Blue Cheer was an American Rock music band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009. Based in San Francisco, Blue Cheer played in a psychedelic rock blues rock or acid rock style. They are also credited as being some of the earliest pioneers of heavy metal, with their cover of "Summertime Blues" sometimes cited as the first in the genre. They have also been noted as influential in the development of genres as disparate as stoner rock, experimental rock,Dimery 2006 pg 140, " paving the way for everything from the Stooges to Zeppelin, from heavy metal to experimental rock." and grunge.
The band was managed by Allen "Gut" Terk, a former member of the Hells Angels. Early on, it was decided that the line-up should be trimmed down. It has been said that Blue Cheer decided to adopt a power trio configuration after seeing Jimi Hendrix perform at the Monterey Pop Festival.See Portrait of Vale Hamanaka/V. Vale ; Brautigan.net. The Who performed a live version of "Summertime Blues" at the same festival. Hamanaka and Whiting were asked to leave. Jerre Peterson did not want to remain in the group without them, so he departed as well, leaving Peterson, Stephens and Whaley as a trio.
Their first hit was a cover version of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" from their debut album Vincebus Eruptum (1968). The single peaked at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, their only such hit, and the album peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard 200 chart. In Canada, the song peaked at No. 3 on the RPM Magazine chart.
The "Summertime Blues" single was backed with Dickie Peterson's original song "Out Of Focus". Peterson also contributed to the album the eight-minute "Doctor Please" and "Second Time Around", which features Paul Whaley's frantic drum solo. Filling out the record, the band cranked out blues covers "Rock Me Baby" (by B.B. King) and "Parchman Farm" (Mose Allison, but retitled "Parchment Farm").
The group underwent several personnel changes, the first occurring after the 1968 release of Outsideinside after Leigh Stephens – who never used drugs – was asked to leave the band after criticizing his bandmates' behaviour. He was replaced by Randy Holden, formerly of Los Angeles garage rock band the Other Half. On 1969's New! Improved! there were different guitarists on side 1 and side 2 (Randy Holden and Bruce Stephens) due to Holden's unanticipated departure from the band. Following Holden's departure the band's line-up initially consisted of Dickie Peterson (bass), Tom Weisser (guitar), and Mitch Mitchell (drums), before Whaley returned and Bruce Stephens joined the band. Later, Ralph Burns Kellogg joined the band on keyboards.Both Stephens and Kellogg had previously worked together in The Emeralds, a well-known northern California backing band in the 1960s. The Emeralds had also toured with The The Coasters, The Olympics, The Larks, Bob & Earl, Chuck Berry, Junior Walker, Ray Peterson, and also opened shows for The Kinks, The Beach Boys, The Animals, Chad & Jeremy and Paul Revere & the Raiders, among others. By the time Stephens and Kellogg were asked to join Blue Cheer, both had co-founded Mint Tattoo, which had recorded one album engineered by Phil Ramone and produced by James William Guercio. While in Mint Tattoo, Stephens and Kellogg had opened shows for Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Ten Years After, James Cotton and Janis Joplin. Bruce Stephens later played with Pilot (not the same band that had a hit with "It's Magic"), one of Leigh Stephen's (no relation) post-Blue Cheer projects. One song from this period, "Fillmore Shuffle" was later recorded by Sammy Hagar on his second solo album, Sammy Hagar (1977). See Profile of Bruce Stephens ; Rearwindowmusic.com, via Cdbaby.com Blue Cheer's style now changed to a more commercial hard rock sound à la Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly. By the fourth album, Blue Cheer, Paul Whaley had left the band and had been replaced by Norman Mayell, and following the release of the fourth album Bruce Stephens also left the bandBruce Stephens continued in music, but with a much lower profile. In early 2009, he released Saturday Freedom (Rear Window Records), being a compilation of his compositions over the past three decades. "Rendezvous", a song co-written by Stephens, was included in The Cage, the 1982 album by Tygers of Pan Tang. Also in 1982, Stephens had released his first solo album, Watch That First Step, which featured supporting performances by Lonnie Turner, Procol Harum and Norton Buffalo, among others. Stephens has the distinction of being, at the age of sixteen, the youngest member in the history of the Musicians' Union of Sacramento, California. See Profile of Bruce Stephens ; Rearwindowmusic.com, via Cdbaby.com. and was succeeded by Gary Lee Yoder who helped complete the album.
According to Peterson, the group's lifestyle during this period caused problems with the music industry and press. Peterson said the group was outraged by the Vietnam War and society in general.
The new line-up of Peterson, Kellogg, Mayell and Yoder in 1970 saw the release of The Original Human Being, followed by 1971's Oh! Pleasant Hope. When the latter album failed to dent the sales charts, Blue Cheer temporarily split up in 1971.
In December 1974, Blue Cheer played a Christmas festival at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on December 22 alongside Van Halen, Judee Sill, The Coasters and Art Laboe Band, followed by a three-night run of appearances at The Whisky a Go Go from December 23 to December 25.
