Born to Be Wild

This article is about the song. For other uses, see Born to Be Wild (disambiguation).

"Born to Be Wild"
Single by Steppenwolf
from the album Steppenwolf
B-side	"Everybody's Next One"
Released	June 1968
Format	45-single
Recorded	Fall 1967
Genre	Blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal
Length	3:30 3:02 (7")
Label	Dunhill RCA / #D-4138
Writer(s)	Mars Bonfire
Producer	Gabriel Mekler

"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is sometimes 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.

Composition

"Born to Be Wild" was written by Mars Bonfire (who also wrote several other songs for Steppenwolf) as a slow ballad. Writer Bonfire was previously a member of the Sparrows, the predecessor band to Steppenwolf, and his brother was Steppenwolf's drummer. Although he initially offered the song to other bands – The Human Expression, for one – Born to Be Wild was first recorded in 1967 by Steppenwolf in a sped-up and rearranged version, that the All Music Guide's Hal Horowitz described as "a roaring anthem of turbo-charged riff rock" and "a timeless radio classic as well as a slice of '60s revolt that at once defines Steppenwolf's sound and provided them with their shot at AM immortality."

Release and reception

"Born to be Wild" was the band's third single off their debut album and became their most successful single, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "Born to be Wild" at No. 129 on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. In 2009, it was named the 53rd best hard rock song of all time by VH1.

Cultural references

The song was initially released in 1968, but it was subsequently included in many compilation albums and soundtracks. The first of these was the soundtrack for the movie Easy Rider (1969). Unlike the album or single version, the song on this soundtrack is accompanied by the sounds of motorcycles as an introduction. (Another Steppenwolf song from their first album, "The Pusher", was also used in the film.) When the movie was in production, Born to Be Wild was used simply as a placeholder, since Peter Fonda had wanted Crosby, Stills and Nash to do the movie's soundtrack. Eventually, it became clear that the song was well suited for the movie.

Other movies that have used the Steppenwolf version of Born to Be Wild include Problem Child, Coming Home, One Crazy Summer, The Serial, Opportunity Knocks, Dr. Dolittle 2, Speechless, Armed and Dangerous, Mr Bean's Holiday, Wild America, and many others.

"Born to Be Wild" has been used in several movies, trailers, TV shows and advertisings, including:

• The Miami Vice episode "The Great McCarthy"
• The Married... with Children episode "Have You Driven a Ford Lately?"
• Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie (some TV spots only)
• A Bug's Life (TV spots only)
• Rugrats Go Wild
• Six Feet Under
• The NeverEnding Story III (parody)
• Borat
• Commercial for the 2007 Hess Monster Truck
• Van Pires: The Next Generation (Theme Song)
• Herbie: Fully Loaded
• Blue Cross/Blue Shield (2011 TV commercial)

Cover versions

"Born to Be Wild"
Single by Kim Wilde
B-side	"All About Me"
Released	October 14, 2002
Format	CD-single
Genre	Pop
Length	3:23 (Radio Mix)
Label	Edel
Writer(s)	Mars Bonfire
Producer	Ricki Wilde
Kim Wilde singles chronology
"Loved" (2001) "Born to Be Wild" (2002) "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime" (2003)

"Born to Be Wild"
Single by Hinder
from the album Extreme Behavior (re-release) Was the NASCAR on TNT theme song from 2007–08
Released	August 2007
Format	CD single
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Label	Universal
Writer(s)	Mars Bonfire
Hinder singles chronology
"Homecoming Queen" (2007) "Born to Be Wild" (2007) "Use Me" (2008)

In 2002, the song was covered by Kim Wilde and released as a non-album single. It reached No. 84 in Germany and No. 71 in Switzerland. In 2007 it was covered by Hinder on the Deluxe Edition of the album Extreme Behavior, and released as a single.^{[citation needed]}

Other artists that covered this song, including Adam Lambert, Link Wray, The Mooney Suzuki, Slade, Rose Tattoo, Riot, The Cult, Bewitched, Black Sabbath, INXS, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Raven with Udo Dirkschneider, Twenty Minute Mile, Slayer, X Japan, Blue Öyster Cult, Status Quo, Kirka, Fanfare Ciocărlia, Lizzy Borden, Tanja Dexters, The Residents, Hampton String Quartet and Krokus.