Update: Rick Derringer verified that Lisa is the famous dancer. The Deconstructing a Myth: Sloopy Girl documentary had been released and available for only one month when Rick Derringer confirmed publicly, at his YouTube channel on October 23, 2021, that Lisa Leonard Dalton was the dancer in his popular online video. Apparently the 1975 reggae version of the song, with the steel drums and marimba, was not his favorite rendition of the famous tune — but he sure recognized and remembered Lisa and her incredible dancing. The Deconstructing a Myth: Sloopy Girl documentary had been prepared before Rick confirmed that Lisa was the mysterious dancer — so the video documentary had by necessity relied heavily on the accounts of a dozen witnesses, vintage photos, physical evidence, and police grade facial recognition software that had unequivocally identified Lisa Leonard Dalton as the “Sloopy Girl” dancer. Again in November 2022, Rick Derringer confirmed on his Facebook page that Lisa was the dancer in his viral online “Hang On Sloopy” video. At QZVX we knew that all along, but now it is 100% — Lisa Leonard Dalton danced in Rick’s 1975 music video. Just the same, it is much appreciated that Rick stepped forward to verify the truth. RIP Rick, you will be missed!
Since that matter has now been settled, let’s move on to the original story from May 2020.
Here’s the original information, including recent updates, that accompanied this article when it was published in May 2020:
As a kid, living in the NW corner of Washington State, I had great reception of Canadian radio stations. Those of us looking for an AM Top-40 radio station in 1965 and ’66 often heard the sound of C-FUN out of Vancouver, BC. The intro to this video harks back to those days.
“Hang On Sloopy” was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1965. Other records by The McCoys that received significant radio airplay included “Fever,” “Sorrow,” and “Come On Let’s Go.” Rick Derringer also produced records and played lead guitar with Edgar and Johnny Winter in the 1970s. He had a solo hit with “Rock and Roll Hootchie Koo” in 1974 (Billboard Hot 100 peak position #23).
Usually I post a very early rendition of a “Found Performance.” This is an exception. I have located two 1965 appearances by the original “McCoys.” But the video I chose is from 1975 and it will get your attention. It has an 80 million strong fan base.
Former McCoys’ vocalist, Rick Derringer, was filming a new music film to promote a remake of his former band’s hit single “Hang On Sloopy.” It wasn’t the new 1975 incarnation of the decade old song that got the attention of the fans. It was the blond dancing girl. The premise was that during the film shoot, a gorgeous girl would stroll by and spontaneously break into a sexy and captivating dance routine.
It didn’t take much of a detective work to debunk that theory. Girls like this don’t just wander down the street into a film set. This girl was obviously no ordinary passerby. After a decade of rumors, and one British woman, with zero connection to Derringer or the dance, trying to hint around that she had some connection to Derringer. In 2021 t was revealed that Lisa Leonard Dalton, an American, is the authentic Sloopy Girl.
The urban legend that the “Hang On Sloopy” dancer was the British party planner, or that she had been married to singer Rick Derringer, were discredited. If you’ve heard that false rumor, then you need to see “Sloopy Wives-Fact and Fiction” (Read it HERE ). The meticulously documented article answers the questions: How old are these ladies and who was actually married to Rick Derringer? At the time of her 1975 performance Lisa Leonard Dalton was 19 years old. A California girl, she came to the attention of the filmmakers when she won the 1974 dance competition at Gazzarri’s, a popular Hollywood nightclub. For anyone with any remaining interest in Brewer, the answers to some of the questions that inevitably come up about her can be found in the British Newspaper Archives. (Click HERE to view an assortment of clippings).
Several music tracks have accompanied this 1975 video in its online life. In my original video below, I had edited into the video the 1965 hit version of “Hang On Sloopy.” I later regretted doing that: It was nearly impossible to get a good lip sync with the singer, because the two versions of the song were so different. But, the bigger issue was it created confusion. A number of online videos include the old 1965 song dubbed over the 1975 dance video. Part of the mistaken identity can be traced to viewers thinking the video was filmed ten years earlier than it actually was. In fact, the 1975 version of “Hang On Sloopy” that should go with the video was a reggae cover with steel drums and a marimba. The reggae cover of “Hang On Sloopy” came out on Rick Derringer’s 1975 album “Spring Fever” and at that time the “Sloopy” track was also, once again, released as a 45 RPM single.
