A founding member of classic rock band Blue Oyster Cult has passed away. Following a lengthy battle with lung disease, multi-instrumentalist Allen Lanier has reportedly died at age 67. The group announced the tragedy on Wednesday (Aug. 14).
“We’ve lost our friend and bandmate,” the statement reads, confirming that Lanier died of complications from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Lanier co-founded the Long Island group in the late 1960s with guitarist Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser, drummer Albert Bouchard, singer Les Braunstein and bassist Andrew Winters. Eric Bloom replaced Braunstein as frontman and after several name changes. The band settled on Blue Oyster Cult in 1971 and were signed to Columbia Records by Clive Davis.
Lanier appeared on all fourteen Blue Oyster Cult albums, the most recent being 2001’s Curse of the Hidden Mirror. The keyboardist and guitarist retired from the band in 2006, but returned for an anniversary show late last year.
The group remains active with both Roeser and Bloom.
