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| Blue Oyster Cult |
Blue Öyster Cult (often abbreviated BÖC) is an American rock band
from Long Island,
New York,
best known for such classic rock songs as "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You",
and "Godzilla". Since the release of their self-titled debut
album in 1972, the band has sold over 24 million albums worldwide, including 7
million in the United States alone. The band's music videos,
especially "Burnin' for You", received heavy rotation on MTV when the music
television network premiered in 1981, cementing the band's contribution to the
development and success of the music video in modern pop culture.
Today, BÖC's music continues to be played on AOR-friendly radio stations as well as in
movies, television shows, and commercials, and even during sporting events.
Blue Öyster Cult's current lineup includes
long-time members Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals)
and Eric Bloom
(lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboard), as well as Jules Radino (drums,
percussion), Richie Castellano (keyboard, guitar, vocals),
and Rudy Sarzo
(bass guitar). History
The band originated as a group
called Soft White Underbelly (a
name the band would later occasionally use in the 1970s and 1980s to play small
club gigs around the U.S.) in 1967 in the vicinity of Stony Brook University on Long Island, New York, at the prompting of
critic and manager Sandy Pearlman consisting of guitarist Buck Dharma,
drummer Albert Bouchard, keyboardist Allen Lanier,
singer Les Braunstein and bassist Andrew Winters. Pearlman wanted the group to
be the American answer to Black Sabbath. Pearlman was very important to the band—he was
able to get them gigs and
recording contracts with Elektra and Columbia,
and he provided them with his poetry
for use as lyrics for many of their songs, including "Astronomy".
Writer Richard Meltzer also provided the band with lyrics from their
early days up through their most recent studio album. The band recorded an
album's worth of material for Elektra Records
in 1968. When Braunstein departed in early 1969, Elektra shelved the album.
Eric Bloom
(formerly the band's acoustic engineer) replaced Braunstein, and the band
continued to perform as Soft White Underbelly. However, a bad review of a 1969
Fillmore East show caused Pearlman to change the name of the band - first to Oaxaca, then to the
Stalk-Forrest Group. The band recorded yet another album's worth of material
for Elektra, but only one single ("What Is Quicksand?" b/w
"Arthur Comics") was released (and only in a promo edition of 300
copies) on Elektra Records. (This album was eventually released, with
additional outtakes, by Rhino Handmade Records as St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings
in 2001). After a few more temporary band names, including the Santos Sisters,
the band settled on Blue Öyster Cult in 1971. (see "band
name" section below for its origin).
New York producer and jingle
writer David Lucas saw the band perform and took them
into his Warehouse Recording Studio and produced a demo, with which Pearlman
was able to get the renamed band another audition with Columbia Records.
Clive Davis
liked what he heard, and signed the band to the label. The first album was
subsequently recorded on eight track at Lucas' studio. Winters would leave the
band and be replaced by Bouchard's brother, Joe Bouchard.
Black and white years
Their debut album Blue Öyster Cult was released in January 1972, with a black and white cover designed by artist Bill Gawlik. The album featured the songs "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll", "Stairway to the Stars," and "Then Came the Last Days of May". The album sold well, and Blue Öyster Cult toured with artists such as The Byrds, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Alice Cooper.
Their next album Tyranny and Mutation, released in 1973,
was written while the band was on tour for their first LP. It contained songs
such as "The Red and The Black" (an ode to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and
basically a sped-up rewrite of "I'm On The Lamb", from the debut
album), "Hot Rails To Hell", and "Baby Ice Dog", the first
of the band's many collaborations with Patti Smith.
The band's third album, Secret Treaties
(1974) received positive reviews, featuring songs such as "Career of
Evil" (also co-written by Patti Smith), "Dominance and
Submission" and "Astronomy". As a result of constant
touring, the band was now capable of headlining arenas.
