Blue Oyster Cult (often abbreviated BOC or BOC) is an American hard rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in 1967, whose most successful work includes the hard rock songs"(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Godzilla" and "Burnin' for You". Blue Oyster Cult has sold over 24 million records worldwide, including 7 million records in the United States alone. The band'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.

Their debut album Blue Oyster Cult was released in January 1972, with a black and white cover designed by artist Bill Gawlik. The album featured the well-known BOC songs "Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll", "Stairway to the Stars" and "Then Came the Last Days of May". By this time, the band's sound had become more oriented toward hard rock, but songs like "She's As Beautiful As a Foot" and "Redeemed" also showed a strong element of the band's psychedelic roots. All of the band members except for Allen Lanier sang lead, a pattern that would continue on many subsequent albums, although lead singer Eric Bloom sang the majority of the songs. The album sold well, and Blue Oyster Cult toured with artists such as The Byrds, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Alice Cooper. During the touring process, the band's sound became heavier and more direct.  Their next album Tyranny and Mutation, released in 1973, was written while the band was on tour for their first LP. It contained songs such as "The Red and the Black" (an ode to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and a rewrite of "I'm On the Lamb But I Ain't No Sheep" from the debut album), "Hot Rails to Hell" and "Baby Ice Dog", the first of the band's many collaborations with Patti Smith. It featured a harder-rocking approach than before, though the band's songs were also growing more complex. The album outsold its predecessor, a trend that would continue with their next few albums.  The band's third album, Secret Treaties (1974) received positive reviews, featuring songs such as "Career of Evil" (co-written by Patti Smith), "Dominance and Submission" and "Astronomy". As a result of constant touring, the band was now capable of headlining arenas. The album continued the trend of growing sales, and would eventually go gold.  As the three albums during this formative period all had black-and-white covers, the period of their career has been dubbed the 'black and white years' by fans and critics.

Ask a question about this article.
did they have any tours?