Blue Oyster Cult guitarist Buck Dharma said the band was forced to start using a cowbell while performing their classic track “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” as a result of Saturday Night Live‘s famous “More Cowbell” sketch.
Written and aired 24 years after “Reaper” became a hit, the 2000 scene features Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell in a recording studio. Walken plays fictional producer Bruce Dickinson, who repeatedly insists that Ferrell, playing fictional percussionist Gene Frenkle, increase the amount and energy of his cowbell playing, driving the musician to the brink.
In a new interview with Guitar Player, Dharma – who wrote the song – said the “More Cowbell” skit altered the chemistry of “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper.”
“The cowbell [laughs] was an afterthought,” he said. “The funny thing is, before the Saturday Night Live skit, the band never played the cowbell live. We had to start playing it after the skit came out and became so popular.”
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How Real-Life Peril Inspired “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”
Dharma revealed that the initial musical idea for “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” came quickly. “The guitar riff that opens the song just came out of my head when I sat down and played my guitar,” he said. “I realized I had something nifty, so I recorded it and messed around with that. The first couple lines of lyrics basically were stream of conscious, and the story emerged from that.”
The lyrics were inspired by a moment of real-life peril that caused Dharma to reckon with his mortality. “It came from me being diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia, which I’ve had my whole life, so it’s not a big deal; I take medication for it,” he explained. “But at the time I was thinking of being mortal and just the idea of dying early and leaving your loved ones behind, and then sort of getting back together again, imagining there’s some life after death.”
“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Blue Oyster Cult’s biggest chart success, much to the band’s surprise. “BOC were never a singles band. We were lucky to have a few that did well, starting with ‘Reaper,'” Dharma said. “I thought, ‘This song’s gonna get some FM play,’ but I didn’t think it was gonna be big. So it surprised me. It surprised all of us, I think.”
Listen to Blue Oyster Cult’s ‘(Don’t Fear) The Reaper’
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They have never been a paint-by-numbers rock ‘n’ roll band.
Gallery Credit: Dave Swanson