This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (August 2007)

Blue Cheer is a San Francisco-based rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s, who helped to pioneer heavy metal music. According to Tim Hills in his book, The Many Lives of the Crystal Ballroom, "Blue Cheer was the epitome of San Francisco psychedelia. The band was named for a brand of LSD and promoted by renowned LSD chemist and former Grateful Dead patron, Owsley Stanley. The band's sound, however, was something of a departure from the music that had been coming out of the Bay Area: Blue Cheer's three musicians played heavy blues-rock, and played it very loud. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... San Francisco redirects here. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Acid rock is a form of psychedelic music and was the first form of it to achieve popular acclaim. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs; especially LSD.[1] by using lyrics that describe dreams and refer to drug use using bizarre sounds created by altering the instruments and vocals with electronic effects such as heavy distortion... Blues Rock or Blues-rock is a fusion genre of music which combines elements of the blues with rock and roll. ... “Heavy metal” redirects here. ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... PolyGram was the name from 1972 of the major label recording company started by Philips as a holding company for its music interests in 1945. ... Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics giant Philips. ... The Other Half was a band in the sixties from San Fransisco. ... Dickie Peterson is the bassist and lead singer for Blue Cheer, he also recorded two solo albums:Child of the Darkness and Tramp. ... This article, image, template or category should belong in one or more categories. ... Blue Cheer was a San Francisco-based heavy metal group of the late 1960s. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Year 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Heavy metal is a form of rock music characterized by aggressive, driving rhythms and highly amplified distorted guitars, generally with grandiose lyrics and virtuosic instrumentation. ... For other places with the same name, see Crystal Ballroom. ... This article is about the band. ... This article is about the LSD chemist and Grateful Dead soundman. ...

Original personnel were singer/bassist Dickie Peterson, guitarist Leigh Stephens, and drummer Paul Whaley. Their first hit was a cover version of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" from their debut album Vincebus Eruptum (1968). The single peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, their only such hit, and the album peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 chart. For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... Deon Rexroat of Anberlin. ... Dickie Peterson is the bassist and lead singer for Blue Cheer, he also recorded two solo albums:Child of the Darkness and Tramp. ... For other uses, see Guitar (disambiguation). ... Blue Cheer was a San Francisco-based heavy metal group of the late 1960s. ... For the comic book character, see Drummer (comics). ... In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... Ray Edward Eddie Cochran (October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American Rock and Roll musician and an important influence on popular music during the late 1950s and early 1960s. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Vincebus Eruptum is a psychedelic album by proto-heavy metal band Blue Cheer, released in January of 1968 (see 1968 in music). ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... “Hot 100” redirects here. ... The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. ...

The group's sound was hard to categorise, but was definitely blues-based, psychedelic, and loud. The group underwent several personnel changes after the 1968 release of Outsideinside, and then yet more changes during and after 1969's New! Improved! Blue Cheer (different guitarists on side 1 and 2). After Leigh Stephens was replaced by Randy Holden, formerly of Los Angeles garage rock band The Other Half, in 1968, Blue Cheer's style changed to a more commercial hard rock sound à la Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly. For the fourth album Blue Cheer, Holden, who had left during the third album, was subsequently replaced by Bruce Stephens. Stephens later quit and was replaced by Gary Lee Yoder, who helped complete the album. “Blues music” redirects here. ... For psychedelics, see psychedelic drug. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Randy Holden is a guitarist best known for his involvement with the West Coast proto-metal group Blue Cheer on their third album, New! Improved! Blue Cheer (1969). ... Flag Seal Nickname: City of Angels Location Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates , Government State County California Los Angeles County Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D) Geographical characteristics Area     City 1,290. ... Garage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. ... The Other Half was a band in the sixties from San Fransisco. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that The Sparrows be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Iron Butterfly (disambiguation). ... Gary Lee Yoder is a musician who was part of several 60s San Francisco psychedelic rock bands, including Kak, Oxford Circle, and Blue Cheer. ...

