“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” musician expose “more cowbell” myths

The musicians behind “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” reflect on the effect of a very silly comedy sketch.

Several current and former members of Blue Öyster Cult and two of the producers of the song appear on Live on Saturday evening Documentary series SNL50: Beyond Saturday evening to discuss the history, accuracy and inheritance of the legendary “more cowbell” sketch, which represents a fictional presentation of the recording of the song.

In the documentary, Buck Dharma, the Böc guitarist, who wrote and sang the title of 1976, remembers the development of the band’s signature hit. “‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ is our most famous song,” he says. “I just played the guitar and the iconic reef just happened and I immediately switched on the recorder and started it. It was our second gold record and she was finally awarded platinum. ”

Eric Bloom, another Böc guitarist, agrees. “It somehow erected us,” he says in the documentary.

The musicians discuss which of the three producers of the song mentioned is most likely to match Christopher Walkens Bruce Dickinson, the fictional producer who demands more Cowbell from Will Ferrell’s fictional percussionist gene frenkle.

“I believe in the credits. You know, I think the credits are important. And I am listed as a main producer, ”says Murray Krugman and notes that, in his opinion, Walken’s character combines elements of himself and the late Sandy Pearlman, who also produced the track. “I think Christopher Walken is a mixture of Sandy and me.”

David Lucas, another well -known producer of the song, disagrees. “I was the producer of ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’ by Blue Öyster Cult,” he explains. “Murray read the newspaper and drank coffee.” When asked who in his opinion, the real Bruce Dickinson is, Lucas replies: “Me! Well, I was the producer. ”

As it turns out, it actually exists Was A real music manager named Bruce Dickinson, who was not involved in the recording of the song. “Yes, he worked as a compilation producer at Sony and enjoys his fame,” confirms Dharma.

The document then shows the back of a Blue Öyster Cult-CD with the inscription “Produced for Reissue by Bruce Dickinson”.

The real Dickinson says that the use of his name in the sketch had fun. “I found it somehow hilarious, but I wondered: ‘Why do you use my name?'” Says Dickinson in the documentary. “I had never worked on the original plate.”

Ferrell says that he wrote this name on the back of a Böc album. “It is somehow a strange sounding name. That was the scope of my research: the back of a CD cover. ”

The most followed conversation about the song came with the theme of the cow bell. The former drummer of Blue Öyster Cult, Albert Bouchard, was amazed by the sketch: “When I saw the sketch, I thought: ‘Where did you hear the cow bell from ? How did you know that she was there? ‘”And then we came to the question:” Should it be in there or not? ” – That was exactly what happened back then.”

Lucas, on the other hand, says that the cow bell was his decision as a managing director. “I can’t remember any debate. There is no vote. We generally do what I say, ”he recalls. “I knew something was needed. It took momentum. And the fact was that this was a song about death. The upcoming death. It took a heartbeat: cow bell. I get the cow bell, I’ll come back. Nobody said anything for 20 years. ”But suddenly, after Will’s sketch, everyone remembered that I had played it on the record.

Bouchard Also Believe that he was the one who recorded the cowbell track. “I played the cow bell,” he says.

Bloom remembers: “Many people think they played it.”

Krugman cannot remember who was responsible for the underlying percussion track-and also believes in the entire premise SNL Sketch could be wrong. “I don’t even know whether Lucas or Albert played it, but the irony here, the headline here: I don’t think it’s a cowbell,” says the producer in the documentation. “It had the hollow sound of a wooden block, whereas a cow bell has a really shrill metal top end sound.”

However, Lucas does not seem to disturb the cloudiness of his cowbell memories. “Albert played it in his own way, I played it in my way, and who cares about it,” says Lucas. “I always loved you and I will always love you, and I don’t care if you played it or I played it.”

Bouchard agrees. “I don’t care!” He tells Lucas. “Fantastic that I can see you.”

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Active members of the Blue Öyster Cult are a few I am less excited to be reminded of the song. “People started bringing cowbells to our shows – most people can’t play cowbells,” says Dharma. “Everyone thinks he can, then everything breaks down.”

SNL50: Beyond Saturday evening is now streamed on Peacock.