Dickie Peterson | |
|---|---|
 Peterson in 2008 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1946-09-12)September 12, 1946 Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S. |
| Died | October 12, 2009(2009-10-12) (aged 63) Erkelenz, Germany |
| Genres | Blues rock,psychedelic rock,heavy metal |
| Occupation(s) | Musician,songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Bass,vocals,guitar, drums |
| Years active | 1966–2009 |
Richard Allan Peterson[1] (September 12, 1946 – October 12, 2009)[2] known asDickie Peterson was an American musician, best known as the bassist, lead singer and only constant member ofBlue Cheer. He also recorded two solo albums:Child of the Darkness andTramp.
Born inGrand Forks, North Dakota, Peterson played bass from the age of thirteen onward, and knew at the age of eight that he wanted to become a professional musician. He came from a musical family: his father played trombone, his mother played piano and his brother initially played flute. Drums were Peterson's first instrument.
Peterson spent much of his youth inEast Grand Forks, Minnesota, thetwin city toGrand Forks, North Dakota, where he was born.[3][4] He attendedGrand Forks Central High School from grade 10 through grade 12.[5] His parents died when he was young, resulting in his living with his aunt and uncle on a farm in North Dakota, for part of his youth.[4]
Peterson citedOtis Redding as a significant influence.[6] He credited his brother, the late Jerre Peterson,[7] as being his lifelong musical influence.[8] Jerre was one of the lead guitarists in the initial lineup of Blue Cheer (the other beingLeigh Stephens) and played with various formations of the band in later years.[9]
Peterson spent much of the past two decades preceding his death based in Germany, playing with Blue Cheer and other groups on occasion. In 1998 and 1999, he played various dates in Germany with theHank Davison Band and as an acoustic duo with Hank Davison under the name "Dos Hombres."[10] He appeared on the album,Hank Davison and Friends - Real Live. In 2001 and 2002, Peterson played, principally in Germany, with Mother Ocean, a group he formed that included former Blue Cheer guitarist Tony Rainier, as well as brother Jerre Peterson.[11]
Throughout his life, Peterson's relationship to music had been all-consuming. Peterson provided the following self-description: "I've been married twice, I’ve had numerous girlfriends, and they’ll all tell you that if I’m not playing music I am an animal to live with. … Music is a place where I get to deal with a lot of my emotion and displaced energy. I always only wanted to play music, and that’s all I still want to do."[8]
In his early life, Peterson was a user of various drugs and was aheroin addict for a number of years. In 2007, Peterson said he believedLSD and other similar drugs can have positive effects, but that he and other members of Blue Cheer "took it over the top."[12] He had ceased much of his drug use by the mid-1970s, and stopped drinking 10 years before his death.[13]
Blue Cheer has been considered a pioneering band in many genres. Peterson did not consider that the band belonged to any particular genre: "People keep trying to say that we’reheavy metal orgrunge orpunk, or we’re this or that. The reality is, we’re just apower trio, and we play ultra blues, and it’s rock ‘n roll. It’s really simple what we do."[8]
On October 12, 2009, Peterson died[2] inErkelenz, Germany, at the age of 63 fromliver cancer, afterprostate cancer spread throughout his body.[12][14] He was survived by his second wife,[15] his former wife,[16] a daughter from his first marriage,[17] and a six-year-old grandson.[1][14][18][19]
Peterson was cremated and his ashes given to his daughter, Corrina. Peterson wished his ashes to be spread in theRhine River in Germany and in theRedwoods of Northern California, at a site to be determined by his daughter.[20]
Neil Peart, the drummer forRush, said in tribute to Peterson:
Dickie Peterson was present at the creation — stood at the roaring heart of the creation, a primal scream through wild hair, bass hung low, in an aural apocalypse of defiant energy. His music left deafening echoes in a thousand other bands in the following decades, thrilling some, angering others, and disturbing everything — like art is supposed to do.[21]
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