Blue Oyster Cult cowbell ringer honored

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - His work is catchy and the WNY native is the man behind some of the most famous jingles of classic TV.

It's a classic Saturday Night Live skit.

Will Ferrell says, "The last time I checked we don't have a lot of songs that feature the cowbell."

Christopher Walken follows with, "Guess what? I got a fever, and the only prescription, is more cowbell."

If you're familiar with this clip, then you should know who Buffalo native and composer David Lucas, born David Helfman, is. He's the man behind the cowbell in Blue Oyster Cult's hit 70's song, "Don't Fear The Reaper." Lucas recorded the group's songs in his studio, but after hearing "Don't Fear The Reaper" for the first time, he felt it was missing something.

"It needed momentum and I just went to my studio and got my old cowbell, just put four on the floor, just gave it that linear thing. I don't remember [their reaction]. They really didn't argue with me or question what I did," recounted Lucas.

Very few challenged Lucas's creativity whether he was helping a rock group compose an album, or writing an all time famous hit. He grew up in Buffalo and started out at the age of four, singing with his parents on live radio and in concert. He knew what people wanted to hear.

Lucas said, "My philosophy was: win, lose, or draw. Failure is the pathway to success, we'll try everything. If it stinks, we know it. If it's good, we know it. But we'll never know until we do it."

And it's no surprise that this philosophy landed Lucas in Buffalo's Music Hall of Fame.

"An amazing honor. You know, we're all just 6-year-old kids looking over our shoulder, waiting to get caught. I don't care what anybody says. Lee Iacocca, the Mahatma Gandhi, we're all faking it as far as I'm concerned. We all think of ourselves as little kids. Oh my God, so it's like me? Just me? I can't believe it. Hometown boy makes good."