Led by John Kay (born Joachim Krauledat, April 12, 1944), Steppenwolf′s blazing biker anthem "Born to Be Wild" roared out of speakers everywhere in the fiery summer of 1968, John Kay′s threatening rasp sounding a mesmerizing call to arms to the counterculture movement rapidly sprouting up nationwide. German immigrant Kay got his professional start in a bluesy Toronto band called Sparrow, recording for Columbia in 1966. After Sparrow disbanded, Kay relocated to the West Coast and formed Steppenwolf, named after the Herman Hesse novel. "Born to Be Wild," their third single on ABC-Dunhill, was immortalized on the soundtrack of Dennis Hopper′s underground film classic Easy Rider.

The song′s reference to "heavy metal thunder" finally gave an assignable name to an emerging genre. Steppenwolf′s second monster hit that year, the psychedelic "Magic Carpet Ride," and the follow-ups "Rock Me," "Move Over," and "Hey Lawdy Mama" further established the band′s credibility on the hard-rock circuit. By the early ′70s, Steppenwolf ran out of steam and disbanded. Kay continued to record solo, as other members put together ersatz versions of the band for touring purposes. During the mid 80s Kay re-formed his own version of Steppenwolf, grinding out his hits (and some new songs) at oldies shows. Nevertheless, they′ll be remembered for generations to come for creating one of the ultimate gas′n′go rock anthems of all time. (Author: Bill Dahl & Cub Koda)

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