Blue Cheer bassist and co-founder Dickie Peterson passed away on Oct. 12 after a bout with prostate cancer. Blue Cheer had a hit with "Summertime Blues" in 1968 and were the heaviest band to emerge from the San Francisco psychedelic scene. "We’re just a power trio," Peterson said. "We play ultra blues, and it’s rock & roll. It’s really simple what we do."

Peterson, who was 61, held the band which was named after a brand of LSD together over the years. "I think the secret of rock & roll is that it’s 10% technique and 90% attitude," he observed in a 1995 interview. "If you deliver one note with the right attitude, it will do more than 60 notes with no attitude."

Peterson had canceled a recent tour to get treatment. "He didn't want people to know how bad it was," his friend and medical marijuana activist Angel Raich tells CelebStoner. "It spread and he had an infection in his gall bladder. His death really shook me hard. Dickie was open-hearted, compassionate and understanding, and of course he was an amazing musician."

Raich adds that Peterson "really supported cannabis. He was so proud of the High Times Doobie award he received. It really meant a lot to him."

High Times gave Blue Cheer a Lifetime Achievement Award last March during SXSW.



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