Magic Carpet Ride

Steppenwolf was formed in 1967 in Los Angeles by John Kay, Goldy McJohn and Jerry Edmonton, who were previously members of the Canadian band The Sparrows. They were joined by Michael Monarch and Rushton Moreve. The band signed to Dunhill/ABC the same year and with producer Gabriel Mekler they recorded their self titled debut album.

The band were propelled to success with their classic single "Born To Be Wild", and became even wider known when the track was featured, along with their version of "The Pusher" in the classic 1969 counterculture movie "Easy Rider".

"The Second" was released in October 1968 and featured the hit single "Magic Carpet Ride’. In March 1969 "At Your Birthday Party" was released to further success and was their 1st record to feature Nick St Nicholas on bass and their last to feature Michael Monarch. The July 1969 release "Early Steppenwolf"’ featured live recordings made at The Matrix in San Francisco in May 1967 and featured a 20 minute version of "The Pusher". The band’s next studio album, "Monster", was issued in November 1969 and dealt with America’s involvement in the Vietnam war. 1970 saw the band release 2 albums, the double LP "Steppenwolf Live" and "Steppenwolf 7". By the release of the latter, the band’s popularity began to wain slightly, although they would retain a large and loyal fan base. Their November 1971 album "For Ladies Only" was their last for Dunhill/ABC and Steppenwolf disbanded in February 1972 only to reform in 1974.

"Steppenwolf : Magic Carpet Ride – The Dunhill / ABC Years 1967-1971", is a forthcoming 8 CD box set featuring all the above albums to be released by Cherry Red Records on October 29th, 2021.