"(Don't Fear) The Reaper" is a song by the hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult from their 1976 album, Agents of Fortune. It was written and sung by the band's lead guitarist, Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, and is built around Dharma's guitar riff that opens the song and reappears throughout. The edited single version was Blue Öyster Cult's biggest US hit, reaching #12 on the American charts in November 1976.^[1] The song remains a staple tune on classic rock radio playlists. In 1997, Mojo magazine ranked "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" at #80 in the "100 Greatest Singles of All Time". Rolling Stone magazine voted the song "Best Rock Single" of 1976 and in 2004 the magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" ranked it at #397.^[2] In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Sandy Pearlman was the original producer, manager and a songwriter for the Blue Öyster Cult. ... Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed in New York in 1967 and still active in 2007. ... Hard Rock redirects here. ... Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed in New York in 1967 and still active in 2007. ... See also: 1970s in music. ... Agents of Fortune is a 1976 (see 1976 in music) hard rock album by Blue Öyster Cult. ... Donald Buck Dharma Roeser (born November 12, 1947, in Long Island, New York) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of Blue Öyster Cult since the groups formation in 1967. ... Riff is also an alternate spelling of Rif, a region of Morocco. ... For the magazine, see Classic Rock (magazine). ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... Mojo is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the magazine. ... In 2004, Rolling Stone listed the 500 Greatest Songs of All-Time as polled by musicians, critics, and industry figures. ...

The reaper is a reference to the Grim Reaper, a traditional personification of death in European-based folklore. Lyrics such as "Romeo and Juliet are together in eternity" have led many listeners to interpret the song to be about a murder-suicide pact, but Dharma says the song is about eternal love:^[3] Grim Reaper redirects here. ... Romeo and Juliet in the famous balcony scene by Ford Madox Brown For other uses, see Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation). ... A murder suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more other persons immediately before, or while killing himself. ...

The shortened single version of the song omits the guitar solo from 2:30 - 3:25. The 2001 remaster of Agents of Fortune includes Buck Dharma's original 4-track demo of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... The Tascam 85 16B analogue tape recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1 inch (2. ...

Selected pop culture references

Saturday Night Live — "More cowbell"

Main article: More cowbell

The song was the focus of a 2000 Saturday Night Live sketch in which guest host Christopher Walken played "famed producer Bruce Dickinson", who repeatedly demands "Needs more cowbell!" during the recording of the song. Though a producer named Bruce Dickinson (no relation to the more famous Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden) is in charge of the production and remastering of BÖC's back catalogue, he actually had no connection with the 1976 production of Agents of Fortune. The sketch also includes a completely fictional member of the band, "Gene Frenkle" (played by Will Ferrell), whose sole function is playing the cowbell. In reality, the song does include a faint cowbell, which is best heard during the opening and other instrumental segments. Bruce Dickinson (Christopher Walken), right, gold record producer and self-proclaimed cock of the walk, speaks to Gene Frenkle and Blue Öyster Cult. ... This article is about the American television series. ... Christopher Walken (born March 31, 1943) is an Academy Award-winning American film and theatre actor. ... For the record producer in the Saturday Night Live skit, see More cowbell. ... This article is about the band. ... John William Will Ferrell (born July 16, 1967[1]) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated American comedian, actor and writer who first established himself as a cast member of Saturday Night Live, and has since gone on to a successful film career. ... The cowbell is a percussion instrument. ...

Other television shows

• Grounded for Life – "Don't Fear the Reefer" (2002)
• Smallville – "Precipice" (2003)
• Veronica Mars - Pilot (2004)
• The Simpsons – "Don't Fear the Roofer" (2005)
• Supernatural – "Faith" (2006)
• Yu-Gi-Oh! GX – "Don't Fear the Reaper" (2007)
• That 70s Show - Halloween Special
• Six Feet Under-It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
• The Stand - Theme for first episode

Grounded for Life is an American television sitcom. ... Smallville is an American television series created by writer/producers Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, and was initially broadcast by The WB. After its fifth season, the WB and UPN merged to form The CW, which is the current broadcaster for the show in the United States. ... Season two of Smallville, an American television series, began airing on September 24, 2002. ... This article is about the Veronica Mars television series. ... Pilot is episode 1 of season 1 of the television show Veronica Mars. ... Simpsons redirects here. ... Dont Fear the Roofer is the sixteenth episode of the sixteenth season of The Simpsons. ... This article is about the US TV series. ... Faith is episode twelve of the first season of the television series Supernatural. ... This article is about the Yu-Gi-Oh! GX anime. ... That 70s Show logo That 70s Show is a Fox Network television sitcom centered around the lives of a group of teenagers living in the fictional suburb of Point Place, near Green Bay, Wisconsin, during the late 1970s. ... For the death metal band, see Six Feet Under (band). ... The Stand is a 1994 television miniseries based on the novel The Stand by Stephen King. ...

