The group's sound was hard to categorize, but was definitely blues-based, psychedelic, and very loud. The band has been subsequently acclaimed as an influence on garage rock, punk rock, heavy metal, and grunge. Julian Cope has written, "In 1968, nothing but nothing in America and Britain sounded as brutal as Blue Cheer except for The Velvet Underground."
The group underwent several personnel changes after the 1968 release of Outsideinside, and then through yet more changes during and after 1969's New! Improved! Blue Cheer (different guitarists on side 1 and 2). After Leigh Stephens was replaced by Randy Holden, formerly of Los Angeles garage rock band The Other Half, in 1968, Blue Cheer's style changed to a more commercial hard rock sound à la Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly. For the fourth album Blue Cheer, Holden, who had left during the third album, was subsequently replaced by Bruce Stephens. Stephens later quit and was replaced by Gary Lee Yoder, who helped complete the album.
The new line up of Peterson, Ralph Burns Kellogg, Norman Mayell, and Yoder in 1970 saw the release of The Original Human Being and then 1971's Oh! Pleasant Hope. When Oh! Pleasant Hope failed to dent the sales charts, Blue Cheer temporarily split up.
From 1988 to 1993, Blue Cheer toured mainly in Europe. During this time, they played with classic rock acts as well as then-up-and-coming bands: Mountain, Outlaws, Thunder, Groundhogs, Ten Years After, Yardbirds, Danzig, Mucky Pup, Biohazard and others.
On the Nibelung Records label they released several albums. 1989 saw the release of Blue Cheer's first official live album, Blitzkrieg over Nüremberg. This album was recorded on Blue Cheer's first European tour in decades. The drum chair was then taken by Dave Salce; bass by Dickie Peterson; guitar by Duck McDonald.
1990 saw the release of Highlights & Lowlives studio album, comprised of blues-based hard rock, sometimes reminiscent of Aerosmith and the Rolling Stones, and several ballads. The album was produced by notable grunge producer Jack Endino. The line-up was Peterson on bass and vocals, Paul Whaley on drums, and Duck McDonald on guitars.
Blue Cheer followed up "Highlights" with the much heavier Dining with the Sharks. McDonald was replaced by German ex-Monsters guitar player Dieter Saller. Peterson was on bass and vocals again, and Paul Whaley was again on drums. Also featured is a special guest appearance by Groundhogs guitarist Tony McPhee. The album was produced by Roland Hofmann.
In the early 1990s, Peterson and Whaley re-located to Germany. Whaley still lives there. Guitar work has been handled by Duck MacDonald since that time. Blue Cheer are still active as of 2009. Peterson reunited with Leigh Stephens and performed with drummer Prairie Prince at the Chet Helms Memorial Tribal Stomp in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park in Fall of 2005, and their lively performance drew old rockers like Paul Kantner and others from backstage to observe. They did some recordings in Virginia in Winter 2005 with Joe Hasselvander of Raven and Pentagram on drums. Paul Whaley has since returned to the band as drummer. The group's 2007 CD, "What Doesn't Kill You...", features contributions from both Whaley and Hasselvander. In 2009, Peterson died in Germany, leading to the cessation of Blue Cheer.
Blue Cheer's video for Summertime Blues made an appearance in 2005 documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, where Geddy Lee of Rush referred to the group as one of the first heavy metal bands.
The band have also been regarded as the godfathers of stoner rock bands like Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Nebula and Monster Magnet have cited their "heavy-fuzz rock" as a massive influence on them.
Feathers From Your Tree
Blue Cheer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Walking here from beyonder
Just to see (Just to see the right road)
Just to see
You know I don't wanna leave here
You know I don't wanna go (No I don't wanna go).
Something to hold on to (boh-boh)
The pain that I can't take (boh-boh)
I say just what I'll do (boh-boh)
Someone give me back (boh-boh)
Just some way to do.
You know I'm gonna thank you (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
For being just that way (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You know I'm gonna love you (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Every minute of every day (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You know I just couldn't stand it (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Couldn't stand it any other way (ba-da-ba-da-da-da).
Flying, heading for the wonder
Now you see (Now you see oh, oh, oh)
Now you see
Finding you this way
As the breezes blow (As the breezes blow).
I got that funny feeling (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Now you made it mine (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You look so overjoyed (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Now it's doing fine (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Grow a little gun (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
And feathers from your tree (ba-da-ba-da-da-da).
You know I'm gonna thank you (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
For being just that way (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You know I'm gonna love you (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Every minute of every day (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You know I just couldn't stand it (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Couldn't stand it any other way (ba-da-ba-da-da-da).
