History of Cowbell Fever
In 1976
the American rock band Blue Öyster Cult released the song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” on their album “Agents of Fortune”. The song went on to become one of the most influential cowbell-laden rock songs ever recorded.
On April 8, 2000
a sketch aired on the long running television show Saturday Night Live featuring a fictional recording of the song “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” staring Christopher Walken as “The Bruce Dickinson” and Will Ferrell as cowbell player Gene Frenkle. SNL cast members Jimmy Fallon, Chris Kattan, Chris Parnell, and Horatio Sanz played the other members of Blue Öyster Cult. The sketch sparked a pop culture phenomenon as people everywhere repeated the now famous lines spoken by Christopher Walken “Guess what? I got a fever and the only prescription is more cowbell!” The sketch went on to become one of the most popular and quotable in SNL’s history. The popularity continues to this day.
In 2005
the gaming landscape was forever changed when Harmonix Music Systems and RedOctane released the game “Guitar Hero” for the Playstation 2 game system. This game gave the player a music experience unlike any other game before it by providing the player with a 3/4 scale guitar controller modeled after the classic Gibson SG and enabling them to play along with an impressive assortment of rock songs. This game sparked a rhythm gaming revolution and spawned countless games over the next several years.
On April 1, 2006
video game website GameSpot published an April Fools’ article claiming Harmonix was developing a new game called “Cowbell Hero”. Of course no such game was in development, but the internet community had fun with the idea. Countless imaginary song lists, and fake video game logos were created as a result.
In 2009
Digital Hero Games was formed with the purpose of creating a real video game playable on Apple’s iPhone and other iOS powered devices called “Cowbell Fever”. The development team set out to create a mobile game that brought together great licensed music like “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper”, original songs like “More Cowbell”, and a humorous story of a man’s journey from a nobody to a rock legend. The three year quest ended in January 2013 when the game was finally released on the App Store. iPhone users everywhere can now experience a game built on a rich heritage of classic Rock n’ Roll, timeless comedy, and rhythm video games of the past. You wanted More Cowbell and now you got it!