Commercial success
The band's first live album On Your Feet or on Your Knees
(1975) achieved greater success and went gold, and was followed up by their
first platinum album, Agents of Fortune
(1976). It contained the hit single "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", which reached
number 12 on the Billboard charts and has become a classic of the genre. Other
major songs on the album were "(This Ain't) The Summer of Love,"
"E.T.I. (Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence)," and "The Revenge of
Vera Gemini." For the tour, the band added lasers to their light show, for
which they became known.
Their next album, Spectres (1977), had the FM radio hit
"Godzilla", but its sales were not as strong as those for
the previous album.
The band then released another
live album, Some Enchanted Evening
(1978). Though it was intended as another double-live album in the vein of On Your Feet Or On Your Knees,
Columbia insisted that it be edited down to single-album length. It became Blue
Öyster Cult's most popular album, eventually selling over 2 million copies.
It was followed by the studio
album Mirrors (1979). For Mirrors, instead of working with
previous producers Pearlman (who instead went on to manage Black Sabbath)
and Krugman, Blue Öyster Cult chose Tom Werman,
who had worked with acts such as Cheap Trick
and Ted Nugent.
However, the resulting album sales were disappointing.
Pearlman's association with
Black Sabbath was tapped for the next Blue Öyster Cult album, which resulted in
Sabbath's Heaven and Hell
producer Martin Birch being hired for the next Blue Öyster Cult record.
The result was positive, with Cultösaurus Erectus (1980) receiving
good reviews. The album went to number 12 in the UK, but did not do as well in
the U.S. One of the notable songs on the album was "Black Blade,"
which was written by Bloom with lyrics by sci-fi and fantasy author Michael Moorcock.
The song is a kind of retelling of Moorcock's epic Elric of Melniboné-Saga. The band also did a
co-headlining tour with Black Sabbath in support of the album, calling the tour
"Black and Blue".
Birch produced the band's next
album as well, Fire of Unknown Origin (1981). The
biggest hit on this album was the Top 40 hit "Burnin' for You",
a song Dharma had written with a Richard Meltzer
lyric. He had intended to use it on his 1982 solo album, Flat Out, but he was convinced to
use it on the Blue Öyster Cult album instead. The album went platinum, and
contained other fan favorites such as "Joan Crawford" (inspired by
the book and film Mommie Dearest) and "Veteran of the Psychic Wars", another
song co-written by Moorcock. Several of the songs had been written for the
animated film Heavy Metal, but only "Veteran of
the Psychic Wars" (which, ironically, was not written for Heavy Metal) was actually used in the
movie. After this album, Albert Bouchard had a falling out with the others and left the
band, and Rick Downey (formerly the band's lighting designer) replaced him on
drums.
Decline and fall
After leaving the band, Albert
Bouchard spent five years working on a solo album based on Sandy Pearlman's
poem "Imaginos." Blue
Öyster Cult released a live album Extraterrestrial Live, then went to the
studio for the next album, with Bruce Fairbairn
as producer, the 1983 release The Revölution by Night. Its
highest-charting single was "Shooting Shark," co-written by Patti
Smith, which reached number 83 on the charts. "Shooting Shark" also
featured Randy Jackson on bass. After Revölution, Rick Downey left, leaving Blue Öyster Cult without a
drummer.
The band re-united with Albert
Bouchard for a California tour in February 1985, infamously known as the
"Albert Returns" Tour. This arrangement was only temporary, and
caused more tensions between the band and Bouchard, as he had thought he would
be staying on permanently, which was not the case. The band had only intended
to use him as a last-minute fill-in until another drummer could come on board,
which resulted in Bouchard's leaving after the tour. Allen Lanier also quit the
band shortly thereafter, leaving the band without a keyboardist.
Blue Öyster Cult hired drummer
Jimmy Wilcox and keyboardist Tommy Zvoncheck to finish the Club Ninja
album, which was poorly received, with only "Dancing In The Ruins" --
one of several songs on the record written entirely by outside
songwriters—enjoying minimal success on radio and MTV. The highlight of the
album was "Perfect Water" written by Dharma and Jim Carroll
(noted author of The Basketball Diaries).