In 1975, Kim Fowley produced an album for Blue Cheer, with sometime Steppenwolf member Nick St. Nicholas co-producing. The lineup included the Peterson brothers on bass and guitar, along with ex-Hollywood Stars members Ruben De Fuentes on guitar and Terry Rae on drums. Although the album was never released, six tracks from this period were released on the Captain Trip Records album Live and Unreleased '68/'74 (1996).
Dickie Peterson left the band in 1975 with Nick St. Nicholas replacing him on bass/vocals, leaving the band with no original members for some shows. The band played Laguna Beach Winter Festival February 15 of that year.
In 1978, Dickie Peterson began rehearsing with Davis-based guitarist Tony Rainier, a younger brother of Peterson's high school friend (and sometime Blue Cheer soundman and bodyguard) Larry Rainier. Michael Fleck was auditioned as drummer. The reformed Blue Cheer recorded an album with Jim Keylor at Army Street Studios. The album was initially unreleased, but received an official release in 2012 by ShroomAngel Records as Blue Cheer 7. The band embarked on a US tour in 1978–1979 with setlists that featured tracks from the first two Blue Cheer albums, and then returned to a period of inactivity after the tour completed.
From 1989 to 1993, Blue Cheer toured mainly in Europe. During this time, they played with classic rock acts as well as then-up-and-coming bands: Mountain, Outlaws, Thunder, The Groundhogs, Ten Years After, Mucky Pup, Biohazard and others.
1989 saw the release of Blue Cheer's first official live album, Blitzkrieg over Nüremberg. This album was recorded during Blue Cheer's first European tour in decades.
1990 saw the release of the Highlights and Lowlives studio album, composed of blues-based heavy metal and one ballad. The album was co-produced by notable grunge producer Jack Endino and producer Roland Hofmann. The line-up was Peterson, Whaley on drums and MacDonald on guitars. Credits: Highlights and Lowlives; Deaddisc.com.
Blue Cheer followed up Highlights and Lowlives with the much heavier Dining with the Sharks. Duck MacDonald was replaced by German ex-MonstersA band that continues to remain active. See Monsters website . guitar player Dieter Saller in 1990. Also featured is a special guest appearance by The Groundhogs guitarist Tony McPhee. The album was co-produced by Roland Hofmann and Blue Cheer. Credits: Dining With The Sharks; Deaddisc.com. Gary Holland (ex-Dokken/Great White/Britton replaced Whaley on drums in 1993.
In the early 1990s, Peterson and Whaley re-located to Germany. In 1992, Peterson recorded his first solo album, Child of the Darkness, in Cologne with a band named "The Scrap Yard". The album appeared five years later in Japan on Captain Trip Records. After Peterson came back to the U.S. in 1994, Blue Cheer was dormant from 1994 to 1999.
In 2000, Blue Cheer was the subject of a tribute album, Blue Explosion – A Tribute to Blue Cheer, featuring such bands as Pentagram, Internal Void, Hogwash and Thumlock.
Peterson and Leigh Stephens were together once again in Blue Cheer with drummer Prairie Prince at the Chet Helms in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on October 29, 2005, and their lively performance drew old rockers like Paul Kantner and others from backstage to observe. They did some recordings in Virginia in Winter 2005 with Joe Hasselvander of Raven and Pentagram on drums, due to Paul Whaley choosing to remain in Germany. While Hasselvander played on the entire album, his contribution was reduced to drums on five songs, with Paul Whaley re-recording the drum parts on the balance of the album. This was because Whaley was set to rejoin the band and it was felt that he should contribute to the album, prior to touring. The resulting CD, What Doesn't Kill You..., released in 2007, features contributions from both Whaley and Hasselvander as a consequence. Duck MacDonald Autobiography at Bluecheer.us.
Blue Cheer's video for "Summertime Blues" made an appearance in 2005 documentary , where Geddy Lee of Rush referred to the group as one of the first heavy metal bands.
According to Randy Pratt, this report is not entirely accurate. Pratt provides uncited commentaryBy way of edits to the Blue Cheer Wikipedia page as "Whistleinthewind". as follows:
Blue Cheer was also widely recognized as the loudest band ever at the time when they emerged. Billy Altman reported that at a 1968 concert the band was "So loud, in fact, that within just a few songs, much of the crowd in the front orchestra section was fleeing."
Various artists in the grunge movement have paid homage to Blue Cheer, including Melvins vocalist Buzz Osborne and Mudhoney vocalist Mark Arm, who said; "Hearing Blue Cheer while was almost as important to me as hearing the Stooges for the first time the year before. When Mudhoney started up, Blue Cheer was definitely part of our blueprint.”
"Blue Cheer" was the name of a variety of LSD made by chemist and Grateful Dead patron Owsley Stanley, and the band was probably named after that, although the name existed earlier, as the name of a laundry detergent, after which the LSD variety itself was named.
