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.
The Hunter
Blue Cheer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A pretty woman (girl) like you child are my only game
I bought me a love gun just the other day
Lord, and I aim to aim it your way
Ain't no use to hide
No there ain't no use to run
Cause I got you in the sights of my........
My love gun, my love gun, my love gun
The first Time I saw you walkin' down the street
I said to myself, "Boom! Boom! Ain't she sweet!"
I got my love gun loaded
Loaded with a-huggin' and kissin'
And when I pull the trigger
There ain't gonna be no missin'
Ain't no use to hide
No there ain't no use to run
Cause I got you in the sights of my........
My love gun, my love gun, my love gun
God-dammed!
The lyrics to Blue Cheer's song The Hunter are undoubtedly problematic in today's social climate. They depict a stereotypical predatory male figure, named the Hunter, who views women as his only game and equates love with a weapon- a "love gun". The lyrics paint a picture of someone with a narcissistic personality disorder, who sees himself as entitled to the affection of any woman he desires. He claims to have the woman in his sights, insinuating that she cannot escape his advances.
However, it is important to note that the song was written in the late 1960s, a time when sexual liberation was at its peak, and many rock songs of that era reflected that culture. Viewed in that context, the song was likely intended to be a sexually suggestive, provocative rocker. Nevertheless, the lyrics perpetuate dangerous stereotypes about male entitlement and the objectification of women.
In conclusion, while the lyrics of The Hunter are undoubtedly problematic, they can be understood as a product of their time- a time when the societal norms around sexual behavior were rapidly changing. However, we must be careful not to romanticize predatory or dangerous behavior in our interpretations of the song, and instead hold it up as an example of how far we have come in our understanding of gender dynamics.
Line by Line Meaning
They call me the Hunter and Lord, that's my name
I like to think of myself as a skilled hunter, and I want to show off my power to control and capture women.
A pretty woman (girl) like you child are my only game
I am only interested in attractive women like you, and I see you as a target, a game to be won.
I bought me a love gun just the other day
I have acquired a powerful weapon, my 'love gun', which will help me in my pursuit of women.
Lord, and I aim to aim it your way
I intend to use my love gun on you specifically, and I am confident in my ability to win you over.
Ain't no use to hide
There is no point in trying to hide from me, as I will eventually find and catch you.
No there ain't no use to run
Even if you try to run away from me, I will eventually catch you, because I am the Hunter.
Cause I got you in the sights of my........
I am targeting you specifically, and my love gun is locked onto you.
My love gun, my love gun, my love gun
My love gun is my weapon of choice, and I am confident that it will help me win over any woman I set my sights on.
The first Time I saw you walkin' down the street
From the moment I first saw you, I knew that I wanted to pursue you and make you mine.
I said to myself, "Boom! Boom! Ain't she sweet!"
I was immediately attracted to you and impressed by your appearance and charm.
I got my love gun loaded
I am always prepared to use my love gun to win over any woman I desire.
Loaded with a-huggin' and kissin'
My love gun is equipped with all the right moves to make a woman fall for me, such as hugging and kissing.
And when I pull the trigger
When I put my plan into action to win you over.
There ain't gonna be no missin'
My plan is foolproof, and I am confident that it will be successful in winning over any woman I choose.
God-dammed!
I am so confident in my ability to win women over that I am willing to swear to it, and I feel like a god doing it.
Lyrics © ST SWITHINS SONGS, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL JACKSON, JR., BOOKER T. JONES, CARL WELLS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bluetop Guitar
Love this. Acid rock blues with a wild vibe. First turned onto this by a friend back in 1972. Tripping balls
FuzzyDancingBear
So many good versions of this classic blues tune. I love when Free plays it. Also when Zepp sticks it into "How Many More Times" is pretty cool
Robert Abbott Jr.
With out a doubt, this is by far the best version of this kool song!
mavjimbo
This band was not fuckng around
old guy
Blue Cheer was so far ahead of their time the music critics and people just couldn't keep up. Most heavy metal groups today owe everything to these guy's.
mavjimbo
This band was not fucking around
Rob Walsh
Not unlike Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer looked like guys who could easily knock you out just as they would share a joint with you
Not exactly soft flower children
Frank Rogowski
Probably as wild as a Ford Mustang, Rob!
Robert Abbott Jr.
Thanx for posting all those old kool pics of the band!
Robert Abbott Jr.
Gotta luv power trios!