John Kay emigrated to Canada with his family as a teenager in 1958, settling in Toronto. In 1967, he and Dennis Edmonton recruited drummer Jerry Edmonton, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, 17-year-old guitar prodigy Michael Monarch and bassist Rushton Moreve and formed Steppenwolf.
One of the first hard rock bands to blast its way out of Canada and onto the international music scene, Steppenwolf was at the leading edge of the rebellious and psychedelic late-1960s. Signature songs like Born to be Wild, Magic Carpet Ride and Rock Me, provided a voice to a generation raised on “sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll”.
Steppenwolf cut its first album in 1968 in an amazingly short four days. Kay once said, “Our philosophy was ‘hit ’em hard, make your point and move on.’” The album spawned the rock anthem Born to be Wild, which, along with their hard-edged rendition of The Pusher, highlighted the soundtrack of Easy Rider, one of the most influential films of the 1960s. The band split up in 1972, but throughout that decade frequently re-grouped, sometimes with Kay and other founding members, sometimes not. In 1980, the band was re-launched as John Kay and Steppenwolf and has released seven new albums, building a new generation of fans.
Steppenwolf’s worldwide record sales have exceeded 25 million. Its songs have been licensed for use in approximately 50 motion pictures and an even greater number of television programs.
