Allen Glover Lanier

From his Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Lanier

Allen Glover Lanier (June 25, 1946 – August 14, 2013) was an American musician who played keyboards and rhythm guitar. He was an original member of Blue Öyster Cult. He resided in Manhattan.[1]

Lanier wrote several songs for Blue Öyster Cult albums, including "True Confessions", "Tenderloin", "Searchin' for Celine", "In Thee", and "Lonely Teardrops". In addition to his work with Blue Öyster Cult, he also contributed to music by Patti Smith, John Cale, Jim Carroll, The Dictators and The Clash, among others. He dated Patti Smith for several years during the 1970s.[2]

Lanier first performed with the band (then known as Soft White Underbelly) in 1967. He left the group in 1985, and was replaced by Tommy Zvoncheck (of Clarence Clemons and Public Image Ltd fame).[3] He returned in 1987. He retired from performing with them after the autumn of 2006.

Without any official announcement from Blue Öyster Cult, the band's line-up photograph was updated to remove Lanier, and a brief mention on the page for Richie Castellano has the following to say: "Since the retirement of Allen Lanier, Richie has switched over to the guitars/keyboards position, both of which he's quite the master!".[4] That would seem to indicate that Allen Lanier retired from both Blue Öyster Cult and music in 2007, having played his last concert with them in late 2006. He would rejoin them for their 40th anniversary concert in New York in November 2012, which proved to be his last ever appearance with the band.

Lanier's death was announced by Blue Öyster Cult on August 14, 2013. According to their official Facebook page, "Allen succumbed to complications from C.O.P.D." Lead singer Eric Bloom posted the following:[5]

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.

Discography

Blue Oyster Cult

• Studio albums
  • Blue Oyster Cult (1972)
  • Tyranny and Mutation (1973)
  • Secret Treaties (1974)
  • Agents of Fortune (1976)
  • Spectres (1977)
  • Mirrors (1979)
  • Cultösaurus Erectus (1980)
  • Fire of Unknown Origin (1981)
  • The Revölution by Night (1983)
  • Imaginos (1988)
  • Bad Channels (1992)
  • Heaven Forbid (1998)
  • Curse of the Hidden Mirror (2001)

References

• 1. Almanac of Famous People: Biographies - Jennifer Mossman - Google Books. Books.google.ca. 2001. ISBN 9780787647933. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
• 2. "patti smith: _acid_rock_ 11/77". Oceanstar.com. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
• 3. "Tommy Zvoncheck". Blueoystercult.com. Retrieved 2013-09-03.
• 4. "Blue Oyster Cult Official Site - Richie Castellano". Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
• 5. "Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2013-09-03.

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According to her book "Just Kids", Patti Smith was introduced to Allen Lanier by Sandy Pearlman shortly after death of Lee Crabtree:

I went back to writing, but singing found me. Sandy Pearlman was convinced that’s what I should be doing, and he introduced me to Allen Lanier, the keyboard player of the band he was singing. They had begun in the Soft White Underbelly recording an album for Elektra that was never to be released. They were now known as the Stalk-Forrest Group, but would soon become Blue Oyster Cult.

He had two motivations for introducing us. He felt Allen might help frame the songs I was writing for myself, and that possibly I could write lyrics for the band. Allen came from strong Southern stock, which included the Civil War poet Sidney Lanier and the playwright Tennessee Lanier Williams. He was soft-spoken, encouraging, and shared my affection for the poems of William Blake, which he could recite from memory.

While our musical collaboration progressed slowly, our friendship deepened, and soon we chose a romantic relationship over a working one. Unlike Robert (Mapplethorpe), he liked to keep these things separate.

Robert was fond of Allen. They had mutual respect for each other, and each other’s relationship with me. Allen fit our equation as David did with Robert, and we all coexisted amicably. Allen’s duties with the band often took him out of town, but increasingly, when he was home, he would stay with me.

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By May 1975, she broke with Allen:

At the time, Allen toured so heavily with Blue Oyster Cult that some questioned how I could stay loyal to one who was always never home. The truth was I really cared for him, and believed our communication was strong enough to overcome his long absences. These extended periods on my own afforded me the time and freedom to pursue my artistic growth, but as time passed, it was revealed that the trust I believed we shared was repeatedly violated, endangering us both and compromising his health. This gentle, intelligent, and seemingly modest man had a lifestyle on the road that was inconsistent with what I believed was our quiet bond. Ultimately, it destroyed our relationship, but not the respect I had for him, nor the gratitude I felt for the good he had done, as I stepped into uncharted territory.

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