OH!
The lyrics to Blue Cheer's song Feathers From Your Tree convey emotion, appreciation, and wonder. The opening lines describe someone walking from a distant location towards a destination where they hope to find the "right road." The singer expresses a desire to stay and not leave, indicating a sense of comfort and belonging. The next set of lines describe a feeling of pain that the singer is unable to endure, and they ask for someone to give them a way to cope with it.
The chorus expresses gratitude, love, and a preference for things to be a certain way. The singer thanks someone for being the way they are and promises to love them every minute of every day. They also admit that they couldn't stand things any other way, indicating a strong attachment to this person and their way of life.
The final verse describes the singer's current state of mind as they are flying and encountering wonder. They find the object of their affection and feel overjoyed, and things are "doing fine." The singer then encourages the object of their affection to grow a "little gun" and "feathers from your tree," which can be interpreted metaphorically as taking control and growing stronger.
Overall, the lyrics to Feathers From Your Tree convey a sense of longing, appreciation, and love, as well as a desire for growth and change.
Line by Line Meaning
Walking here from beyonder
Just to see (Just to see the right road)
Just to see
You know I don't wanna leave here
You know I don't wanna go (No I don't wanna go).
I've traveled far just to see you, to find my way. I don't want to leave your side.
You get that little something (boh-boh)
Something to hold on to (boh-boh)
The pain that I can't take (boh-boh)
I say just what I'll do (boh-boh)
Someone give me back (boh-boh)
Just some way to do.
I need something to hold on to, something to ease my pain. I'm going to fix this, give me a chance.
You know I'm gonna thank you (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
For being just that way (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You know I'm gonna love you (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Every minute of every day (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You know I just couldn't stand it (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Couldn't stand it any other way (ba-da-ba-da-da-da).
I appreciate you for being yourself. I'll love you for eternity, I couldn't handle anything else.
Flying, heading for the wonder
Now you see (Now you see oh, oh, oh)
Now you see
Finding you this way
As the breezes blow (As the breezes blow).
I'm flying towards a magical experience, and you're finally starting to see it. I'm discovering a new side of you as the wind blows.
I got that funny feeling (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Now you made it mine (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You look so overjoyed (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Now it's doing fine (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Grow a little gun (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
And feathers from your tree (ba-da-ba-da-da-da).
I have a strange sensation, and now you understand. You look so happy, and everything is okay now. Let's toughen up a bit, and let our true colors shine through.
You know I'm gonna thank you (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
For being just that way (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You know I'm gonna love you (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Every minute of every day (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
You know I just couldn't stand it (ba-da-ba-da-da-da)
Couldn't stand it any other way (ba-da-ba-da-da-da).
I couldn't be happier with you. I'll love you for all eternity, I couldn't imagine life any other way.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: PETERSON, STEPHENS, WAGNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@colin6768
I've read some of the comments about "who was the first metal band" and "what the first metal song was" and whether or not Blue Cheer is metal on this and other channels, and I'd like to chip in my two cents on this debate, for what it's worth. It depends to a certain extent on how you define metal. Now, I'm not a guitarist (although I am a drummer) so I'm not qualified to get into the technical aspects of the music from the standpoint of guitar sound - I'm basing my opinion to a certain extent on "feel" of the music as well as the structure of the music. But before that I want to talk about a comment a person I used to work with made which I think is relevant to this whole discussion. A while back I said to this person that "Godzilla" by B.O.C. was heavy metal, and she said that it wasn't. Needless to say I was taken a back by this - it sure as hell aint Doo-wop, Rockabilly, Surf, Industrial, or Bebop. Now, I suspect that she was basing her reply on the metal she used to listen to such as Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Metallica, Judas Priest, Motley Crue, WASP, etc. And, yeah, if you're using those bands as a reference point, "Godzilla" is NOT metal - BUT - it was metal for the time. Heavy metal like many forms of music evolves - nowadays there are all types of sub genres of metal that weren't around in the late 60s/early 70s - death metal, speed metal, thrash metal, black metal, doom metal, math metal, industrial metal, power metal, hair/glam metal - you get the idea. Plus there's southern metal - I'd certainly call "Dry County" and "Too Hard to Handle" by Blackfoot metal.