Films & DVDs

• Halloween (1978)
• Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
• Halloween (2007)
• Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)
• The Stoned Age (1994)
• Larry The Cable Guy(2006)
• Scream (1996)
• The Frighteners (1996) – cover version by The Mutton Birds
• The Complete Masterworks DVD by Tenacious D (2003)
• The Stand - opening scene
• I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry(2007) - Where Larry says that it is Chuck's favourite song.

Halloween (film) redirects here. ... Halloween is a reimagining of the 1978 film of the same name. ... Bill and Teds Bogus Journey is a 1991 American comedy science fiction film, the sequel to Bill & Teds Excellent Adventure. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... Scream can refer to several topics: Look up scream in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For the Matt Helm spy novel by Donald Hamilton, see The Frighteners (novel). ... The Mutton Birds are a band from New Zealand formed in 1991 by Don McGlashan, Ross Burge, and David Long. ... The Complete Masterworks is a two-DVD set by comedy rockers Tenacious D, containing live material from a show recorded at Brixton Academy and more. ... DVD (also known as Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is a popular optical disc storage media format. ... This article is about the band. ... The Stand is a 1994 television miniseries based on the novel The Stand by Stephen King. ...

Books

• The Stand by Stephen King – portion of lyrics at beginning of novel, as well as the beginning of the movie based on it
• Gone For Good by Harlan Coben (2002) – song serves as part of the main plot
• Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
• The Carthage Chronicles by Marcus Mastin (2005) - In 2005, a novel of the same name and loosely based on the song was released, written by Marcus Mastin (sometimes known as Marcus J. Mastin). The story takes place in upstate New York and is a sequel to Mr. Mastin's other 'Carthage Chronicles' novel "Don't Pay the Ferryman". This book picks up five years later from the Ferryman story and chronicles the mysterious fires that are plaguing the town, as well as the appearance of an ominous Grim Reaper who has been prowling the streets. Like the Ferryman story, this novel has the same tone as a Hardy Boys adventure, yet darker in nature, as two buddies (Dave "Bucky" Morgan and Roger Fasick) join together to halt the destructive fires and discover the Reaper's true identity.

The Stand is a post-apocalyptic Horror/Science Fiction novel by Stephen King originally published in 1978. ... For other persons named Stephen King, see Stephen King (disambiguation). ... Harlan Coben, 2006 Harlan Coben (born January 4, 1962) is an American, Jewish author of mystery novels. ... This article is about the novels. ... Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948) is a British fantasy and science fiction author, best known for his Discworld series. ... Marcus J. Mastin (born August 20, 1975 in Carthage, NY) is an American author, whose books include the thriller Dont Pay the Ferryman (based on the 1982 song by Chris DeBurgh) and its sequel Dont Fear the Reaper (named, likewise, for Dont Fear the Reaper by Blue...

Computer and video games

• Ripper (1996)
• True Crime: New York City (2005)
• Prey (2006) - Played during the alien invasion in the beginning.
• Guild Wars Nightfall – item upgrade titled "Don't Fear the Reaper"
• Guild Wars Factions – a quest called "More Cowbell" involves blue oysters
• Guitar Hero – Grim Ripper in-game description begins, "Do not fear the Ripper"
• Guitar Hero II – Scythe in-game description begins, "On second thought, maybe you should fear the Reaper."
• Rock Band - Playable song in game.
• World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade - A quest titled "Needs more cowbell" is found in the netherstorm region of the game.

Ripper is a 1996 adventure computer game developed by Take-Two Interactive, and released for Windows-based personal computers. ... Prey is an as of yet unreleased video game being developed by Human Head Studios and produced by 3D Realms, using a modified version of the Doom 3 engine. ... Guild Wars Nightfall is a fantasy Competitive/Co-operative Online RolePlaying Game (CORPG) and the third stand-alone campaign in the Guild Wars computer game series developed by ArenaNet. ... Guild Wars Factions is a computer game released in 2006 by ArenaNet and is the first stand-alone campaign expanding on Prophecies, the original Guild Wars game. ... This article is about the 2005 video game. ... Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. ... Rock Band is an upcoming music video game under development by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games, and to be distributed by Electronic Arts Partners scheduled for a North American release during the 2007 holiday season. ...

