibrations were the first group to record “Hang On Sloopy” in the year of its creation, and their funky rendition was #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
• The song was recorded by Indiana rock group The McCoys, formerly known as Rick and the Raiders, in 1965.
• The song was released in mid-August 1965, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October 1965 and spending several months in the Top 40 charts.
• “Hang On Sloopy” was declared Ohio’s state rock song in 1985.
• Adopted by Ohio State University as their marching band’s signature song, thousands can be heard singing along at halftime shows.
• It is also the signature song for Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians and is usually played in the eighth inning of each game.
• A New Orleans jazz club owner named Helen Sloop was said to have been Berns’ inspiration for the title character, but no evidence exists that he knew her.
• In December 1965, Johnny Thunder recorded a follow-up, “Everybody Do The Sloopy,” also written by Berns and Farrell.

Lyrics:

(LyricFind)

Hang on, Sloopy

Sloopy, hang on

Hang on, Sloopy

Sloopy, hang on

Sloopy lives in a very bad part of town (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

And everybody, yeah, tries to put my Sloopy down (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Sloopy, I don’t care what your daddy do (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

‘Cause you know, Sloopy, girl, I’m in love with you (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

And so I say now

Hang on, Sloopy

Sloopy, hang on

Hang on, Sloopy

Sloopy, hang on

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Give it to ’em (yeah)

Sloopy, let your hair down, girl

Let it hang down on me (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Sloopy, let your hair down, girl

Let it hang down on me, yeah, yeah (ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Come on, Sloopy (come on, come on)

Well, come on, Sloopy (come on, come on)

Well, come on, Sloopy (come on, come on)

Well, come on, Sloopy (come on, come on)

Well, it feels so good (come on, come on)

You know, it feels so good (come on, come on)

Oh, shake it, shake it, shake it, Sloopy (come on, come on)

Oh, shake it, shake it, shake it, yeah (come on, come on)

Ohh

Hang on, Sloopy

Sloopy, hang on

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Hang on, Sloopy

Sloopy, hang on

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Hang on, Sloopy

Sloopy, hang on