Steppenwolf (band)

Steppenwolf
Steppenwolf in August 2006
General information
Genre (s)	Rock , psychedelic rock , hard rock
founding	1968, 1974, 1980
resolution	1972, 1976
Website	www.steppenwolf.com
Founding members
Singing , rhythm guitar , harmonica	John Kay (until 1976, since 1980)
Lead guitar	Michael Monarch (until 1969)
bass	Rushton Moreve (until 1969, 1978)
Keyboard	Goldy McJohn (until 1975)
Drums	Jerry Edmonton (until 1976)
Current occupation
Singing , rhythm guitar , harmonica	John Kay (until 1976, since 1980)
guitar	Danny Johnson (since 1996)
bass	Gary Link (1982–1984, since 2009)
Keyboard	Michael Wilk (since 1982)
Drums	Ron Hurst (since 1985)
former members
Lead guitar	Larry Byrom (1969–1971)
bass	George Biondo (1970–1976)
bass	Nick St. Nicholas (1969–1970, 1977, 1978, 1980)
Keyboard	Andy Chapin (1975)
Lead guitar	Bobby Cochran (1974-1976)
Drums	Wayne Cook (1976)
singing	Tom Pagan (1977)
Lead guitar	Kent Henry (1971–1972, 1977)
Drums	Tony DeSanti (1977)
Drums	Jimmy Hunter (1977)
guitar	Jamie James (1977)
Keyboard	Evan Smith (1977)
Lead guitar	Tony Flynn (1978, 1979-1980)
Drums	Jack White (1977-1980)
Drums	Jerry Posin (1978)
singing	Bob Simpson (1978)
guitar	Ruben DeFuentes (1978, 1979–1980)
Keyboard	Armond Blackwater (1978)
Drums	Frankie Banali (1978)
singing	Peter McGraw (1979)
guitar	Paul Nauman (1979)
bass	Rick Reed (1979)
Drums	René Bernard (1979)
Drums	Robbie Roberti (1979)
singing	Tommy Holland (1979-1980)
Keyboard	Geoff Emery (1979-1980)
Drums	Dick Jurgens (1979–1980)
Drums	Steve Riley (1979-1980)
singing	Tim West (1980)
bass	Mark Frere (1980)
Keyboard	Gerry Brown (1980)
Drums	David Bam Bam Shibley (1980)
singing	Nick Graham (1980)
bass	Paul Conroe (1980)
Drums	Lawrence Hammock (1980)
Drums	Danny Ironstone (1980)
Lead guitar	Michael Palmer (1980-1984)
bass	Chad Peery (1981)
Keyboard	Brett Tuggle (1981)
bass	Welton Gite (1982)

Steppenwolf is an American - Canadian hard rock band from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her most successful songs were Born to Be Wild , Magic Carpet Ride and The Pusher .

Band history

The front man and singer John Kay was born as Joachim Fritz Krauledat on April 12, 1944 in Tilsit ( East Prussia ). When he was four years old, his mother fled with him from the Soviet occupation zone to Hanover . This experience was processed in the song Renegade on the album Steppenwolf Seven . After ten years in West Germany, where the young Joachim on the Soldatensender BFN and AFN to rock'n'roll met the family in 1958 emigrated to Canada .

Kay's first band, The Sparrow , an experimental folk group in the Yorkville neighborhood of Toronto and later in San Francisco , had little success, and so Kay re-formed the band with drummer Jerry Edmonton , keyboardist Goldy McJohn , the 17-year-old up-and-coming Guitarist Michael Monarch and bassist Rushton Moreve . Other sources name the German bassist Nick St. Nicholas as a founding member. He was a member of The Sparrow and had already left the band when it became Steppenwolf. At that time he was playing for TIME. After the departure of Moreves, he returned and replaced him. The name "Steppenwolf" was chosen after the novel of the same name by Hermann Hesse . In 1968, the debut album Steppenwolf was recorded in just four days .

The song Born to Be Wild (US No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100), written as Mars Bonfire by former Sparrow member Dennis Edmonton , brother of drummer Jerry Edmonton, became the band's first hit in 1968. When this song accompanied the title sequence in the 1969 road movie Easy Rider with the Harley Davidson motorcycles driving over the Colorado Bridge and Route 66 , the band suddenly became world famous. In the film, the song The Pusher was also accompanied by a drug deal, the profit of which is symbolically hidden in the form of dollar notes in the fuel tank painted with the US flag . The original song was written by country singer and actor Hoyt Axton ; it is directed against for-profit drug trafficking , but defends the individual right to use drugs . Also in live performances, such as in the music store , John Kay embodied the image of the grim rocker and outlaw in black leather with dark sunglasses. He wears the glasses because of a congenital achromatopsia ; he is considered legally blind (blind according to legal regulations, his eyesight is 21%) and is therefore not allowed to acquire a driving license.