In researching this project, I came across a family photo of Lisa Leonard Dalton dating back to 2010. I knew that her facial expression was familiar to me. Sure enough, her expression and appearance perfectly matched the “Sloopy Girl” dancer. Nobody needs facial recognition software to realize that even 35 years later, this is the same woman. To read the story of the search for “Sloopy Girl,” check out “Deconstructing a Myth: Sloopy Girl.” You can watch it by clicking HERE.
Editorial Update (Feb. 2022)
Lisa Leonard Dalton appeared in an on-camera interview in January 2022. It is the first in a series of several short video interviews. To watch “Up-Close & Personal in Tennessee” click HERE.
When the Deconstructing a Myth video was released in summer 2021 it went viral. Shortly afterwards, YouTube Channels and entertainment websites updated their information to reflect that Lisa Leonard Dalton is the authentic “Sloopy Girl.” The narrative has certainly changed. When entering Lisa Leonard Dalton’s name in a search engine, it’s readily apparent that she now has a strong online presence as the mysterious “Hang on Sloopy” dancer. To learn more about our discovery that Lisa Leonard Dalton is the Sloopy Girl, please click HERE.
Overwhelmingly, thousands of “Sloopy Girl” fans embraced the truth. They asked Lisa to share current photos and to record a cell phone video. On November 5, 2021, Lisa accommodated those requests. While attending a Lynyrd Skynyrd concert in Knoxville, two of Lisa’s friends took some pictures and she recorded a video greeting. Two of the new photos are included below. To watch Lisa Leonard Dalton’s new video, called November Night in Tennessee, please click HERE. And check out Lisa’s “Sloopy Girl” website at https://lisasloopygirl.com/
|
Jaime Tovar • September 8, 2021
Was great love the dancing Lisa Is fantastic look great.
Steven Smith • August 2, 2021
Steven….we have the answer as to her identity. And we are working on the story. I am in regular contact with Sloopy Girl. Her information removes any reasonable doubt as to the identity of the dancer. Hope to get it all out, including a video and an article, this month. Gary Burleigh Shannon, formerly KJR in Seattle, did an awesome job narrating the to be released video. We had hoped that if enough people knew we were trying to ID the girl that something would break. And after a year of looking it did. Before we release it all, we are verifying facts, editing and producing and that takes time.
Steven B • August 1, 2021
Steven, looking at the photos, the dancer was definitely NOT Liz Derringer. I can’t say if it was Liz Brewer, but there is a remarkable resemblance between her photos and those of the dancer.
Denilson Martins • July 23, 2021
Hi, this is from Brazil, my name is Denilson Martins.
The song was very successful here in a version called “pobre menina” (poor girl). Still in the 1960s. The singers of this version were called “Leno & Lilian”, and here it was number one on the charts. The 60’s version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsSvDt1izEQ
The same version already in this century: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mn8hZWzrZpY
I’m also quite curious to know who the sexy dancer in this video is, but I already have my bet…based on the photos, Lisa Dalton looks very similar to our goddess of beauty and swagger.
Steven Smith • July 23, 2021
Denilson…a team of us are working right now on getting the reveal out based on our findings. It will include a story here and a video as well. One of the voices will be the real Sloopy Girl….now in her mid-sixties. I am curious…far as I know…at this time the only Lisa Dalton photos that come up online are an actress named Lisa Loving Dalton. And that is not the same Lisa Dalton leaving comments on Sloopy videos. I contacted Lisa Loving Dalton months ago and she did not know what I was talking about. There is a mysterious and publicly unknown Lisa Dalton under the radar. I am certain there will be surprises, shocks and reverberations from this surprising reveal. We hope to get it all public in August but lots of fact checking involved and video production. Thanks for the comment from Brazil.
