Blue Cheer

Blue Cheer was an American band out of San Francisco formed in 1967. They are considered one of the first Heavy Metal bands in existence. Led by Bassist Dickie Peterson the band's entire existence, they are another band that never had a consistent line up. However their most famous incarnation that was active at the time of the release of their debut, Vincebus Eruptum, included Drummer Paul Whaley and Guitarist Leigh Stephens. 
Paul Whaley didn't hit his drums like a wimp either, he's one of the hardest hitting drummers you'll ever hear. Rumor has it that they played so loud you could hear them playing in the studio from outside or near one of their shows. One person reportedly walked into the studio and the band caused reverberations before they started playing. The band supposedly took it's name from a brand of LSD that was made by chemist and Grateful Dead patron Owsley Stanley. Is that not 60's as shit or what?
Their first few albums, Vincebus Eruptum, Outsideinside, and New! Improved!, are considered seminal in the development of Heavy Metal. However, by the time of 1970's The Original Human being, the band started taking on a less heavy sound and even making Country Blues songs, kind of like how The Rolling Stones make country songs for some reason even though Rock n Roll bands have no business in writing country. One song off that album, Babaji (Twilight Raga), an Instrumental, contains Sitar and Synthesizers, a far cry from a band that is hailed as the inventors of Heavy Metal.
The band was sporadically active throughout the years, releasing their final album in 2007 before Dickie Peterson's death in 2009 caused the band to disband forever. Ten years later, Paul Whaley died, leaving Leigh Stephens as the surviving original member.
Category:Bands
Category:1960s
Category:Criminally Underrated Bands
Category:Bands that never had a Consistent Lineup