R.I.P. Dickie Peterson of S.F. Proto-Metal Act Blue Cheer

​Blue Cheer's bassist/vocalist Dickie Peterson died early this morning, according to a post at Blabbermouth.net.

A founding member of San Francisco's heavy, bluesy, psychedelic godfathers, the 61-year-old's cause of death is unknown, but the site reports that Peterson passed away at 5 a.m. in Germany after reportedly battling cancer. (Note: a MySpace page set up under the name Dickie Peterson lists the bassist's age as 63).

Strangely, KUSF DJ Stereo Steve just did a spotlight on Blue Cheer last night. You can download his lesson in music history here.