Steppenwolf

Truth is often far stranger than fiction, and to a music fan, there aren't many better example of that than the fact that the term “heavy metal” was introduced to the lexicon of rock by a band that, only three years previously, was in fact called The Sparrows. In their defence, the Toronto based band were always more hefty than their name would suggest, playing their brand of British Invasion indebted blues rock for two years before their lead guitarist left the band in 1967. As a result, lead singer John Kay teamed up with keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton to form a new band that took the title of a Herman Hesse novel as its name. The newly christened Steppenwolf made their live debut shortly afterwards and released “A Girl I Knew”, their first single, in 1967.

The single slipped under the radar, but those in the know knew that the band had an absolute boat-load of potential. With the idea of setting the band up as counter-culture bad-asses, a heavy little number about motorbikes written by the drummer's brother was chosen to be the band's second single. It's fair to say that nobody could have predicted what came next. “Born To Be Wild” hurtled into the Billboard Hot 100 at number two in 1968 and made the band one of the hottest rock acts in the world, with both the single and the band's self-titled debut album certified Gold off the back of it. The single's place in pop culture was solidified by its iconic appearance in the opening credits of the Dennis Hopper classic Easy Rider and to this day it remains irreversibly aligned with both biker culture and heavy metal culture as a whole.

The band proved themselves as more than one hit wonders with the lead single to their second album “The Second”. “Magic Carpet Ride” was another top five hit on the Billboard Hot 100 which lead to another Gold certified single and album for the band, and ever since then Steppenwolf has continued to survive in one form or another to this very day. The sheer amount of line-ups the band have had boggles the mind, but if anything, that's more of a testament to the band's devout fan following than anything else. Today, John Kay leads one of the most successful line-ups the band has ever had, and their live shows, with nearly half a decade's worth of experience, are better than they've ever been. For that, Steppenwolf come highly recommended.