Formed
1967 in Long Island, New York
Eric Bloom
Net Worth: $8 million
American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist, guitar and keyboard/synthesizer player for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult.
Buck Dharma
Net Worth: $9 million
American guitarist and songwriter, best known for being the sole constant member of Blue Öyster Cult since the group’s formation in 1967.
Beginnings of Blue Oyster Cult
When he encouraged a group of students from his alma institution, State University of New York at Stony Brook, to establish a band, Sandy Pearlman was working as a music critic for Crawdaddy! magazine. He later took on the role of the band’s manager. He gave them the name Soft White Underbelly (a term he admired from a Winston Churchill speech), arranged for them to play live, signed them to record deals, and even wrote some of their lyrics.
Pearlman quickly changed their name to Oaxaca, then to Stalk-Forest Group, then to Santos Sisters after one of the band’s live performances in 1969 received a poor review. The moniker Blue Oyster Cult was chosen by the band in 1970.
BOC Succeeds in the Traditional Way
Success for the band took work. Before taking on the role of lead singer, Eric Bloom served as BOC’s soundman, and the group continuously improved its studio recording methods.
In the 1970s, they performed more than 200 live gigs annually while on nonstop tour. They were one of the first bands to include laser light shows into live concerts, but they were also among the first to abandon them due to the hassle and expense of transporting the necessary equipment.
Ups and Downs of Blue Oyster Cult
They had a lot of personnel changes during the 1980s and 1990s, especially with the drummers and bassists. As Black Sabbath’s manager, Pearlman departed.
“We wanted to be known for who we were rather than becoming the American Black Sabbath that Sandy wanted by the late ’70s, according to Bloom. Exactly what? We might have evolved into an A-band rather than a B-band if we had chosen that course of action. Led Zeppelin and the Stones are examples of A-bands. However, we disobeyed it.”
BOC in the twenty-first century
The band members briefly split up in the 1980s, but other than that, they have worked pretty much nonstop. The nucleus of the current BOC, which still performs 80 to 100 live gigs year, is made up of original members Bloom, Dharma, and Lanier. More than 4,000 of the band’s performances have been captured by fans.
BOC is still focusing on touring in the absence of a record label. The band’s 17 studio and live albums have been progressively being released by their former company, Columbia, in enlarged, enhanced versions.
Origin of the Name:
Blue Oyster Cult came from a poem written by Sandy Pearlman, the band’s original manager. Soft White Underbelly, Oaxaca, Stalk-Forrest Group, Santos Sisters
Influenced By:
Black Sabbath, Moody Blues, Deep Purple, Byrds
Incluence On:
Spinal Tap, The Dictators, RadioBirdman
Original BOC Members:
Eric Bloom – vocals, guitar, keyboards
Buck Dharma (Donald Roeser) – lead guitar, vocals
Allen Lanier – rhythm guitar, keyboards
Joe Bouchard – bass
Al Bouchard – drums
Other Members:
Les Braunstein – vocals – Soft White Underbelly
Chuck Burgi – drums
Richie Castellano – bass
Rick Downey – drums
John Miceli – drums
Danny Miranda – bass
John O’Reilly – drums
Al Pitrelli – guitar
Thommy Price – drums
Jules Radino – drums
Ron Riddle – drums
Bobby Rondinelli – drums
Jon Rogers – bass
Greg Smith – bass
Kasim Sultan – keyboards
Andrew Winters – bass – Soft White Underbelly
Tommy Zvonchek – keyboards
Current Members:
Eric Bloom, Buck Dharma, Allen Lanier, Richie Castellano, Jules Radino
First Album:
Blue Oyster Cult – 1972
Most Recent Album:
The Symbol Remains – 2020
Signature Songs
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
“Burnin’ For You”
“Godzilla”
“Astronomy”
Essential album:
Agents of Fortune
BOC’s fourth studio album — and its first gold album — released in 1976, contains several of the songs for which they are best known, and which are still featured in their live performances. In the tour promoting this album, the band became one of the first to introduce laser light effects into their stage shows.
