BLUE ÖYSTER CULT's Allen Lanier Passes
August 14, 2013, 10 years ago
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT guitarist/keyboard player Allen Lanier passed away today (August 14th) of chronic lung disease.
The band have issued the following statement:
"We have extremely sad news to report. We’ve lost our friend and bandmate Allen Lanier. Allen succumbed to complications from C.O.P.D. He is survived by his wife Dory, sister Mary Anne and mother Martha. Although he retired from touring in 2006 Allen returned to the stage for what turned out to be his final appearance, reuniting with B?C at the 40th Anniversary show in New York this past November. DFTR sweet man. We love you and miss you."
Frontman/guitarist Eric Bloom added: "My great friend Allen Lanier has passed. I'll miss the guy even though we hadn't spoken in awhile. He was so talented as a musician and a thinker. He read voraciously, all kinds of things, especially comparative religion. We drove for years together, shared rooms in the early days. We partied, laughed, played. All BOC fans and band members will mourn his death. Ultimately smoking finally got to him. He had been hospitalized with C.O.P.D. It was Allen who heard some old college band tapes of mine and suggested I get a shot as the singer in 1968. A lot of great memories, over 40 years worth. Maybe he's playing a tune with Jim Carroll right now."
