Editing Blue Cheer (section)

===Main career (1966–1971)===
Blue Cheer were formed in 1966 by [[Dickie Peterson]]. Peterson had previously been with the [[Davis, California|Davis]]-based band [[the Oxford Circle]] along with future Blue Cheer members [[Paul Whaley]] and [[Gary Lee Yoder]].  The original Blue Cheer personnel were singer/bassist Peterson, guitarist [[Leigh Stephens]] and [[Eric Albronda]] as drummer.  Albronda was later replaced by Whaley, who was joined by Peterson's brother Jerre (guitar), [[V. Vale|Vale Hamanaka]] (keyboards), and Jere Whiting (vocals, harmonica). Albronda continued his association with Blue Cheer as a member of Blue Cheer management, as well as being the producer or co-producer of five Blue Cheer albums.<ref>''Outsideinside'', ''Blue Cheer'', ''The Original Human Being'', ''OH! Pleasant Hope'' and ''The Beast Is Back''.  See [http://www.vickibrennerent.com/bluecheer/ericalbronda.htm Profile of Eric Albronda]; Vickibrennerent.com.</ref>

The band was managed by Allen "Gut" Terk, a former member of the [[Hells Angels]].<ref name=RS_bluecheer/> Early on, it was decided that the line-up should be trimmed down.  It has been said that Blue Cheer decided to adopt a [[power trio]] configuration after seeing [[Jimi Hendrix]] perform at the [[Monterey Pop Festival]].<ref>See [https://www.brautigan.net/chronology1960.html Portrait of Vale Hamanaka/V. Vale] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607223812/https://www.brautigan.net/chronology1960.html |date=June 7, 2016 }}; Brautigan.net.</ref> Hamanaka and Whiting were asked to leave. Jerre Peterson did not want to remain in the group without them, so he departed as well, leaving Peterson, Stephens and Whaley as a trio.

Their first hit was a [[cover version]] of [[Eddie Cochran]]'s  "[[Summertime Blues]]"  from their debut album ''[[Vincebus Eruptum]]'' (1968).<ref name="LarkinHR">{{cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Heavy Rock]] |editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]] |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |date=1999 |edition=First |isbn=0-7535-0257-7 |pages=70/1}}</ref> The single peaked at No.&nbsp;14 on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] chart, their only such hit, and the album peaked at No.&nbsp;11 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart. In Canada, the song peaked at No. 3 on the [[RPM (magazine)|RPM Magazine]] chart.

The "Summertime Blues" single was backed with Dickie Peterson's original song "Out Of Focus". Peterson also contributed to the album the eight-minute "Doctor Please" and "Second Time Around", which features Paul Whaley's frantic drum solo. Filling out the record, the band cranked out blues covers "[[Rock Me Baby (song)|Rock Me Baby]]" (by [[B.B. King]]) and "[[Parchman Farm (song)|Parchman Farm]]" ([[Mose Allison]], but retitled "Parchment Farm").<ref name="LarkinHR"/>
[[File:Just a Little Bit - ad 1968.jpg|thumb|''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' advertisement, June 15, 1968]] 

The group underwent several personnel changes, the first occurring after the 1968 release of ''[[Outsideinside]]'' after Leigh Stephens – who never used drugs – was asked to leave the band after criticizing his bandmates' behaviour.<ref>{{cite web |title=Veteran guitarist Leigh Stephens talks about Blue Cheer, Rock n' Roll culture and Haight-Ashbury era |first=Michalis |last=Limnios |date=January 3, 2014 |url= https://blues.gr/profiles/blogs/veteran-guitarist-leigh-stephens-talks-about-blue-cheer-rock-n |work=Blues.Gr |access-date=August 28, 2023}}</ref>  He was replaced by [[Randy Holden]], formerly of Los Angeles [[garage rock]] band [[The Other Half (band)|the Other Half]].<ref name="LarkinHR"/> On 1969's ''[[New! Improved!]]'' there were different guitarists on side 1 and side 2 (Randy Holden and Bruce Stephens) due to Holden's unanticipated departure from the band. Following Holden's departure the band's line-up initially consisted of Dickie Peterson (bass), Tom Weisser (guitar), and Mitch Mitchell (drums), before Whaley returned and Bruce Stephens joined the band. Later, [[Ethan James (producer)|Ralph Burns Kellogg]] joined the band on keyboards.<ref>Both Stephens and Kellogg had previously worked together in The Emeralds, a well-known northern California backing band in the 1960s.  The Emeralds had also toured with The [[The Coasters|Coasters]], [[The Olympics (band)|The Olympics]], [[The Larks]], [[Bob & Earl]], [[Chuck Berry]], [[Junior Walker]], [[Ray Peterson]], and also opened shows for [[The Kinks]], [[The Beach Boys]], [[The Animals]], [[Chad & Jeremy]] and [[Paul Revere & the Raiders]], among others.  By the time Stephens and Kellogg were asked to join Blue Cheer, both had co-founded Mint Tattoo, which had recorded one album engineered by [[Phil Ramone]] and produced by [[James William Guercio]].  While in Mint Tattoo, Stephens and Kellogg had opened shows for [[Jeff Beck]], [[Eric Clapton]], [[Ten Years After]], [[James Cotton]] and [[Janis Joplin]].  Bruce Stephens later played with Pilot (not the same band that had a hit with "It's Magic"), one of Leigh Stephen's (no relation) post-Blue Cheer projects.  One song from this period, "Fillmore Shuffle" was later recorded by [[Sammy Hagar]] on his second solo album, ''[[Sammy Hagar (album)|Sammy Hagar]]'' (1977).  See [http://cdbaby.com/cd/brucestephens Profile of Bruce Stephens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205001829/http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/brucestephens |date=February 5, 2012 }}; Rearwindowmusic.com, via Cdbaby.com</ref> Blue Cheer's style now changed to a more commercial hard rock sound à la [[Steppenwolf (band)|Steppenwolf]] or [[Iron Butterfly]].  By the fourth album, ''[[Blue Cheer (album)|Blue Cheer]]'',<ref name="LarkinHR"/> Paul Whaley had left the band and had been replaced by Norman Mayell, and following the release of the fourth album Bruce Stephens also left the band<ref>Bruce Stephens continued in music, but with a much lower profile.  In early 2009, he released ''Saturday Freedom'' (Rear Window Records), being a compilation of his compositions over the past three decades. "Rendezvous", a song co-written by Stephens, was included in ''The Cage'', the 1982 album by [[Tygers of Pan Tang]].  Also in 1982, Stephens had released his first solo album, ''Watch That First Step'', which featured supporting performances by [[Steve Miller Band|Lonnie Turner]], [[Procol Harum|B.J. Wilson]] and [[Norton Buffalo]], among others.  Stephens has the distinction of being, at the age of sixteen, the youngest member in the history of the Musicians' Union of Sacramento, California. See [http://cdbaby.com/cd/brucestephens Profile of Bruce Stephens] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120205001829/http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/brucestephens |date=February 5, 2012 }}; Rearwindowmusic.com, via Cdbaby.com.</ref> and was succeeded by Gary Lee Yoder who helped complete the album.

According to Peterson, the group's lifestyle during this period caused problems with the music industry and press. Peterson said the group was outraged by the [[Vietnam War]] and society in general.<ref name=Petersondead/>

The new line-up of Peterson, Kellogg, Mayell and Yoder in 1970 saw the release of ''[[The Original Human Being]]'', followed by 1971's ''[[Oh! Pleasant Hope]]''.<ref name="LarkinHR"/> When the latter album failed to dent the sales charts, Blue Cheer temporarily split up in 1971.<ref name="LarkinHR"/>