When people have these debates it seems that one of the things that frequently comes up is the difference between hard rock and metal. Here's my take on this - there is a lot of overlap between hard rock and metal - many of the riffs sound the same i.m.o. I think the key difference is this - the early hard rock bands from the late 60s and early 70s (and hard rock bands in general) seemed to be more influenced by blues - Leafhound, Sir Lord Baltimore, and Led Zeppelin are three bands that come immediately to mind.The early hard rock/metal songs from the late 60s/early 70s have more of a blues feel - metal songs from the mid 70s/80s/90s such as "Delivering the Goods" or "Enter Sandman" don't i.m.o. Now I'm going to cut to the chase - I think a very strong case can be made that Blue Cheer was the first metal band - songs such as "Gypsy Ball" and "Feathers from Your Tree" sound very similar to some of the doom metal I've heard (plus there weren't any other bands with that dark "doom" type sound in 1968 which was before Sabbath released their first two albums) There were a couple of comps put out several years ago called "An Deadly Does of Wylde Psych" and "An Overdose of Wylde Psych", (plus there's the recent "Brown Acid" comps) that had some singles from groups that could be considered contenders on this score , and I'm certainly aware of "Plastic Thunder" by Bitter Creek, but I don't really count that song (as well as the songs from the aforementioned comps) for the following reason - these songs were pressed in limited quantities and therefore they didn't have a significant impact outside of their geographic region, as a result they didn't have much of an influence on other bands. And that's not to say these songs are bad - some are killer, but there are a lot that stink too - just that overall their influence is not as significant as songs from bands such as Blue Cheer. Although now with You Tube and other social media these songs are becoming more widely known and consequently their influence is growing. Before You Tube a similar thing occurred with The Cramps - they covered all these obscure garage, rockabilly, surf and r&b songs which brought those songs to the attention of the listening public and made them more popular among cult audiences.
One of the things that I find puzzling in these debates about early metal songs is this - I don't recall anybody on any You Tube channels mentioning "Helter Skelter". Now it's true that Blue Cheer did beat them, but only by close to a year in the case of "Vincebus Eruptum" which was released in January 1968, and three months in the case of "Outsideinside" which was released in August 1968. The White Album came out in Nov. 1968, but lets give the Beatles their props people. Also, what about Hendrix - I think a strong case can me made that songs such as "I Don't Live Today", "Purple Haze", "Foxy Lady" and "Spanish Castle Magic" are "proto metal". Same with songs such as "Sunshine of Your Love" and "Tales of Brave Ulysses".
Finally, here's another key point that may be in need of clarification. Some people call Blue Cheer "heavy psych" whereas others call them "hard rock" or "heavy metal." Again, this another area where there is a certain degree of overlap. Here are a few songs that i.m.o. demonstrate this overlap:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KIh3wrSwhc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYpEaCct1b4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Hdmm304Uw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knTRT2HsOUU
Sorry for being so long winded here people (and I hope I'm not coming across as some pretentious, pedantic college professor - sometimes I "geek out" in these situations), but I just felt that certain things may have been overlooked or not considered in great detail when talking about these things. One of those things is this - I think it might help if we look at this whole issue from a "family tree" standpoint - in this case the family tree starts off with performers/groups such as Hendrix, Cream, and other heavy psych groups along those lines - they were the first groups to use fuzz guitars, distortion, wah-wah , and heavy guitar riffs on a consistent basis (and as the main component of their songs), these groups then paved the way for the late 60s/early 70s hard rock/metal bands such as Deep Purple, Uriah Heep, Mountain, Led Zeppelin, Blue Cheer, Black Sabbath, Leafhound, Bang, Dust, Third Power, Buffalo, Three Man Army, Third Power, Tin House, Road, Sir Lord Baltimore, etc, which in turn paved the way for the metal we listen to today. I'd be real interested in other peoples feedback, including anything I've said that may be factually incorrect or anything I might have overlooked. I love these types of discussions.
@groovyhippyman
Everybody knows that the first heavy metal song was "In the Hall of the Mountain King" by Edvard Grieg.
@Kgio-2112
groovyhippyman , never heard of it
@steveshaw5459
Dud you know a band outta Michigan did a rick version of that? Band called SRC ON TRAVELLER ALBUM I THINK
@joeyjo-joshabadu9636
@k Gio everyone's heard it, but nobody's heard "of" it. Lol.
@hippydippy
@Steve Shaw It's on MILESTONES
@Elchamuc020
I dunno I like the heavy feel of this one
@pigbreath56
Went to see Blue Cheer at the Shrine Exposition Hall Nov '67, (also my first Grateful Dead show). Always will appreciate BC's heavy duty approach!
@billjannusch
I love these guys so much!! Totally an influence on early metal and doom..
@michaelsena3089
Proudly owned every BC album ever made.
@billjannusch
One of my all time favorites. I got this album as a kid. This song jams. I love Blue Cheer..