The new line up of Peterson, Ralph Burn Kellogg, Norman Mayell, and Yoder in 1970 saw the release of The Original Human Being and then 1971's Oh! Pleasant Hope. When Oh! Pleasant Hope failed to dent the sales charts, Blue Cheer temporarily split up. Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ...

From 1988 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, The Yardbirds, Danzig, Mucky Pup, Biohazard and others. Mountain is an American rock band, popular in the early 1970s. ... An outlaw is a person living outside the law. ... Thunder are an English hard rock band, who originally formed in 1989 when Terraplane broke up, leaving lead singer Danny Bowes and guitarist/main songwriter Luke Morley to form a new band, namely Thunder. ... The Groundhogswere a British blues band founded in late 1963, which toured extensively in the 1960s and continued in existence sporadically to the present day. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Not to be confused with Yard Birds. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... The band was started in 1985-86 by Dan Nastasi (guitar), John Milnes (drums), Chris Milnes (vocals), and friend Scott LePage (bass). ... Biohazard was a band originally based out of Brooklyn, New York. ...

On the Nibelung Records label they released several albums. 1989 saw the release of Blue Cheer's first official live album, Blitzkrieg over Nüremberg. This album was recorded on Blue Cheer's first European tour in decades. The drum chair was then taken by Dave Salce; bass by Dickie Peterson; guitar by Duck McDonald. This article, image, template or category should belong in one or more categories. ...

1990 saw the release of Highlights & Lowlives studio album, comprised of blues-based hard rock, sometimes reminiscent of Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones, and several ballads. The album was produced by notable grunge producer Jack Endino. The line-up was Peterson on bass and vocals, Paul Whaley on drums, and Duck McDonald on guitars. Jack Endino is a music producer based in Seattle, USA. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands such as Mudhoney and Soundgarden, but is probably best known for producing the first Nirvana album, Bleach, released in 1989. ...

Blue Cheer followed up "Highlights" with the much heavier Dining with the Sharks. McDonald was replaced by German ex-Monsters guitar player Dieter Saller. Peterson was on bass and vocals again, and Paul Whaley was again on drums. Also featured is a special guest appearance by Groundhogs guitarist Tony McPhee. The album was produced by Roland Hofmann.

In the early 1990s, Peterson and Whaley re-located to Germany. Whaley still lives there while Peterson has since moved back to California. Guitar work has been handled by Duck MacDonald since that time. Blue Cheer are still active as of 2007. Their last release was What Doesn't Kill You..., 2007, and they are currently touring. Peterson reunited with Leigh Stephens and performed with drummer Prairie Prince at the Chet Helms Memorial Tribal Stomp in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in Fall of 2005, and their lively performance drew old rockers like Paul Kantner and others from backstage to observe. They finished recording an album in Virginia in Winter 2005 with Joe Hasselvander of Raven and Pentagram on drums. Paul Whaley has since returned to the band as drummer. For the band, see 1990s (band). ... 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. ... Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Raven is a band associated with the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal, that formed in 1975. ... Pentagram are a long-running American heavy metal band from Virginia, most famous as performers of Sabbathesque doom metal. ...

Discography

• Vincebus Eruptum (1968)
• Outsideinside (1968)
• New! Improved! Blue Cheer (1969)
• Blue Cheer (1969)
• The Original Human Being (1970)
• Oh! Pleasant Hope (1971)
• The Beast Is...Back (1984)
• Blitzkrieg Over Nuremberg (1989)
• Highlights & Low Lives (1990)
• Dining With the Sharks (1991)
• Live in Japan (2003)
• Bootleg: Live - Hamburg - London (2005)
• What Doesn't Kill You... (August of 2007)

Vincebus Eruptum is a psychedelic album by proto-heavy metal band Blue Cheer, released in January of 1968 (see 1968 in music). ... Live in Japan can refer to a number of albums and DVDs: Live in Japan – 21st Century Schizoid Band album Live in Japan – Beck, Bogert & Appice album Live in Japan – John Coltrane album Live in Japan – Do as Infinity album Live in Japan: Spring Tour 1973 – Donovan album Live in...

External links

• Blue Cheer's record label
• Band's Website
• Leigh Stevens Official Website
• [1]