Allen Lanier, a founding member of Blue Öyster Cult has died, the band announced on Facebook yesterday. Lanier played keyboard and guitar in the psychedelic Long Island hard-rock group. He was 67.
Cult frontman Eric Bloom said in a separate post that Lanier was the one who suggested giving him a shot as a singer way back in 1968. "He was so talented as a musician and a thinker," Bloom recalled. "He read voraciously, all kinds of things, especially comparative religion. We drove for years together, shared rooms in the early days. We partied, laughed, played. All BOC fans and band members will mourn his death."
Lanier formed the group in the late '60s as Soft White Underbelly with guitarist Buck Dharma, drummer Albert Bouchard, singer Les Braunstein, and bassist Andrew Winters. Bloom later replaced Braunstein and by 1971 they had their familiar, umlaut-festooned moniker. Lanier played on all 14 BOC studio albums, lending his talents to such guitar-gnarled hits as 1976's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" and 1981's "Burnin' For You."
...more at Rolling Stone
Maybe one of the all time best debut recordings. Still one of my all time favorites.
