☆ today, Dec.1, is his 77th birthday. I am a recent BÖC enthusiast but still don't know a whole lot ...... Let's talk about Eric and what he has meant to the band over the decades. He and Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser have kept the band going to this day, and that's a looong time. here is some early history from wikipedia: In 1968 Bloom moved to Plainview, Long Island NY to live with his sister. He obtained a job at Sam Ash Music in Hempstead, selling music equipment. One day in late 1968 some members of the band Soft White Underbelly - Donald Roeser, Allen Lanier and Andrew Winters - entered the store. One of them spotted a photo that Bloom had put up as a joke — he had placed an 8x10 glossy of his old band Lost and Found up on the wall with all the major bands such as the Rolling Stones and The Who. One of the SWU members recognized it because Les Braunstein, their lead singer, had also been a Hobart College alumnus, and had told his bandmates about the other college band. As Bloom talked with them about the photo, they struck up a friendship. Bloom ended up doing some sound engineering for them at the Electric Circus in Greenwich Village, and they mutually impressed each other enough that in November 1968, the band's manager Sandy Pearlman asked if Bloom would like to become their tour manager. Bloom moved into the group's house in Great Neck NY in December 1968. In April 1969, when lead singer Braunstein dropped out of the group, Bloom became the band's vocalist. The band went through several name changes and in 1971 settled on Blue Öyster Cult. 2017 Is Eric Bloom of Blue Oyster Cult related to Howard Stern? (the answer is that he used to be married to Howard's cousin) Eric Bloom talks Blue Oyster Cult's studio albums poll: Blue Öyster Cult's best post-1981 album ?
You beat me to the punch. Oyster Boys are swimming now Hear them chatter on the tide We understand, we understand But fear is read and so do I So ladies fish and gentlemen Here's my angled dream See me in my blue sky bag And meet me by the sea
I can't recall coming across photos of Eric where you could see his eyes. It seems somehow wrong ( and there should be a sunglassed and snarling emoji to illustrate how he usually looks). He always puts the hard edge on the BOC vocal sound.
As a long time BÖC fan, I'm more annoyed than amused at the 'cowbell' SNL sketch. It's a little below the belt. They're taking advantage of BÖC not being in the public consciousness as household names. They're obviously basing it on a simple band photo, and Ferrell's Gene Schenkle character is loosely based on what Eric looked like, except that Eric didn't have that ridiculous gut. Would they do that with any other band where the member names are more commonly known or revered? No, but let's turn this awesome band into a big joke and make it seem lame to be a fan of them. I know the band has embraced it to a degree, but I thought it was a cheap laugh at the expense of some really talented people. Happy Birthday E.Bloom! Keep on Rockin!
That is one way to look at it, and there is probably some merit to it, but I think that skit has helped Don't Fear the Reaper stay in the mainstream as a major classic. A lot of classic rock tunes from the 70s have kind of fallen by the wayside in the 21st century as far as younger people knowing them, but Don't Fear the Reaper is holding its ground. If it took an SNL skit for it to happen, so be it.
To tie this loosely to the current thread that never sinks far from the top of the list: Eric sings it like he wrote it. And, in the intro, Buck's speaking voice is uncannily like Dick Smothers.
I became big fan in the '90s, and have listened to BOC regularly ever since. I love his vocals... "He's found the saucer news"
I've always found Eric to be the most striking presence in BOC. He looks tough, cool and mysterious. I prefer his singing voice to Buck's. Happy B'Day, Eric.
Winterland 1976 Somewhere in my archives I have a picture from this show with Eric pointing a green laser beam up towards the mirror ball suspended from the ceiling.
"I'd like to thank my friends for getting me this little whip ... it's really lovely, I'll keep it and cherish it forevah ..." One of the coolest looking and most badass lead singers ever. Salut, Jesse Python!
Love BOC. Saw them many times way back when. Saw them in some small clubs too, in the NYC area under the name Soft White Underbelly as they warmed up for tours. Fun times Eric also cohosted a radio show on WLIR if I remember correctly. That was always a fun listen.
Would love to see the shades-wearing Eric Bloom and Ian Hunter inducted into the Rock Hall at the same time. But I'm not optimistic about that prospect at all.