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Blue Cheer is a San Francisco-based rock group of the late 1960s and early 1970s, who helped to pioneer heavy metal music. According to Tim Hills in his book, The Many Lives of the Crystal Ballroom, "Blue Cheer was the epitome of San Francisco psychedelia. The band was rumored to have been named for a brand of LSD and promoted by renowned LSD chemist and former Grateful Dead patron, Owsley Stanley. Another rumor is that the Blue Cheer was a blend of heroin and methamphetamine with just a pinch of arsenic "for an extra glowly feeling", taken intravenously. A "blue cheer" is also obscure and somewhat archaic British slang for a fart.

The band's sound, however, was something of a departure from the music that had been coming out of the Bay Area: Blue Cheer's three musicians played heavy blues-rock, and played it very loud.

Original personnel were singer/bassist Dickie Peterson, guitarist Leigh Stephens, and drummer Paul Whaley. Their first hit was a cover version of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues" from their debut album Vincebus Eruptum (1968). The single peaked at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, their only such hit, and the album peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 chart.

The group's sound was hard to categorise, but was definitely blues-based, psychedelic, and loud. The group underwent several personnel changes after the 1968 release of Outsideinside, and then 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 Burn 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, The Groundhogs, Ten Years After, The Yardbirds, Danzig, Mucky Pup 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 while Peterson has since moved back to California. Guitar work has been handled by Duck MacDonald since that time. Blue Cheer are still active as of 2007. Their last release was What Doesn't Kill You..., 2007, and they are currently touring. 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 finished recording an album in Virginia in Winter 2005 with Joe Hasselvander of Raven and Pentagram on drums. Paul Whaley has since returned to the band as drummer.

• Vincebus Eruptum (1968)
• Outsideinside (1968)
• New! Improved! Blue Cheer (1969)
• Blue Cheer (1969)
• The Original Human Being (1970)
• Oh! Pleasant Hope (1971)
• The Beast Is...Back (1984)
• Blitzkrieg Over Nuremberg (1989)
• Highlights & Low Lives (1990)
• Dining With the Sharks (1991)
• Live in Japan (2003)
• Bootleg: Live - Hamburg - London (2005)
• What Doesn't Kill You... (August of 2007)

• Blue Cheer's record label
• Band's Website
• Leigh Stevens Official Website
• [1]