The band toured in Germany,
after which bassist Joe Bouchard left, leaving only two original members, Eric
Bloom and Donald Roeser—some referred to the band as "Two Öyster
Cult" during this period. Jon Rogers was hired to replace Joe, and this
version of the band finished out the 1986 tour. After the tour wound up that year,
the band took a temporary break from recording and touring, its future
uncertain.
Imaginos and continued touring
Blue Öyster Cult
performing at the Sweden Rock Festival, 2008.
When Blue Öyster Cult received
an offer to tour in Greece in the early summer of 1987, the band sprang back
into action. The new line-up contained founding members Eric Bloom,
Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser
and Allen Lanier,
with Jon Rogers returning on bass, and Ron Riddle on drums. Columbia Records
was not interested in releasing the Imaginos
project as an Albert Bouchard solo album, so Pearlman arranged for it to be
released in 1988 by Columbia as a Blue Öyster Cult album, with some new vocal
and instrumental overdubs from Bloom and Roeser. The album did not sell very
well (despite a positive review in Rolling Stone magazine), and though Blue
Öyster Cult did tour to promote Imaginos,
promotion by the label was virtually non-existent. When Columbia Records'
parent company CBS Records was purchased by Sony, Blue Öyster Cult
were dropped from the label.
The band spent the next 11
years touring without releasing an album, though they did contribute two new
songs to the Bad Channels
movie soundtrack, released in 1992. Riddle quit in 1991 and was followed by a
series of other drummers including Chuck Burgi (1991–1992, 1992–1995,
1996–1997), John Miceli (1992, 1995, 2008), John O'Reilly (1995–1996) and Bobby
Rondinelli (1997–2004, 2008). Jules Radino joined in 2004, and is the band's
current drummer. Rogers left in 1995, and was replaced by Danny Miranda. Miranda
left in 2004 and ended up as the bassist for Queen + Paul Rodgers - and Richie Castellano
replaced him.
Blue Öyster Cult
live in 2006
Allen Lanier
retired from live performances in 2007 after not appearing with the band since
late 2006. Castellano has switched to rhythm guitar and keyboards (Castellano
also filled in on lead guitar and vocals for an ailing Buck Dharma
in two shows in 2005), and the band has employed three "guest
bassists" on a rotating basis: Danny Miranda, Jon Rogers
and Rudy Sarzo
(ex-Quiet Riot,
ex-Ozzy Osbourne,
ex-Whitesnake,
and ex-Dio). The
band's website lists Sarzo as an official member of the band.
In December 2008, BÖC management announced that
Roeser had fallen down a staircase in his Florida
home and injured his shoulder. As a result, several tour dates in December 2008
and January 2009 were canceled or postponed. The band returned to touring by
the fall of 2009.CMC/Sanctuary years
In the late 1990s, Blue Öyster
Cult secured a recording contract with CMC Records (later purchased by Sanctuary Records),
and continued to tour frequently. Two studio albums were released, 1998's Heaven Forbid
and Curse of the Hidden Mirror from 2001.
Both albums featured songs co-written by cyberpunk/horror novelist John Shirley.
Another live record, A Long Day's Night and DVD (same title),
followed in 2002, both drawn from one concert in Chicago.
Blue Öyster Cult have since had
a falling out with Sanctuary Records, and currently have no record
deal.
Sony Legacy remasters
In 2001, Sony/Columbia's
reissue arm, Legacy Records issued expanded versions of the first four Blue
Öyster Cult studio albums, including some previously unreleased demos and
outtakes from album sessions, live recordings (from the Live 72 EP), and
post-St. Cecilia tunes from the Stalk-Forrest Group era.
