The writer behind the song speaks up.
WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan is a legendary name in the wrestling business and in pop culture. Among the many characteristics that have factored in to making the Hulk Hogan character a household name, one of those characteristics is his 'Real American' theme song. The song was written by Grammy-award winning producer and entertainer Rick Derringer.
The theme song was originally written for the WWF tag team the 'U.S. Express' but the team departed from WWF shortly after the album release which 'Real American' was featured on. The stars began to align for Hogan and his character as he soon adapted the persona of the American Hero and the 'Real American' theme. Rick Derringer, who wrote the lyrics for the song spoke with 'Mel Magazine' for the site's piece on 'Real American' and during their discussion Derringer shared that he feels that the song should have been utilized far more than just in a wrestling setting.
"Hulk used it everywhere. Every time he went in the ring he used it as his theme song. Every time he did a television appearance he played the song. He created videos. In fact, when we made the original music video with Hulk, he was playing the bass guitar — he’s a bass player. I showed him, 'This is kinda the bass part we play,' and I remember him saying, 'Hey, that’s not the bass part you play, come on, show me the real bass part.' So I showed him what we really played." Derringer said. "[But in] the video we see Hulk playing that little Fender Stratocaster guitar, and it looks really small on him. We were really happy about all that. But still somewhere in the back of my mind I thought, 'Man, this song should be somehow more legit than just a wrestler’s theme song'. We had wanted to write this fabulous patriotic song for all Americans. We saw it somehow on a different level than a wrestler’s theme song, so in some ways I was a little let down."
Speaking of Hulk Hogan, his name was recently in headlines as he was being tied into some legal trouble. For more details on that, click here.