The band had further success with the songs Magic Carpet Ride (US 3), Hey Lawdy Mama (US 35), Rock Me (US 10) and Monster (US 39), with which the America of the Nixon era was criticized. In 1972, after turbulent years, it broke up with several line-up changes. Kay started a solo career (albums Forgotten Songs And Unsung Heroes from 1972 and My Sportin 'Life from 1973). In the mid-1970s, Steppenwolf appeared again as part of a tour, only to separate again after releasing three studio albums between 1974 and 1976. John Kay released another solo album in 1978 called All In Good Time . After some of the many former band members had used the name for their own projects, Kay secured the rights and has since performed as John Kay and Steppenwolf . The band's sworn following calls themselves Wolf Pack (" Wolf Pack "). In 2012 JOHN KAY & STEPPENWOLF celebrated the 45th anniversary of the band.

In 1974 a fragment of the founding members, consisting of John Kay, Jerry Edmonton and Goldy McJohn, met with bassist George Biondo and lead guitarist Bobby Cochran in John Kay's private studio "Sound Factory" and recorded the tracks for the LP Slow Flux . The mixdown then took place with the support of Dave Hassinger and the final mastering was carried out in "The Mastering Lab". The LP consists of the songs Gang War Blues , Children of Night , Justice don't be slow , Get into the Wind , Jeraboah , Straight shootin 'Woman (US 29), Smokey Factory Blues (written by Albert Hammond / Mike Hazlewood), Morning Blue , A fool's Fantasy and Fishin 'in the Dark . The LP cost £ 1.95 in London at the time.

Since Kay had named the band after the novel Hermann Hesse, Hesse's hometown Calw invited him to the International Hermann Hesse Festival in 2002, where other groups inspired by Hesse, such as B. Anyone's Daughter .

Others

The songs Born to Be Wild , The Pusher and Magic Carpet Ride were used in numerous film soundtracks.

Discography

Studio albums (as Steppenwolf)

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	CA
1968	Steppenwolf	DE34 (1 week) DE	-	-	UK59 (2 weeks) UK	US6th gold (87 weeks)US	CA1 (11 weeks) CA
	The Second	DE23 (3 weeks) DE	-	-	-	US3 gold (52 weeks)US	CA2 (25 weeks) CA
1969	At your birthday party	-	-	-	-	US7 (29 weeks) US	CA12 (12 weeks) CA
	monster	DE27 (2 weeks) DE	-	-	UK43 (4 weeks) UK	US17th gold (46 weeks)US	CA12 (19 weeks) CA
1970	Steppenwolf 7	-	-	-	-	US19th gold (17 weeks)US	CA14 (18 weeks) CA
1971	For ladies only	-	-	-	-	US54 (11 weeks) US	CA18 (16 weeks) CA
1974	Slow flux	-	-	-	-	US47 (12 weeks) US	CA20 (9 weeks) CA
1975	Hour Of The Wolf	-	-	-	-	US155 (4 weeks) US	-
1976	Skullduggery	-	-	-	-	-	-

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Studio albums as John Kay & Steppenwolf

• 1982: Wolf Tracks
• 1984: Paradox
• 1987: Rock & Roll Rebels
• 1990: Rise & Shine
• 1996: Feed The Fire

Live albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	CA
1969	Early Steppenwolf	DE31 (1 week) DE	-	-	-	US29 (19 weeks) US	CA26 (9 weeks) CA	Live, recorded as The Sparrow in 1967
1970	Steppenwolf Live	-	-	-	UK15 (14 weeks) UK	US7th gold (53 weeks)US	CA6 (28 weeks) CA

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Live albums as John Kay & Steppenwolf

• 1981: Live in London
• 1995: Live at 25
• 2004: Live In Louisville

Compilations

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	CA
1971	Gold: Their Great Hits	-	-	-	-	US24 gold (36 weeks)US	CA19 (34 weeks) CA
1972	Rest in peace	-	-	-	-	US62 (13 weeks) US	CA39 (9 weeks) CA
1973	16 greatest hits	-	-	-	-	US152 platinum (9 weeks)US	CA-CA
1976	The Best Of Steppenwolf - Reborn To Be Wild	-	-	-	-	-	-	exclusively with song material from 1974 to 1976
2004	20th Century Masters - The Best Of Steppenwolf	-	-	-	-	US- gold US	-