In February 2007, the Sony
Legacy remaster series continued, releasing expanded versions of studio album Spectres and live album Some Enchanted Evening,
leaving the first live album On Your Feet Or On Your Knees still
without the treatment. However, the liner notes for the second round of
remasters differ from the photos and in-depth analysis of the first four
releases, and did not include lyrics as the earlier releases had.
Band name
The name "Blue Öyster
Cult" came from a 1960s poem written by manager Sandy Pearlman.
It was part of his "Imaginos" poetry, later used more extensively in
their 1988 album Imaginos.
Pearlman had also come up with the band's earlier name, "Soft White
Underbelly", from a phrase used by Winston Churchill
in describing Italy
during World War II.
In Pearlman's poetry, the "Blue Oyster Cult" was a group of aliens
who had assembled to secretly guide Earth's history. "Initially, the band
was not happy with the name, but settled for it, and went to work preparing to
record their first release..."[7]
In a 1976 interview published
in the U.K. music magazine Zig Zag,
Pearlman told the story explaining the origin of the band's name was an anagram
of 'Cully Stout Beer'.
The addition of the umlaut was suggested by Allen Lanier,
but rock critic Richard Meltzer claims to have suggested it just after
Pearlman came up with the name, reportedly "because of the Wagnerian
aspect of Metal."[8]
"From a linguistic viewpoint, this might be regarded as a diaeresis,
rather than as an umlaut," Other bands later copied the practice of using
umlauts or diacritic marks in their own band logos, such as Motörhead,
Mötley Crüe,
Queensrÿche
and Spın̈al Tap.
The hook-and-cross logo was
designed by Bill Gawlik in January 1972,
and appears on all of the band's albums. In Greek mythology, "...the
hook-and-cross symbol is that of Kronos
(Cronus), the king of the Titans and father of Zeus...and is the
alchemical symbol for lead (a heavy metal), one of the heaviest of metals."
Sandy Pearlman considered this, combined with the heavy and distorted guitar
sound of the band and decided the description "heavy metal"
would be aptly applied to Blue Öyster Cult's musical sound. In Roman mythology,
the hook-and-cross symbol represents Saturn, the God of agriculture and fertility.
The hook and cross symbol also resembles the sickle, which is
associated with both Kronos (Cronus) and Saturn (both the planet and the Roman
God). The
logo's "...metaphysical, alchemical and mythological connotations,
combined with its similarity to some religious symbols gave it a flair of
decadence and mystery...".
The band was billed, for the
only time, as The Blue Öyster
Cult on the cover and label of their second album, Tyranny And Mutation.
Band members
Current members
- Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser: lead guitar, vocals (1967–present)
- Eric Bloom: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards (1969–present)
- Jules Radino: drums, percussion (2004–present)
- Richie Castellano: keyboards, guitar, vocals (2004–present)
- Rudy Sarzo: bass guitar, vocals (2008–present)
Additional touring
bassists
- Jon Rogers: bass guitar, vocals (2008–present; official member: 1986-1995)
- Danny Miranda: bass guitar, vocals (2008–present; official member: 1995-2004)
Lead vocal duties
While Eric Bloom has always been the band's official lead singer,
other members of the band have contributed lead vocals throughout its history.
