Blue Cheer

The hard rock outfit Blue Cheer earned their reputation as being "louder than god" more thoroughly than any contemporaries from their time. Frequently labeled the first heavy metal band, the group delivered undeniable sonic force on the 1968 releases Vincebus Eruptum and Outsideinside through raw, blues-rooted material defined by crushing force and a massive, unyielding guitar tone that spurred countless acts to crank their volume and generate walls of sound. A smoother style surfaced on the conventionally blues-oriented Blue Cheer from 1969 and the folk-tinged Oh! Pleasant Hope in 1971, yet following their 1985 reunion on The Beast Is Back the trio reclaimed their proto-metal hard rock origins and maintained that direction through the remainder of their run, which concluded with What Doesn't Kill You in 2007.

Bassist and lead vocalist Dickie Peterson established Blue Cheer in 1966 after prior experience with the Davis, California-based Andrew Staples & The Oxford Circle. Upon moving to San Francisco he sought to assemble an electric blues ensemble and brought in guitarist Leigh Stephens along with drummer Eric Albronda. When Albronda departed, Peterson recruited his former Oxford Circle bandmate Paul Whaley to fill the drum chair, though Albronda would later serve as producer on multiple Blue Cheer albums. The lineup briefly grew to a sextet through the addition of guitarist Jerre Peterson (Dickie's brother), vocalist and harmonica player Jere Whiting, and keyboardist Vale Hamanaka. After witnessing the Jimi Hendrix Experience live, however, Peterson embraced the power of a stripped-down guitar-bass-drums trio and dismissed the extra members. Vale Hamanaka would subsequently launch the influential punk fanzine Search & Destroy under the name V. Vale. The band adopted the name Blue Cheer from a well-known LSD formulation created by celebrated San Francisco acid chemist Augustus Owsley Stanley, who briefly supported the group financially, and they entered the rising West Coast psychedelic ballroom scene. Their heavily amplified, guitar-centric sound drew immediate attention, leading to a Phillips Records contract just six months after their first performance.

Blue Cheer's initial Phillips single, a hard rock take on Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues," unexpectedly succeeded upon its late-1967 release, reaching number 11 on the Top 100 Singles chart and number three in Canada. Their debut album Vincebus Eruptum arrived in January 1968, peaking at number 11 on the Top 200 albums chart and establishing the trio as a major topic of discussion on the West Coast rock circuit. Not all observers embraced their intense approach; Steve Allen introduced them on his television talk show in 1968 by declaring, "It's Blue Cheer! Run for your life!" While Vincebus Eruptum remained on the charts the group recorded their follow-up Outsideinside, released in August 1968. Due to the band's extreme stage volume and extensive amplifier setup, portions of the album were captured outdoors because they proved too loud for conventional studio environments.

Outsideinside failed to match the commercial performance of the debut, and by the close of 1968 Leigh Stephens exited Blue Cheer, reportedly unable to endure the ear-splitting levels any longer. Randy Holden, previously of the Fender IV and the Other Half, stepped in as replacement. Holden left midway through the sessions for the 1969 album New! Improved! Blue Cheer, prompting the group to expand into a quartet with guitarist Bruce Stephens and keyboardist Ralph Burns Kellogg. Holden later gained cult status via his 1970 solo release Population II. New! Improved! Blue Cheer presented one side featuring Holden and another with Stephens and Kellogg; the latter pair also appeared on the fourth album, 1969's Blue Cheer, which shifted toward a standard boogie-blues direction. By then Paul Whaley had left, with Norman Mayell assuming drumming duties and leaving Peterson as the sole remaining original member. Gary Lee Yoder, an Oxford Circle alumnus alongside Peterson, contributed songwriting to two tracks on Blue Cheer and joined full-time as guitarist for 1970's The Original Human Being after Bruce Stephens departed. The 1971 release Oh! Pleasant Hope adopted a more roots-oriented sound with folk and country elements and represented the first occasion since Outsideinside that Blue Cheer retained the same lineup across consecutive albums. Dickie Peterson later acknowledged his struggle with hard-drug dependence during this period, during which he handled lead vocals on only three songs. Following the album's modest reception Blue Cheer disbanded.

A short-lived 1974 reunion for live performances featured guitarists Jerre Peterson and Ruben De Fuentes with drummer Terry Rae. Dickie Peterson exited in 1975, after which Nick St. Nicholas, known from a later Steppenwolf lineup, briefly took over on bass before that configuration dissolved by year's end. Peterson relaunched Blue Cheer in 1978 with guitarist Tony Rainier and drummer Mike Fleck. Original drummer Paul Whaley rejoined in 1984, and the Peterson/Rainier/Whaley lineup recorded The Beast Is Back in 1985—their first studio album since Oh! Pleasant Hope—issued by Megaforce Records. Renewed interest prompted Rhino Records to release the 1986 compilation Louder Than God: The Best of Blue Cheer, the first American collection drawn from their Phillips recordings. Mercury, which controlled the Phillips masters, issued its own anthology Good Times Are So Hard to Find four years later. Also in 1990 Blue Cheer delivered the new studio album Highlights and Lowlives, featuring Peterson, Whaley, and guitarist Andrew "Duck" McDonald and produced by Seattle engineer Jack Endino, previously associated with Nirvana, Mudhoney, and Soundgarden. Multiple Seattle grunge acts would cite Blue Cheer's initial two albums as influential, and Mudhoney composed and recorded the Randy Holden tribute "Holden," later included on the March to Fuzz collection.

German guitarist Dieter Saller replaced McDonald on the 1991 album Dining with the Sharks after Peterson and Whaley had moved to Germany in the early 1990s, yet McDonald soon returned. The Peterson/Whaley/McDonald configuration became Blue Cheer's longest-lasting lineup, maintaining an active touring schedule and issuing the 2007 studio album What Doesn't Kill You. As the group experienced fresh recognition from doom and stoner metal audiences, they continued performing for both longtime and new fans until Dickie Peterson's death from prostate cancer on October 12, 2009. Days afterward McDonald posted on the Blue Cheer website: "Blue Cheer is done. Out of respect for Dickie, Blue Cheer (will) never become a viable touring band again." Even after Peterson's passing, enthusiasm for the band endured. The previously unreleased 1978 album 7, recorded with Peterson, Whaley, and Tony Rainier, appeared in 2012 via ShroomAngel Records, while BeatRocket Records issued The '67 Demos in 2018, comprising lo-fi recordings made before the Phillips signing.