![]() Breakthrough, success, and decline (1967–1972) In 1965 John Kay joined the Sparrows, a popular Canadian band, and was followed by Goldy McJohn. Although they fell short of enough votes to qualify for induction that year, in 2018 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selected one of their biggest singles – 1968's "Born to Be Wild" – as one of the first five singles that shaped rock and roll to be inducted into the hall in its history. In 2016, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominated them for induction in 2017. In Canada, they had four top 10 songs, 12 top 40, and 14 in the top 100. The band was called John Kay & Steppenwolf from 1980 to 2018. Today, John Kay is the only original member, having been the lead singer since 1967. Steppenwolf enjoyed worldwide success from 1968 to 1972, but clashing personalities led to the end of the core lineup. Steppenwolf sold over 25 million records worldwide, released seven gold albums and one platinum album, and had 13 Billboard Hot 100 singles, of which seven were Top 40 hits, including three top 10 successes: " Born to Be Wild", " Magic Carpet Ride", and " Rock Me". Guitarist Michael Monarch and bass guitarist Rushton Moreve were recruited via notices placed in Los Angeles-area record and musical instrument stores. The group was formed in late 1967 in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian band the Sparrows. The track has since risen above its inauspicious first celluloid outing to appear in a number of hip films – either as a shortcut to conjuring up a bygone era, or, in one particular case, recontextualized against the backdrop of a gritty indie gangster flick.Steppenwolf was an American-Canadian rock band that was prominent from 1968 to 1972. The lines “I like to dream/Yes, yes/Right between my sound machine” reportedly came to Kay after he took a demo of the song home to listen to. “Magic Carpet Ride” was built around a riff conjured by Steppenwolf bassist Rushton Moreve, and with lyrics inspired by the stereo system that frontman John Kay had bought with the royalties from the band’s self-titled debut album. The song was the product of a particularly fertile period for Steppenwolf, appearing on their second album of that year, The Second, and also finding its way onto the soundtrack of the lesser-known Marlon Brando sexcapade, Candy, in December 1968. ![]() Eventually flying to No.3 in the US charts, it became the group’s second (and last) Top 5 entry in the US, and their longest-charting single, staying on the survey for 16 weeks. “Magic Carpet Ride,” issued in September 1968, just three months after “Born To Be Wild,“ entered the US Hot 100 on October 5. Yet, despite the song’s ubiquitous use as the go-to theme tune for youthful rebellion the world over, a subsequent Steppenwolf single has had plenty of longevity of its own. ![]() Released in 1969, the picture almost single-handedly sent the film industry in a new direction for the coming decade. ![]() ![]() Their second single, the ever robust “Born To Be Wild,” became an anthem for a generation thanks to its prominent use in the groundbreaking countercultural movie Easy Rider. Steppenwolf had a habit of capturing the zeitgeist. ![]()
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