Steppenwolf

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Steppenwolf was an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1967 by the singer and rhythm guitarist John Kay, the keyboard player Goldy McJohn and the drummer Jerry Edmonton, who had previously played in the Canadian group The Sparrows. The guitarist Michael Monarch and the bass player Rushton Moreve were found through advertisements in music shops. At the end of 1967 the producer Gabriel Mekler suggested renaming the group after the 1927 novel Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse. The first singles were A Girl I Knew and Sookie Sookie.

Music and breakthrough

The breakthrough came in 1968 with Born to Be Wild, and with their version of The Pusher by Hoyt Axton. Both songs are on the self-titled debut album and were heard prominently in the 1969 film Easy Rider. After that came Magic Carpet Ride from The Second, which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and Rock Me from At Your Birthday Party, which reached number ten. The album Monster from 1969 was the group's most political record, criticising American policy in Vietnam. In 1971 For Ladies Only appeared. In 1972 the band gave a farewell concert in Los Angeles. In 1974 it returned with Slow Flux. Steppenwolf sold more than twenty-five million records and had thirteen singles on the Billboard Hot 100.

Influence

The sound consists of heavy, bluesy rock with Kay's raw voice, a sharp guitar and a driving organ part. The band is known as one of the early hard rock groups. In 2018 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame chose Born to Be Wild as one of the first singles to be recognised.

Listening

• 
  Born to Be Wild · Steppenwolf, 1969

Discography

Studio albums

• 1968Candy (The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (soundtrack)
• 1968Steppenwolf
• 1968The Second
• 1969At Your Birthday Party
• 1969Monster
• 1970Steppenwolf
• 1971For Ladies Only
• 1974Slow Flux
• 1975Hour of the Wolf
• 1976Skullduggery
• 1982Wolftracks
• 1984Paradox
• 1987Rock & Roll Rebels
• 1990Rise & Shine
• 2011Candy (soundtrack)

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• The Dream Factory: Film Reel 4^NL Reader
• Magazine: De jukebox gaat de film in^NL Magazine

Mentioned in other articles

• Pop song, rock and compilation score GenreEasy Rider (1969) had no composed score but a string of rock tracks, among them Steppenwolf.

See also

• Pop song, rock and compilation score