Donald Roeser

Donald Bruce Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known professionally as Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and sang vocals on several of the band's best-known hits, including "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Godzilla" and "Burnin' for You".

Roeser was born in Queens, New York City. His father was an accomplished jazz saxophonist, and Roeser spent a lot of time listening to jazz music as a result. Because of this, Roeser developed an interest in the melodic arts at an early age, even playing the accordion for a brief time.

Roeser was influenced greatly by the British Invasion of 1964, and decided to pursue rock-and-roll music. He first started out playing the drums, but had to stop temporarily after breaking his wrist playing basketball. While recovering, Roeser learned to play guitar, and found he enjoyed it more than the drums.

During his high-school years at Smithtown Central High School, Roeser played guitar in various cover bands. At this time, he started to develop his own signature sound by imitating his favorite guitarists and combining their sounds with his own style. Roeser attended Clarkson University (then Clarkson College) in New York, and joined a band that included later bandmate Albert Bouchard. The two played together on and off during the rest of their college career. At the end, both musicians abandoned potential degrees (Roeser's in chemical engineering), and decided to pursue music full-time. They moved into a band house near Stony Brook University, where Roeser was a part-time student, and started their careers.

Roeser, Lanier, Bouchard and Andrew Winters formed the band Soft White Underbelly in 1967. Members included singer Les Braunstein and former music critic Sandy Pearlman (their producer). Roeser was enrolled in a communications course, but quit after Soft White Underbelly was formed because he wanted to "stop wasting parents’ tuition money".

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.