Selected cover versions

Music sample:

Blue Öyster Cult - "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" Image File history File links Blue_Öyster_Cult_-_(Don't_Fear)_The_Reaper. ...

21 seconds (of 3:46)

Problems listening to the file? See media help.

• The Goo Goo Dolls (1987) – Goo Goo Dolls album
• Clint Ruin and Lydia Lunch (1991) – "Don't Fear the Reaper 12" EP"
• Thanatos (1993) – This Endless Night Inside album; Projekt Records
• Apollo 440 (1994) – single on Millennium Fever album
• Gus (1996) - covered for the Scream soundtrack
• HIM (1997) – Greatest Love Songs Vol. 666
• Too Hip For The Room (with Buck Dharma) (1998) – medley with "Fire Of Unknown Origin"
• Jec (2001) - Titled "We can be like They Are"
• Unto Ashes (2003) – empty into white album
• Elliott Smith – unreleased version recorded live
• The Beautiful South (2004) – Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs album
• Wolf (2004) – Evil Star album
• Wilco (2004) – unreleased version live
• Nick Cave and Enya (2004) - unreleased cover version
• Snuff (2005) – comedic cover on Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other double CD
• Heaven 17 (2005) – BeforeAfter album
• Caesars (2005) – track on the Six Feet Under, Vol. 2: Everything Ends soundtrack album
• Scooter (2007) – sampled in 'Behind the Cow' single
• The Alice Band (2002) – CD Single (Instant Karma Records)

The Goo Goo Dolls are an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York by John Rzeznik and Robby Takac. ... Goo Goo Dolls is the first album by the Goo Goo Dolls. ... J.G. Thirlwell James George Thirlwell (born January 29, 1960), aka Clint Ruin, aka Frank Want, aka Foetus, is a vocalist, composer and producer. ... Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Koch on June 2, 1959 in Rochester, New York) is an American singer, poet, writer, and actress. ... Dont Fear the Reaper, the second EP from the duo of Clint Ruin (a. ... Thanatos was darkwave band whose recordings are distributed by Projekt Records of Los Angeles. ... Projekt is a Brooklyn, New York based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ethereal, darkwave, ambient, shoegazer, dream-pop and dark cabaret created by Sam Rosenthal in 1983. ... Apollo 440 (alternately known as Apollo Four Forty or @440) are an English musical band formed in 1990 in Liverpool by brothers Trevor and Howard Gray with fellow Liverpudlians Noko and James Gardner, although Gardner left after the recording of the first album. ... Millennium Fever is the debut album by electronic group Apollo 440. ... Gus Black (formerly known simply as Gus) is an American singer-songwriter from Los Angeles. ... Scream is a 1996 horror film, directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson. ... This article refers to the Finnish band. ... Greatest Lovesongs Vol. ... Donald Buck Dharma Roeser (born November 12, 1947, in Long Island, New York) is an American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being a member of Blue Öyster Cult since the groups formation in 1967. ... JEC may refer to: Jonsson Engineering Center, a building at RPI. Jorhat Engineering College, a small Indian engineering school. ... Musical ensemble Unto Ashes, based in New York City, incorporates medieval, neofolk, neo-classical, and sometimes black metal. ... For the self-titled album, see Elliott Smith (album). ... The Beautiful South were an English pop group formed at the end of the 1980s by former members of Hull group The Housemartins - Paul Heaton and Dave Hemingway. ... Golddiggas, Headnodders and Pholk Songs is a covers album by The Beautiful South released in 2004 (see 2004 in music). ... Wolf is a Swedish heavy metal band. ... This article is about the music group. ... Nicholas Edward Cave (born 22 September 1957) is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional actor. ... For the letter Ñ pronounced Enye, see Ñ. Enya (born Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin[2] on 17 May 1961), sometimes presented in the media as Enya Brennan, is an Irish singer and songwriter. ... Snuff are a British band formed in 1986 that have a range of styles, yet a distinctive sound. ... Heaven 17 are an English synthpop band originating in Sheffield in the early 1980s. ... The Caesars redirects here. ... Music sample: Scooter are a successful German dance band, who have sold over 12 million records and have earned 60 gold and platinum awards. ...

Chart performances

• 12 (USA Hot 100)

“Hot 100” redirects here. ...

References

This article is about the magazine. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the magazine. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Don't Fear the Reaper – IMDB search results