- Steppenwolf · 1968
- The Second · 1968
- Steppenwolf · 1968
- At Your Birthday Party · 1969
- Steppenwolf 7 · 1970
- Monster · 1969
- At Your Birthday Party · 1969
- Steppenwolf · 1968
- At Your Birthday Party · 1969
- The Second · 1968
- Steppenwolf · 1968
- For Ladies Only · 1971
- Slow Flux · 1974
Essential Albums
- The inclusion of “Born To Be Wild” in Dennis Hopper’s 1969 cinematic counterculture classic <I>Easy Rider</I> raised the profile for this struggling West Coast hard rock group, who had a hit single but now had a biker anthem. Their self-titled 1968 debut album features “Wild” along with Hoyt Axton’s anti-drug song, “The Pusher,” as well as a collection of lesser-known blues-influenced tunes that display a seasoned if not yet defined group of hard rock musicians. (Keep in mind, the “heavy metal” playbook — namechecked for the first time in “Wild” — was being written on the fly by these guys among others.) Their guitar-organ attack that could flourish in a live setting had to handle the time limits of vinyl, while leader John Kay had yet to harness his songwriting talents to maximum effect. (“Wild” was written by ex-member “Mars Bonfire”). Kay’s bluesy excursions (“Your Wall’s Too High,” “Desperation”) are made convincing by his trademark husky growl, however, Willie Dixon’s blues standard “Hoochie Coochie Man” is solid if unspectacular. The album’s first two (unsuccessful) singles, Don Covay’s “Sookie, Sookie” and the band original “A Girl I Know” deliver well-schooled R&B and sport the band’s underrated pop sense, respectively.
Music Videos
Artist Playlists
- Dig the biker howls and protest ballads of these rock trailblazers.
Singles & EPs
Compilations
About Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf was a Canadian-American rock band whose thundering sound propelled several enduring anthems of the ’60s and helped pave the way for the rise of ’70s hard rock. ∙ Formed in Los Angeles in 1967 by singer John Kay and other ex-members of Canadian band The Sparrow, the group took their name from the title of a Hermann Hesse novel. ∙ Their biggest hit, 1968’s “Born to Be Wild,” became the rebellion theme for a generation after it was featured in Dennis Hopper’s 1969 counterculture film, Easy Rider. ∙ All five studio albums they released between 1968 and 1970—including the Gold-selling The Second—reached the Top 20 of the Billboard 200. ∙ The group broke up for the first time on February 14, 1972, which Los Angeles mayor Sam Yorty officially declared to be Steppenwolf Day. ∙ Kay contributed vocals to Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five’s 1988 hip-hop cover of Steppenwolf’s hit “Magic Carpet Ride.” ∙ In 1994, Kay celebrated the band’s 25th anniversary with a series of concerts in the former East Germany, near his childhood home, and with his autobiography, Magic Carpet Ride.
- FROM
- Los Angeles, CA, United States
- FORMED
- 1961
- GENRE
- Rock