Allen Lanier, one of the founding members of the classic rock group Blue Öyster Cult, has died at age 67, the band announced on Wednesday.
“We have extremely sad news to report,” the statement read. “We've lost our friend and bandmate Allen Lanier.”
Billboard reports that the band confirmed that Lanier died after a battle with the lung disease Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. The guitarist, who also played keyboard for the “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” band, retired from the group in 2006, but did make an appearance at a 2012 anniversary show.
Lanier began the Long Island band with guitarist Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser, drummer Albert Bouchard, singer Les Braunstein and bassist Andrew Winters in the late 1960s. Braunstein left and Eric Bloom became their frontman before they created the name Blue Öyster Cult and joined Columbia Records in 1971.
They produced 14 studio albums, with the last being released in 2001. The group is best known for the hits “(Don't Fear) The Reaper” (1976) and “Burnin’ For You” (1981). Roeser and Bloom continue to perform.
Bloom left his own statement on his Facebook page, calling Lanier his “great friend.”
Lanier leaves behind his wife, Dory, sister Mary Anne and mother Martha.
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