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Singles

year	Title album	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes)						Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US	CA
1967	A Girl I Knew Steppenwolf	-	-	-	-	-	-	B-side: The Ostrich
1968	Born To Be Wild Steppenwolf	DE20 (2 weeks) DE	AT20 (4 weeks) AT	-	UK30th silver (9 weeks)UK	US2 gold (13 weeks)US	CA1 (11 weeks) CA	B-side: Everybody's next one number 14 on the Canadian annual charts in 1968
	The Pusher Steppenwolf	-	-	-	-	-	-	B-side: Your Wall's Too High , single released in UK only
	Sookie Sookie Steppenwolf	-	-	-	-	-	-	B-side: Take What You Need
	Magic Carpet Ride The Second	DE11 (4 weeks) DE	AT12 (8 weeks) AT	-	-	US3 gold (16 weeks)US	CA1 (11 weeks) CA	B-side: Sookie Sookie ranked 45th on the Canadian 1968 annual charts
1969	Rock Me At Your Birthday Party	-	AT20 (4 weeks) AT	-	-	US10 (10 weeks) US	CA4 (9 weeks) CA	B-side: Jupiter's Child ranked 90th on the Canadian 1969 annual charts
	It's never too late At Your Birthday Party	-	-	-	-	US51 (5 weeks) US	CA33 (5 weeks) CA	B-side: Happy Birthday
	Move over monsters	DE19 (2 weeks) DE	-	-	-	US31 (9 weeks) US	CA12 (7 weeks) CA	B-side: Power Play
	Monster monster	-	-	-	-	US39 (8 weeks) US	CA16 (7 weeks) CA	B-side: Berry Rides Again
1970	Hey Lawdy Mama Steppenwolf Live	DE33 (1 week) DE	-	-	-	US35 (8 weeks) US	CA18 (7 weeks) CA	B-side: Twisted
	Screaming Night Hog Gold: Their Great Hits	-	-	-	-	US62 (7 weeks) US	CA52 (8 weeks) CA	B-side: Spiritual Fantasy
	Who Needs Ya Steppenwolf 7	-	-	-	-	US54 (2 weeks) US	CA28 (8 weeks) CA	B-side: Earschplittenloudenboomer
	Snow Blind Friend Steppenwolf 7	-	-	-	-	US60 (7 weeks) US	CA37 (10 weeks) CA	B-side: Hippo Stomp
1971	Ride with Me For Ladies Only	-	-	-	-	US52 (8 weeks) US	CA29 (9 weeks) CA	B-side: Black Pit
	For Ladies Only For Ladies Only	-	-	-	-	US64 (7 weeks) US	-	B-side: Sparkle Eyes
1974	Straight Shootin 'Woman Slow Flux	-	-	-	-	US29 (9 weeks) US	CA5 (12 weeks) CA	88th place in the Canadian annual charts in 1974
1975	Get Into the Wind Slow Flux	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Smokey Factory Blues Slow Flux	-	-	-	-	US-US	-
	Caroline (Are You Ready For The Outlaw World) Hour of the Wolf	-	-	-	-	-	-
1981	Hot Night in a Cold Town Wolftracks	-	-	-	-	-	-
1999	Born To Be Wild 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Steppenwolf	-	-	-	UK18 (7 weeks) UK	-	-

gray hatching : no chart data available for this year

Web links

Commons : Steppenwolf (band)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Website of the band with texts and information (English)
• Matthias Greffrath, ZEITmagazin LEBEN, No. 8, February 14, 2008 The savage next door - Hanover after the war: two boys play soccer. One of them later sings "Born To Be Wild", the other becomes a journalist and writes about their reunion after 50 years.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} chart sources:
   • Steppenwolf in the German charts on OfficialCharts.de, accessed on March 3, 2019
   • Steppenwolf in the Austrian charts on AustrianCharts.at, accessed on March 3, 2019
   • Steppenwolf in the Swiss charts on hitparade.ch , accessed on March 3, 2019
   • Steppenwolf in the Canadian Charts , accessed March 4, 2019
   • Steppenwolf in the Official UK Charts , accessed March 4, 2019.
   • Steppenwolf American US in the charts of Billboard Magazine , accessed on March 4, 2019
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Awards for Music Sales:
   • Awards for Steppenwolf of the British BPI (search field)
   • Awards for Steppenwolf from the US RIAA
   • Awards for Steppenwolf from the Canadian MusicCanada
3. ^ ^{A b} The RPM 100 Top Singles of 1968 , January 6, 1969, Library and Archives Canada
4. ↑ RPM's 100 Hits Of 1969 , January 6, 1969, Library and Archives Canada
5. ↑ The Top 200 Singles Of '74 , December 28, 1974, RPM, Library and Archives Canada