Dorothy Sloop (September 26, 1913 – July 28, 1998), was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist who performed with jazz bands. A native of Ohio, her nickname was Sloopy,, ''Boomer Magazine''. and she was likely the inspiration behind the song "

Hang On Sloopy "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 ...

", written by

Wes Farrell Wesley Donald Farrell (December 21, 1939 – February 29, 1996) was an American musician, songwriter and record producer, who was most active in the 1960s and 1970s. Career Farrell was born in New York, United States. Farrell's catalogue incl ...

and

Bert Berns Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece ...

, and best-known from the version recorded by the rock band

The McCoys The McCoys were a rock music, rock group formed in Fort Recovery, Ohio, United States, in 1962. They are best known for their 1965 hit single "Hang On Sloopy". Originally named Rick and the Raiders, they changed their name to "The McCoys" from ...

. In 1985, it became the official rock song of Ohio and is used by the

Ohio State University marching band The Ohio State University Marching Band (OSUMB) is a university marching band named for and a part of Ohio State University. The band, nicknamed The Best Damn Band in the Land (TBDBITL) (pronounced ), performs at football games and other events ...

This_Week_in_New_Orleans_Dec_4_1948_-_Dixie%27s_Bar_of_Music_-_Dixie_and_Sloop

Early life

Sloop was born into a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

family in

Steubenville, Ohio Steubenville ( ) is a city in Jefferson County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh, it had a population of 18,161 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Weirton–Steubenville m ...

. She learned piano as a youth and began performing in local theaters as young as age six, including a concert with another Steubenville native,

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

. She studied for a year at

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

Career

Sloop left college and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

where she formed a jazz quartet, the Southland Rhythm Girls, with singer and clarinetist Yvonne "Dixie" Fasnacht. They moved to Fasnacht's hometown

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and played in Dixie's Bar of Music, a bar on

Bourbon Street Bourbon Street (, ) is a historic street in the heart of the French Quarter of New Orleans. Extending twelve blocks from Canal Street to Esplanade Avenue, Bourbon Street is famous for its many bars and strip clubs. Tourist numbers have b ...

owned and run by Fasnacht. In 1957, they recorded the album ''Dixie and Sloopy''. Sloop returned to Steubenville, where she earned her college degree and later a master's degree. For 30 years, she taught

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. She continued to perform on jazz piano into her 70s.

Personal life

Sloop was married to Joe Boudreaux. They moved to Steubenville, then divorced. Their daughter Jane Heflick was given a different surname, the maiden name of one of Dorothy's grandmothers. Dorothy Sloop died at age 84 in 1998.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sloop, Dorothy 1913 births 1998 deaths American women jazz pianists American jazz pianists People from Steubenville, Ohio 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American women pianists Jazz musicians from Ohio