Writer: Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser
Producers: Murray Krugman, Sandy Pearlman, David Lucas, and Blue Oyster Cult
Recorded: July 1977 at the Record Plant, New York City
Released: Fall 1977
| Players: | Eric Bloom–vocals, guitar Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser–vocals, guitar Allen Lanier–guitar, keyboards, vocals Joe Bouchard–bass Albert Bouchard–drums, vocals |
| Album: | Spectres (Columbia, 1977) |
Though it wasn't a charting single, “Godzilla”–the first single from Blue Oyster Cult's Spectres album–received heavy rock radio play and continued the momentum generated by “(Don't Fear) The Reaper” from the group's previous album, Agents Of Fortune.
Written by singer-guitarist Donald “Buck Dharma” Roeser, “Godzilla” is a tongue-in-cheek (“Oh no/There goes Tokyo…”) tribute to Japan's movie monster hero. Not surprisingly, the song vaulted BOC's stature in Japan.
Roeser likes to point out a bit of serious message in the song, however. The closing lines, “History shows again and again/How nature points out the folly of men,” make reference to the fact that Godzilla was supposedly created by radiation dumping in the Pacific Ocean, making the song a cautionary tale of sorts.
Propelled by “Godzilla,” the Spectres album reached Number 43 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold. It was, however, considered a bit of a letdown after Agents Of Fortune's platinum-selling breakthrough.