Born to Be Wild
| "Born to Be Wild" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Everybody's Next One" |
"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the American rock band, Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. The song is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song ever written and is also said to have inspired the name of the emerging heavy metal genre; although these claims are disputed, the song's second verse (which refers to "heavy metal thunder", though it is a reference to the weight of the motorcycle) contains the first recorded reference to "heavy metal",[1]
Steppenwolf version
Although initially offered to other bands – the Human Expression, for one[2] – Born to Be Wild was first recorded in 1968 by Steppenwolf. (Under an earlier stage name, Dennis Edmonton, Mars Bonfire was previously a member of the Sparrows, the predecessor band to Steppenwolf). "Born to be Wild" was the band's second and most successful single, reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "Born to be Wild" at #129 on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.
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.[3] At least in part because of its prominence in this movie, Born to Be Wild is probably the song that is most closely associated with motorcycles.
Other movies that have used the Steppenwolf version of Born to Be Wild include Coming Home, One Crazy Summer, Opportunity Knocks, Dr. Dolittle 2, Speechless, Herbie Fully Loaded, and Wild America.
The video game Rock N' Roll Racing also used the song but without the lyrics as an in-game tune that played during a race.
| "Born to Be Wild" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "All About Me" |
| "Born to Be Wild" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
Others
Wilson Pickett released his version of "Born To Be Wild" in 1969. It was a moderate hit, climbing to the middle of both the US Pop and R&B charts.
A 1969 cover by Pesky Gee! appeared on their album "Exclamation Mark." (Pesky Gee! reformed as Black Widow in 1970 sans vocalist Kay Garrett)
In The Decline of the Western Civilization': the Metal Years, Lizzy borden performs the song born to be wild.
Two covers were released for use in motor racing broadcasts in the 2000's.
It was covered by Hard Rock band The Cult on their 1987 album Electric
In 2002 a release by British pop singer Kim Wilde was recorded as the theme song for broadcasts of the DTM.
In 2007 a cover by rock band Hinder was recorded for use by TNT for their NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series broadcasts. The song also appears on a 2007 re-release of their Extreme Behavior CD along with a non NASCAR version of the music video.
Many artists have covered this song, including Slade, The Cult, INXS, Slayer, X Japan, Blue Öyster Cult and Kirka.
It was also parodied by ApologetiX under the title "Born-Again Child".
Ozzy Osbourne Cover with Miss Piggy
Heavy Metal singer Ozzy Osbourne covered this song, featuring the voice talents of Miss Piggy, on the CD, Kermit Unpigged, and later re-released on the box set Prince of Darkness.
Ozzy turns this song into a comedy, starting with Miss Piggy looking for Kermit the Frog, but then stumbles into the wrong room where she screams for Kermit. Ozzy's voice then answers her, and Miss Piggy apologizes to Ozzy, but he insists she stay. The music then begins, Miss Piggy stating that "the frog can wait". As the song is played through, Miss Piggy frequently screams words, such as "Yes!" and "Yeah!" and sings the famous chorus line "Born To Be Wild!." Things start to get out of hand when Ozzy begins to go crazy, screaming the he "Loves Miss Piggy" and then falling unconscious. He awakes a few seconds later, after the music has stopped, and askes Miss Piggy to give him a kiss. She storms out the room, angry with Ozzy.
"Born to Be Mild"
An obvious play on the name of this song is created by replacing "wild" with "mild", and that phrase has entered popular culture in many areas. The most prominent use of this phrase is probably a live comic performance by comedian Rita Rudner in Cleveland that was released on the VHS videocassette format in 1990 with the title Rita Rudner: Born to Be Mild. Also, Weird Al Yankovic has an unreleased song that is a parody of Born to Be Wild called "Born to Be Mild"; the singer is in the guise of a computer nerd.[citation needed] An episode of SpongeBob SquarePants has a motorcycle gang thought to be called The Wild Ones when they are actually a bunch of old people (The Mild Ones).