STEPPENWOLF - "Born to Be Wild"

Steppenwolf
"Born to be Wild"

Single / B-side: "Everybody's Next One"
Album: Steppenwolf
Released: June 1968
Writer: Mars Bonfire
Label: Dunhill / RCA Victor
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"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song first performed by the band Steppenwolf, written by Mars Bonfire . It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song, and the second verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music (although not as a description of a musical style). However, the claim may be false as bands such as Blue Cheer had recorded songs with a heavier rock sound while "Born to Be Wild" incorporated elements of classic rock music.

Steppenwolf's single "Born to be Wild" (1969)
(Photo courtesy of  Dunhill / RCA Victor)

Steppenwolf's  "Born To Be Wild"  (Single 45 RPM)

"Born to Be Wild" was written by Mars Bonfire (who also wrote several other songs for Steppenwolf) as a ballad. Writer Bonfire was previously a member of the Sparrows , the predecessor band to Steppenwolf, and his brother was Steppenwolf's drummer Although he initially offered the song to other bands –The Human Expression, for one– "Born to Be Wild" was first recorded in 1967 by Steppenwolf in a sped-up and rearranged version, that the All Music Guide's Hal Horowitz described as "a roaring anthem of turbo-charged riff rock" and "a timeless radio classic as well as a slice of '60s revolt that at once defines Steppenwolf's sound and provided them with their shot at AM immortality."

Steppenwolf - "Born to be Wild" (Easy Rider sondtrack)

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Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" (Beat Club, 1969)'

Steppenwolf on stage

One of the group music video video showing they performing Born To Be Wild on the German music television series Beat Club in Bremen, Germany on 1969 (air date June 7th, 1969.).

Line-up / Musicians:
John Kay: lead vocals.
Rushton Moreve : bass guitar
Michael Monarch: guitars
Goldy McJohn: organ, piano
Jerry Edmonton : drums

Links / Reviews:
Steppenwolf Official website: steppenwolf.com
Wikipedia: Born to Be Wild (song) 

Songfacts: Born to Be Wild by Steppenwolf