Steven Smith • July 2, 2021
Only Jason and I know what we got here. And we are proceeding carefully.
Steven Smith • July 2, 2021
As an FYI…this case is about to be closed. Puget Sound Media now has a positive ID on the dancer that also includes witnesses who knew her in 1975 and before. I am presently putting it all together…much like a prior post I did revealing the status of Greg Aust. This dancing girl video…posted at youtube by different people.. has been viewed online around 50 million plus times with thousands of comments. I do not want to reveal too much until it is complete…other than I will say millions of followers of the dancing girl video will be shocked with the outcome.
Steven Smith • June 9, 2021
Elle…I think I finally have a pretty good trail to the final answer….which is harder to come by than expected. The pieces are slowly coming together. Some of the comments here at PSM, when I was able to source them, are coming from actual family members of the three women it might be…Liz Agriss Derringer, Liz Brewer in the UK and Lisa Dalton. Yes….I now believe Lisa is a serious possibility and not somebody simply leaving comments at youtube.
Steven Smith • May 29, 2021
https://qzvx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PSM-Liz-Pix.jpg
The link above includes only a few of the photos I have. All of the upper pics are stills of the dancing girl from the Sloopy video. The second row down consists of Liz “Agriss” Derringer photos. She married Rick Derringer in Manhattan in 1969, marriage license 2226…so no arguing that it is Liz Brewer in the UK. Her maiden name was Agriss..different lady all together. Liz Agriss and Rick were married about 20 years, so she was his wife during the Sloopy shoot. Most of these shots were taken in reasonably close proximity to the Sloopy video. Note the photo at the far right in row 2 is Liz Agriss Derringer with Rick, after they had split, and it was taken in the last ten years or so.
Third row down includes various shots of Liz Brewer in the UK. The wedding shots were about 5 years before the Sloopy video. But these are fairly close proximity time wise. To bring home the point she is a Brit, the far right shot in the row is what Liz Brewer looks like now….standing with Boris Johnson. Liz Brewer never was married to Rick Derringer. She was married once only to John Rendall who did a documentary film called “A Lion named Christian”…about a cub he raised in London that was eventually introduced back into the wild in Africa. The couple divorced and she never married again.
The photo at the very bottom was sent to me by Liz Brewer in the UK when I asked her if she was the dancer. She was coy…wrote a message on the order of “not telling, but this photo was me in Portugal after I first left home…what do you think?”
I have more information about Rick’s wives, what happened when. but I have yet to put it all together. But all these photos should clarify that there are two different ladies named Liz. And when google and those commenting say it is Liz Brewer Derringer dancing…that is rubbish. If the dancer was Rick’s wife…then it had to be Liz Agriss Derringer. If it was Liz Brewer dancing then the dancer was not his wife at all…she was the Brit Liz Brewer who was not romantically tied to Rick. Different Liz! Since so many people online are interested in this story, I thought this information and these photos might lead to more informed speculation. Because it is way off and running wild now.
So what do all of you thousands of online detectives out there think? Is the dancer one of the two different ladies named Liz…or do we need to keep looking?
Robert Kilpatrick • June 2, 2021
The bottom picture is the dancer in the Sloopy video. No doubts in my mind whatsoever. The way she holds her mouth open in every pic you have is consistent with Sloopy’s mouth.
Elle • June 9, 2021
I for one appreciate all of your research and effort into this. I accept Liz Agriss Derringer from all the photos I have seen of her too. I wish that man that emailed me would come back with an answer but I don’t expect him to at this late date. Thanks again.
Steven Smith • May 29, 2021
Your observations are mine as well. She also has a fan base of two or three people…far as I can tell in one family…who promote her claims.
Steven Smith • May 29, 2021
Thanks (sarcastically) now I go from three potential dancers….Liz Derringer and Liz Brewer (two different women) and the ethereal Lisa Dalton to adding to the mix Grannie, Martin and Jason….so instead of limiting my suspects they just doubled,