Dorothy Sloop

Dorothy Sloop (September 26, 1913 – July 28, 1998), also known as Dorothy Sloop Heflick, was an American jazz pianist who performed with female jazz bands. A native of Ohio, she went by the nickname "Sloopy"[1] and was the inspiration behind the song "Hang On Sloopy" by the McCoys. The No. 1 single became the official rock song of Ohio in 1985 and is used by the Ohio State University marching band.[2]

She was born into a Roman Catholic family in Steubenville, Ohio. As a young girl, she learned piano and performed in local theaters. She spent a year at Ohio University before moving to New York City and forming a jazz quartet, the Southland Rhythm Girls, with singer and clarinetist Yvonne "Dixie" Fasnacht.[2] They moved to New Orleans, Fasnacht's hometown, and played in a bar owned and run by Fasnacht, Dixie's Bar of Music on Bourbon Street. In 1957, they recorded the album Dixie and Sloopy.[3]

Sloop married and went back to Steubenville to get her college degree. For thirty years, she taught special education in St. Petersburg, Florida. She continued to perform on jazz piano into her 70s.[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ How well do you know 'Sloopy'? at the Wayback Machine (archived June 15, 2008), Boomer Magazine.
  2. 1 2 3 Joy, Kevin (26 September 2013). "Mystery surrounds Steubenville native who inspired 'Hang On Sloopy'". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
  3. ↑ Tucker, Sherrie (2004). "Rocking the Cradle of Jazz: Women who changed the face of music". Ms. Magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
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