Blue Cheer

[philipdalton]

Blue Cheer were an American band quite popular during the late sixties and early seventies. They were one of an endless list of bands (which incidentally includes The Beatles and The Kinks) from that era who are believed to have "invented" heavy metal. However, they never had a hit record in the UK and may not actually have released anything over here. Who amongst us has heard of them?

[sixtyten]

I have as one of them has similar name to me

[beccabear67]

I know of them, they briefly had Randy Holden in the group at one time who I've read a bit about, but mostly known for a heavy cover of Eddie Cochrane's Summertime Blues. Outside of Holden's involvement there might be interest in previous guitar-slinger Leigh Stephens. Blue Cheer might be grouped with either Vanilla Fudge (Sludge as detractors might have called them) who did a similar heavy though organ-based treatment for The Supremes number You Keep Me Hanging On, or perhaps more positively Iron Butterfly (of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida 'fame').

[Cartimand]

Only have one of their songs on my iPod playlist - Peace of Mind, from 1969.
It's an epic track at 7 minutes long, with quite a hippy vibe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eNWuXRAfNw

[Flash Gordon]

Yes, I first heard of them on an episode of Casey Kasem's Rock and Roll Goldmine playing Summertime Blues. They looked like Nirvana and had a really heavy sound, very much like grunge music decades later, so they were definitely ahead of their time. If I remember, they took their name from a brand of acid (this was the sixties).

[Flash Gordon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=as1N...nnel=Beat-Club

[philipdalton]

I've learned as I've grown older that the term "heavy metal" is a highly subjective one. There is some confusion as to exactly which groups slot into this genre, and also what the origins of it are. Some have thought "Summertime Blues" by Blue Cheer to the original heavy metal song that started the ball rolling, others would credit "Helter Skelter" by the Beatles as being the first such song. Still others would argue that the entire genre is actually derived from The Kinks' second single "You Really Got Me".

[Flash Gordon]

Yes, if I remember, that Kinks sound came from an accidental cut in a guitar amp speaker. It gave it a raspy distorted sound and they liked it so ran with it. Most bands would have just replaced the amp, but that may have given birth to distortion as a cool thing.