Blue Oyster Cult
Formed in 1969 in Long Island, New York, and signed three years later to Columbia Records, Blue Oyster Cult (originally known as Soft White Underbelly) initially featured Eric Bloom (vocals and guitar), Albert Bouchard (drums), Joe Bouchard (bass), Allen Lanier (keyboards) and Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (lead guitar).
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Blue Oyster Cult
Formed in 1969 in Long Island, New York, and signed three years later to Columbia Records, Blue Oyster Cult (originally known as Soft White Underbelly) initially featured Eric Bloom (vocals and guitar), Albert Bouchard (drums), Joe Bouchard (bass), Allen Lanier (keyboards) and Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser (lead guitar).
Years of extensive touring as Alice Cooper’s opening act added to their high decibel style, and built them a slow but sure audience until 1976, when the band had their big commercial breakthrough with Agents of Fortune, featuring the hit single, “Don’t Fear The Reaper.” The album also featured vocals and songwriting from Patti Smith who was then Lanier’s girlfriend. Their dark imagery is clear in their logo, the ancient symbol of Cronos, the Titan god who ate his son, the Grim Reaper. Several good live albums have managed to capture the band’s heavy metal sound including: Some Enchanted Evening, On Your Feet Or On Your Knees and Extraterrestrial Live.
A lot of the success Blue Oyster Cult has received over the years belongs to their longtime manager and occasional songwriter, Sandy Pearlman. Supposedly, he named the band when he was inspired by reading a recipe for Blue Point
oysters. The early 80s found the band coheadlining with Black Sabbath on what was labeled the “Black And Blue Tour.” A feature length film was made of their Nassau Long Island show, and released in 1981.
