Online Encyclopedia
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult is a psychedelic/heavy metal band probably best known for their 1976 single "Don't Fear The Reaper" from Agents Of Fortune, 1981 single "Burning For You" from Fire of Unknown Origin , and appearing on the "Heavy Metal" movie soundtrack with "Veteran of the Psychic Wars" which also had lyrics penned by Michael Moorcock. The members of the band began to come together in the mid 1960s on Long Island, New York as a band called "Soft White Underbelly", at the prompting of critic Sandy Pearlman . The band changed its name to the Stalk Forrest Group in 1968, then to the Blue Oyster Cult in 1970 (the umlaut was added later). They became a successful heavy metal band during the 1970s. They are still playing in the 21st century.
The members of the band are:
- Eric Bloom
- Buck Dharma (stage name of Donald Roeser)
- Allen Lanier
- Danny Miranda (has left the band for Queen tribute show in Vegas, awaiting permanent replacement)
- Bobby Rondinelli (has given notice and will be preforming final show on Sept. 26, 2004)
The umlaut on the "O" in their name started the trend for using the "heavy metal umlaut" in band names. It was suggested to Pearlman by rock critic Richard Meltzer. [1]
During a sketch on the April 8, 2000 episode of Saturday Night Live, host Christopher Walken played a music producer who repeatedly requests "more cowbell" during the recording of Blue Öyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper."
Discography
(no singles, no samplers, US release dates)- Blue Öyster Cult - May 1972
- Tyranny & Mutation - March 1973
- Secret Treaties - April 1974
- On Your Feet Or On Your Knees (live) - March 1975
- Agents Of Fortune - June 1976
- Spectres - November 1977
- Some Enchanted Evening (live) - Spetember 1978
- Mirrors - July 1979
- Cultösaurus Erectus - July 1980
- Fire Of Unknown Origin - July 1981
- Extraterrestrial Live (live) - May 1982
- The Revölution By Night - November 1983
- Club Ninja - December 1985
- Imaginos - August 1988
- Heaven Forbid - March 1998
- Curse Of The Hidden Mirror - June 2001
- A Long Day's Night (live) - September 2002 (also on DVD, released October 2002)