Born to Be Wild

"Born to Be Wild"
"Born to Be Wild"
	One of side-A labels of the US single
Single by Steppenwolf
from the album Steppenwolf
B-side	"Everybody's Next One"
Released	May 9, 1968
Genre	Hard rock; proto-metal;
Length	3:30; 3:02 (7-inch);
Label	Dunhill; RCA;
Songwriter(s)	Mars Bonfire
Producer(s)	Gabriel Mekler
Steppenwolf singles chronology
Official audio
	"Born To Be Wild" on YouTube

"Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. Although the lyrics do not specifically mention motorcycles, the song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude since being featured in the 1969 film Easy Rider. Sometimes, "Born to Be Wild" is described as the first heavy metal song, and the second-verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music (although not as a description of a musical style but rather a motorcycle).^[5]^[6]

^ Inglis, Ian (2003). Popular Music and Film. Wallflower Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-903364-71-0. Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild', a gritty, hard-rock song that quickly became an anthem for defiant individualism.
^ "Heavy Metal". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 18. May 10, 1986. p. H-1. ISSN 0006-2510.
^ Dimery, Robert, ed. (2011). "The Pusher – Steppenwolf (1968)". 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. Octopus Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-84403-717-9.
^ Hoskyns, Barney (1996). Waiting for the Sun: The Story of the Los Angeles Music Scene. Viking. p. 172. The brilliant soundtrack, including the Byrds' 'Wasn't Born to Follow', Steppenwolf's proto-metal 'Born to be Wild', and Jimi Hendrix's 'If Six Was Nine', helped to set the film in a kind of outlaw-rock'n'roll context.
^ Dave Simpson (July 31, 2018). "How we made Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild: Interview". The Guardian. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
^ Walser, Robert (1993). Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0-8195-6260-9.

[1] Inglis, Ian (2003). Popular Music and Film. Wallflower Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-903364-71-0. Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild', a gritty, hard-rock song that quickly became an anthem for defiant individualism.

[2] "Heavy Metal". Billboard. Vol. 99, no. 18. May 10, 1986. p. H-1. ISSN 0006-2510.

[3] Dimery, Robert, ed. (2011). "The Pusher – Steppenwolf (1968)". 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. Octopus Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-84403-717-9.

[4] Hoskyns, Barney (1996). Waiting for the Sun: The Story of the Los Angeles Music Scene. Viking. p. 172. The brilliant soundtrack, including the Byrds' 'Wasn't Born to Follow', Steppenwolf's proto-metal 'Born to be Wild', and Jimi Hendrix's 'If Six Was Nine', helped to set the film in a kind of outlaw-rock'n'roll context.

[Grdn-5] Dave Simpson (July 31, 2018). "How we made Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild: Interview". The Guardian. Retrieved September 20, 2023.

[6] Walser, Robert (1993). Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 978-0-8195-6260-9.

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