Blue Cheer Artistfacts

1967-2009
Dickie PetersonBass, vocals
Paul WhaleyDrums
Leigh StephensGuitar1967-1968, 2005
Ralph Burns KelloggKeyboards1969-1972
Blue Cheer's breakthrough single, "Summertime Blues," was a tune co-written by Eddie Cochran and his manager Jerry Capehart. The song has also been covered by countless other artists over the years, including the Beach Boys, the Who, T. Rex, Rush, and Alan Jackson. The Blue Cheer version made #14 in the US.
While speaking to Get Ready To Rock, Dickie Peterson explained how Blue Cheer came up with their unique sound. "We were very young men and wanted to explore music, we added more and more amps. A lotta people loved us, a lotta people didn't. Our music, you either like us or you don't. We're a rock n' roll band."
Leigh Stephens was named the #98 "Greatest Guitarist of All-Time" by Rolling Stone in 2003.
Kurt Cobain was the proud owner of a T-shirt that had the Vincebus Eruptum album cover on it, as seen in the 2008 book, Cobain Unseen.
When his website was active, Leigh Stephens shared some memories about the Vincebus Eruptum recording sessions. "These sessions were really strange for a couple of reasons. We had never recorded. The engineer was an off-duty cop and he had never recorded anything like us. It only took a few sessions then it was mixed and they mixed out the drums. Mercury asked us if we wanted to re-record the album, but we were too busy chasing groupies to be bothered. If I could do one thing over that would be at the top of the list."
On their 1989 self-titled release, Mudhoney covered Blue Cheer's "Magnolia Caboose Babyfinger," but under a slightly different title: "Magnolia Caboose Babys--t."
Pentagram/Raven drummer Joe Hasselvander was briefly a member of Blue Cheer, playing on their 2007 release, What Doesn't Kill You...
The producer Ethan James played keyboards for Blue Cheer from 1969 to 1972 under his real name, Ralph Burns Kellogg. He is best known for producing Minutemen's seminal album Double Nickels on the Dime.

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