Blue Öyster Cult (/ˈɔɪ.stər/ OY-stər; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967. Despite the band's impassioned intent to keep astray from the pop world, they are still widely known for their hit singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla", the band has sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. The band's innovative fusion of hard rock with psychedelia, World War II, the occult, fantastical story-telling, and intentionally tongue-in-cheek lyrics had a major influence on heavy metal music. Despite, or perhaps due to, their motive to avoid the banality and entrapments of commercial success, the band has developed a cult following and their most popular songs remain classic rock radio staples.

Blue Öyster Cult's longest-lasting and the most commercially successful lineup included Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser (lead guitar, vocals), Eric Bloom (lead vocals, "stun guitar", keyboards, synthesizer), Allen Lanier (keyboards, rhythm guitar), Joe Bouchard (bass, vocals, keyboards), and Albert Bouchard (drums, percussion, vocals, miscellaneous instruments). The band's current lineup still includes Bloom and Roeser, in addition to Danny Miranda (bass, backing vocals), Richie Castellano (keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals), and Jules Radino (drums, percussion). The duo of the band's manager Sandy Pearlman and rock critic Richard Meltzer, who also met at Stony Brook University, played a key role in writing many of the band’s lyrics. Blue Öyster Cult‘s music videos, especially "Burnin' for You," received heavy rotation on MTV when the music television network premiered in 1981, cementing the band's contribution to the development and success of the music video in modern popular culture.

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