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1974–1975 and 1978–1979 reunions
Further reconfigurations, relocation to Germany, second and third extended hiatus (1980s–1998)
The return of Blue Cheer (1999–2009)
Death of Peterson and disbandment (2009)
Dispute over ownership of band name
Legacy
Personnel
Members
Lineups
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Disbanded| valign=top
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Timeline
id:voc value:red legend:Vocals
id:g value:green legend:Guitars
id:key value:purple legend:Keyboards
id:b value:blue legend:Bass
id:dr value:orange legend:Drums
id:harm value:tan2 legend:Harmonica
id:alb value:black legend:Studio_releases
at:16/01/1968 layer:back
at:01/08/1968
at:01/03/1969
at:01/12/1969
at:01/09/1970
at:01/04/1971
at:01/09/1984
at:01/01/1990
at:01/01/1991
at:21/08/2007
width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,–4)
bar:Jere Whiting from:01/05/1967 till:01/09/1967 color:voc
bar:Jere Whiting from:01/05/1967 till:01/09/1967 color:harm width:3
bar:Leigh Stephens from:start till:01/07/1968 color:g
bar:Leigh Stephens from:01/04/2005 till:01/07/2005 color:g
bar:Jerre Peterson from:01/05/1967 till:01/09/1967 color:g
bar:Jerre Peterson from:01/07/1974 till:01/09/1975 color:g
bar:Randy Holden from:01/07/1968 till:01/04/1969 color:g
bar:Tom Weisser from:01/04/1969 till:01/07/1969 color:g
bar:Bruce Stephens from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970 color:g
bar:Bruce Stephens from:01/07/1969 till:01/07/1970 color:voc width:3
bar:Gary Lee Yoder from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1972 color:g
bar:Gary Lee Yoder from:01/07/1970 till:01/07/1972 color:voc width:3
bar:Ruben De Fuentes from:01/07/1974 till:01/09/1975 color:g
bar:Ruben De Fuentes from:01/09/1987 till:01/07/1988 color:g
bar:Tony Rainer from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 color:g
bar:Tony Rainer from:01/07/1984 till:01/09/1987 color:g
bar:Andrew "Duck" McDonald from:01/07/1988 till:01/09/1990 color:g
bar:Andrew "Duck" McDonald from:01/07/1999 till:01/04/2005 color:g
bar:Andrew "Duck" McDonald from:01/07/2005 till:end color:g
bar:Dieter Saller from:01/09/1990 till:01/07/1994 color:g
bar:Vale Yamanaka from:01/05/1967 till:01/09/1967 color:key
bar:Ralph Burns Kellogg from:01/10/1969 till:01/07/1972 color:key
bar:Ralph Burns Kellogg from:01/10/1969 till:01/07/1972 color:b width:3
bar:Dickie Peterson from:start till:01/07/1972 color:b
bar:Dickie Peterson from:start till:01/07/1972 color:voc width:3
bar:Dickie Peterson from:01/07/1974 till:01/05/1975 color:b
bar:Dickie Peterson from:01/07/1974 till:01/05/1975 color:voc width:3
bar:Dickie Peterson from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1994 color:b
bar:Dickie Peterson from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1994 color:voc width:3
bar:Dickie Peterson from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 color:b
bar:Dickie Peterson from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 color:voc width:3
bar:Dickie Peterson from:01/07/1999 till:end color:b
bar:Dickie Peterson from:01/07/1999 till:end color:voc width:3
bar:Nick St.Nicholas from:01/05/1975 till:01/09/1975 color:b
bar:Nick St.Nicholas from:01/05/1975 till:01/09/1975 color:voc width:3
bar:Eric Albronda from:start till:01/05/1967 color:dr
bar:Paul Whaley from:01/05/1967 till:01/04/1969 color:dr
bar:Paul Whaley from:01/07/1969 till:01/11/1969 color:dr
bar:Paul Whaley from:01/07/1984 till:01/07/1985 color:dr
bar:Paul Whaley from:01/05/1990 till:01/07/1993 color:dr
bar:Paul Whaley from:01/07/1999 till:01/04/2005 color:dr
bar:Paul Whaley from:01/10/2005 till:end color:dr
bar:Mitch Mitchell from:01/04/1969 till:01/07/1969 color:dr
bar:Norman Mayell from:01/11/1969 till:01/07/1972 color:dr
bar:Norman Mayell from:01/11/1969 till:01/07/1972 color:g width:3
bar:Terry Rae from:01/07/1974 till:01/09/1975 color:dr
bar:Mike Fleck from:01/07/1978 till:01/07/1979 color:dr
bar:Brent Harknett from:01/07/1985 till:01/05/1987 color:dr
bar:Billy Carmassi from:01/05/1987 till:01/09/1987 color:dr
bar:Eric Davis from:01/09/1987 till:01/07/1988 color:dr
bar:David Salce from:01/07/1988 till:01/05/1990 color:dr
bar:Gary Holland from:01/07/1993 till:01/07/1994 color:dr
bar:Prairie Prince from:01/04/2005 till:01/07/2005 color:dr
bar:Joe Hasselvander from:01/07/2005 till:01/10/2005 color:dr
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
Live
Other releases
See also
Book references
Other references
External links
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