Steppenwolf - Did You Know?
May 18, 2019Music facts, music trivia, interesting stories and much more. Introducing the "Did You Know" page about Canadian-American rock band, Steppenwolf.
Enjoy!
Steppenwolf is a Canadian-American rock band that was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by John Kay (lead singer), Goldy McJohn (keyboard), and Jerry Edmonton (drums).
The band's song "Born to be Wild", maybe their most known and successful song, was written by Mars Bonfire who wasn't a member of the band at all, but his brother, Jerry Edmonton was the band's drummer.
Mars was walking one day down Hollywood Boulevard and saw a poster in a window saying 'Born to Ride,' with a picture of a motorcycle erupting out of the Earth like a volcano with all this fire around it.
The idea of the motorcycle coming out along with the freedom and joy that he felt inspired Mars to write this song. The lyrics of the song include the phrase "heavy metal thunder," and this became the first popular song to use the phrase "heavy metal," which became a term for hard rock.
The band released 8 gold albums and 12 Billboard Hot 100 singles, 6 of them reaching the Top 40. Three of the band's songs reached the Top 10, and they are "Born to Be Wild", "Rock Me" and "Magic Carpet Ride."
Steppenwolf enjoyed worldwide success from 1968 to 1972 and sold more than 25 million records all over the world.
Compare ticket prices to Steppenwolf concerts
Back to TixSearcher.com's Blog
