Rest in Peace: Dickie Peterson of Blue Cheer

Man...it's been a terrible year for deaths in music, and today brings us more sad news. Dickie Peterson, the founding bassist and vocalist of the legendary heavy rock band Blue Cheer, died today after a long battle with cancer.

If you know Blue Cheer, you already know how important the band was. If you don't, put it this way: This man was one of the founding fathers of heavy rock. Though he didn't like to call Blue Cheer "heavy metal", the band's volume and huge riffs were hugely important in the evolution of the music. Check out Blue Cheer's classic album Vincebus Eruption, which featured the band's only "hit", a high-volume bulldozing of Eddie Cochran's "Summertime Blues." (Keep in mind the album was released a full year before Led Zeppelin's debut album and two years before Black Sabbath's.)

The world just got a lot quieter. Here's Blue Cheer ripping up "Summertime Blues" in 1968.

[View:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU5uDozoSSM:610:0]