Mojo - The Music Magazine

News

Dickie Peterson 1948 - 2009

4:46 PM GMT 12/10/2009

Dickie Peterson 1948 - 2009

Dickie Peterson, bassist, vocalist and founding member of proto-metal trio Blue Cheer, has passed away in Germany at the age of 61. A cause of death is yet to be identified.

Named after a strain of Owsley LSD, San Francisco's Blue Cheer (Peterson, guitarist Leigh Stephens and drummer Paul Whaley) blazed a trail through the Summer Of Love with their cauterising meld of super-charged rock 'n' roll and psychedelic blues - a sound that would reverberate through the years eventually influencing a generation of bands including all the key players in Seattle's grunge scene.

Spearheaded by a bludgeoning version of Eddie Cochran's Summertime Blues, their debut album, Vincebus Eruptum, hit number 11 in the Billboard Charts in 1968. Plagued by line-up changes, the band released another five albums (including the 1969 classic Outsideinside) before splitting in 1972.

Peterson and Whaley reunited in 1979 before going on to produce 1984's The Beast Is Back. Peterson's two solo albums, Child of the Darkness and Tramp, were released in 1998 and 1999. Blue Cheer's last studio LP appeared in 2005.

A full obituary will appear in a future issue of MOJO magazine.

Posted by Ross_Bennett at 4:46 PM GMT 12/10/2009


Related MOJO content:

Blue Cheer , Dickie Peterson

Comments

Comment on this post


Click here for House Rules

  • Thursday, October 15, 2009
    Eulogy by Duck

    Since there isn't going to be a memorial in the states, here is a little something written by Duck for Dickie:

    RICHARD ALLAN “DICKIE” PETERSON
    9/12/1946-10/12/2009
    Dickie Peterson was my Bandmate, Business Partner, Friend and Teacher the driving force behind Blue Cheer who some called the godfathers of Metal, Punk, Grunge and Stoner. I’ve heard underrated, overrated, the greatest and the worst band of all time but one thing is for sure there was no middle ground on opinions of his band.
    I like to think a hundred years from now researchers will try to figure out how it got from Muddy Waters to Godsmack and they will find Hendrix and Cream, Zeppelin and Sabbath and then they will scratch their heads and think something’s missing and then they’ll see it, it won’t be shiny and beautiful but raw and crude and a bit misshapen but there it is the missing link between all that was and all that is Blue Cheer. Then it will all be documented, put on a shelf, collect dust and eventually be forgotten.
    First and foremost Dickie was a Bluesman, a champion of the Blues and a Knight of the Blues Table who just happened to worship at the Temple of the Loud. He once was asked at an interview I was at with him how he felt about working with a heavy metal guitarist and he sort of chuckled and said “ Duck? Duck is just a blues guitarist in disguise.” and in that instance he taught me more about myself than even I knew and profoundly changed the way I thought about myself, no easy feat me being a stubborn Scotsman. There are so many stories I could tell you about my adventures with Dickie and someday we’ll sit down and drink a Scotch and I will tell all (if I can remember) but some things are just for me like the memories of first Love, your first born child being laid in your arms, and the passing of those you loved, those feelings are private and sacred and mine alone so I leave you with this.
    Dickie is waiting for us and when we get there he will turn and face God and say
    WE’RE BLUE CHEER AND THIS IS WHAT WE DO! And launch into Babylon. (Hopefully God will provide the gear and lots of it!)
    Andrew “Duck” MacDonald


    thank you Duck


    Posted by for dickie peterson at 1:26 AM GMT 17/10/2009 Report Abuse

    Reply to this post

  • Mojo is a great mag and should have something GOOD in a future issue on Dickie. Need any pics, ask me!
    After Duck's words, what can you say. Duck endured it all and wailed for the fans. Worked with Dickie and Paul to give us what we needed to hear. The silence is now even louder with Dickie's passing. I personally will miss Dickie as he was a real friend. I helped him with his basses so he could get the sounds in his head, and we worked together to create what it took to get them. I never expected our connection when I first met him, but I always honored it. I taught him and he taught me. I get to take it from here. The ultimate gift from someone so overlooked, but I and others know what true talent he had. From psychedelic to night club piano (there's a video on the web....go ahead....look for it...) Please visit www.bluecheerfan.com for my story. Long live the CHEER!
    Dickie, Thank you forever for it all..............BB

    Posted by Billvis at 3:22 AM GMT 17/10/2009 Report Abuse

    Reply to this post

  • Well, as far as all his friends know: you got on his nerves with your egocentric bullshit. Anyway: you present yourself as a friend of Dickies, but where is the bass that you build for him and that you publicly gave to him as a present (as seen on youtube)? Dickie didn't have it when he died and his familiy never got it back from you.

    Posted by A friend of Dickie at 12:07 AM GMT 17/08/2010 Report Abuse

    Reply to this post

  • RE: A friend of Dickie A bit of a spiteful post and possibly a libel too.

    Posted by Mick Fucknall at 4:06 AM GMT 17/08/2010 Report Abuse

    Reply to this post

Comment on this post

end of body content back to top

end of footer back to top

Back to top