- Donald (Buck Dharma) Roeser
"Then Came the Last Days of May", "Before the Kiss, a
Redcap", "Teen Archer", "(Don't Fear) The Reaper",
"Godzilla", "Golden Age of Leather", "I Love the
Night", "In Thee", "Mirrors", "The Vigil",
"Lonely Teardrops", "Deadline", "Burnin' for
You", "Don't Turn Your Back", "Shooting Shark",
"Veins", "Dragon Lady", "Dancin' in the Ruins",
"Perfect Water", "Spy in the House of the Night",
"Madness to the Method", "Astronomy (Imaginos version)",
"Les Invisibles", "Magna of Illusion", "Harvest
Moon", "X-Ray Eyes", "Damaged", "Real
World", "Live for Me", "Still Burnin'", "Dance on
Stilts", "Pocket", "Here Comes That Feeling",
"Stone of Love" and "Night Flyer" (Out-take from
"Spectres")
- Joe Bouchard
"Screams", "Hot Rails to Hell", "Wings
Wetted Down", "Morning Final", "Celestial The Queen",
"Nosferatu", "Moon Crazy", "Fallen Angel",
"Vengeance (The Pact)", "Light Years of Love", "When
the War Comes" (duet with Donald Roeser), "Boorman The Chaffeur"
(outtake from "Secret Treaties")
- Albert Bouchard
"You're Not the One (I Was Looking For)", "Cities on
Flame with Rock and Roll", "Dominance and Submission", "The
Revenge of Vera Gemini", "Sinful Love", "Debbie
Denise", "Death Valley Nights", "Cagey Cretins" (duet
with Eric Bloom), "Fireworks", "Hungry Boys" (duet with Joe
Bouchard), "Blue Öyster Cult" (duet with Donald Roeser),
"Sally" (Unreleased Outtake), "Fire Of Unknown Origin"
(Unreleased Outtake)
- Allen Lanier
Year
|
Album
|
||
1972
|
172
|
–
|
|
1973
|
122
|
–
|
|
1974
|
53
|
–
|
|
1976
|
29
|
26
|
|
1977
|
43
|
60
|
|
1979
|
44
|
46
|
|
1980
|
34
|
12
|
|
1981
|
24
|
29
|
|
1983
|
93
|
95
|
|
1985
|
63
|
-
|
|
1988
|
122
|
-
|
|
1994
|
-
|
-
|
|
1998
|
-
|
-
|
|
2001
|
-
|
-
|
"True Confessions", "Dance The
Night Away" (demo), "Please Hold" (out-take)
- Jon Rogers
"Imaginos"
- Joey Cerisano
"The Siege and Investiture of Baron Von Frankenstein's Castle
at Weisseria" (additional vocal part)
Album certifications
- Secret Treaties: RIAA (USA) Gold 500,000+
- On Your Feet or on Your Knees: RIAA (USA) Gold 500,000+
- Agents of Fortune: RIAA (USA) Platinum 1,000,000+; CRIA (Canada) Gold 50,000+
- Spectres: RIAA (USA) Gold 500,000+
- Some Enchanted Evening: RIAA (USA) Platinum 1,000,000+
- Fire of Unknown Origin: RIAA (USA) Gold 500,000+; CRIA (Canada) Gold 50,000+
Discography
Albums
Live albums
Year
|
Album
|
||
1975
|
22
|
–
|
|
1978
|
44
|
18
|
|
1982
|
29
|
39
|
|
1992
|
-
|
-
|
|
1994
|
-
|
-
|
|
2002
|
-
|
-
|
Compilation albums
- Career of Evil: The Metal Years (1987)
- On Flame with Rock and Roll (1990)
- Workshop of the Telescopes (2-disc set) (1995)
- Don't Fear the Reaper: The Best of Blue Öyster Cult (2000)
- St. Cecilia: The Elektra Recordings (2001)
- Cult Classics (2001) (different from the 1994 studio album Cult Classic)
- The Essential Blue Öyster Cult (2003)
Charted singles
Year
|
Album
|
|||
1976
|
14
|
-
|
16
|
|
1979
|
"In Thee"
|
74
|
-
|
-
|
1981
|
40
|
1
|
-
|
|
1981
|
"Joan Crawford"
|
-
|
49
|
-
|
1982
|
-
|
24
|
-
|
|
1983
|
"Take Me Away"
|
-
|
11
|
-
|
1983
|
"Shooting
Shark"
|
83
|
16
|
97
|
1986
|
"Dancin' in the Ruins"
|
-
|
9
|
-
|
1988
|
-
|
12
|
-
|
Oficial website www.blueoystercult.com
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