Jerry Russell 1968© Jim Marshall
Jerry Russell was born in 1944. His family was a prominent banking and horse breeding family in California. Jerry's brother Ethan Russell (photographer to The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who etc.) attended the University of California, Davis. Jerry and Eric Albronda who were friends in High School decided to start a band in 1965. Since they visited Davis so often to visit Ethan and friends which included the Oxford Circle, Group B and others, Jerry became friends with Dickie Peterson and expressed to Dickie that he should move to San Francisco and start a band. So sure enough Dickie, Jerry and Eric moved into a flat at 22 Fillmore Street in San Francisco. Blue Cheer was started at that address and Jerry Russell was the driving force.Jerry did not understand the word "NO", was very glib and would talk to anybody. He was not intimidated by high powered musicians or lawyers or record company executives and would push and push until he accomplished what he wanted. Like the time the Oxford Circle was playing somewhere and Jerry insisted Paul Whaley just at that time not go home but move to San Francisco with Dickie and Leigh Stephens, Jerry was not going to hear "NO" or the time when Blue Cheer ordered their Marshall amps. Jerry told Peter Wagner to simply load the amps into the truck, waived "Goodbye" to the music store owner and told him we would pay for them in good time. Every Dollar was paid back.Jerry had an extremely high IQ and with his vision and ability to transform his ideas into reality Blue Cheer became a reality. More than anybody else Jerry's initial vision of Blue Cheer was exactly what happened and his unlimited intelligence pulled it off.Information gathered from a book titled "The 1000 Most Intelligent" published by OberlŠnder Press, Salzburg.
Blue Cheer
