In 2016, at 72, he died of pneumonia and other complications at Novato Community Hospital after suffering a debilitating cerebral hemorrhage the year before.Ĭourtesy of Alameda County FairBlue Öyster Cult brought its 50th anniversary tour to the Alameda County Fair in 2022.īloom remembers him as a musical visionary who was ahead of his time. In Pearlman’s IJ obituary, Brad Van Alstyne, chair of Dominican’s department of communications and media studies, praised him “as an integral part of music history, someone who only comes along once in a lifetime.”īlue Öyster Cult can also claim its place in music history, celebrating its 50th anniversary last year with three sold-out shows at Sony Hall in New York. He lived in Novato and guest lectured on rock and the music business at Dominican University of California in San Rafael. Proving that there is almost always a local angle to every story, Pearlman moved west for the latter part of his career, opening Alpha & Omega studio in San Rafael in 1991, recording Blue Öyster Cult and other bands. Originally called Soft White Underbelly, band members switched to Blue Öyster Cult in 1971 after a disastrous early gig at Fillmore East. Many of Blue Öyster Cult’s lyrics dealing with sci-fi and the occult came from him, as did the band’s names. I played it.’ So I’ll just leave it there.”īlue Öyster Cult wouldn’t exist, let alone enjoy the success it has had, selling millions of records, if it hadn’t been for a fascinating character named Sandy Pearlman, who produced “The Reaper” and was the band’s early mentor and manager. I played it.’ David Lucas, who co-produced the album, said, ‘You’re both wrong. Albert (Bouchard, the band’s former drummer) said, ‘Your memory’s faulty. I really thought I was the one who played it. “Being of a certain age, your memory isn’t what it used to be. “That’s a bone of contention,” Bloom says. They’ll take the stage Friday at the Marin County Fair. Photo by Joshua SudockFrom left, Blue Öyster Cult’s Eric Bloom, Richie Castellano and Richie Castellano perform in 2015. More important for its legacy, it was immortalized in popular culture by a famous “Saturday Night Live” sketch in which Christopher Walken plays a self-important record producer who, while recording the track with the band in the studio, insists on “more cowbell.” Will Ferrell hilariously obliges him. 405 on Rolling Stone’s top 500 songs of all time. One reason for any lack of familiarity may be that Blue Öyster Cult is an East Coast group that was formed by a bunch of college kids in 1967, the Summer of Love, but on New York’s Long Island, a continent away from the psychedelic rock scene that launched the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin and the rest of the San Francisco groups we know so well.īlue Öyster Cult didn’t become part of the national conversation until 1976, when the single “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” (now you remember) from their platinum-selling fourth album, “Agents of Fortune,” soared into the Top 20, becoming the band’s biggest hit. If you’re like me, though, beyond recognizing the name, you may be hard-pressed to recall much else about these classic rockers and may need a little refresher. Marin’s own head-banger heroes, Metallica, for example, have covered their songs. Serious metal heads of any age will be able to cite Blue Öyster Cult’s status as one of heavy metal’s most influential bands. Those of us of a certain vintage will almost surely remember Blue Öyster Cult, the hard rock band that headlines the opening night concert at the Marin County Fair.
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