{{short description|1968 song by Steppenwolf}} {{about|the song|other uses|Born to Be Wild (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2012}} {{Infobox song |name = Born to Be Wild |cover = Born to be wild steppenwolf US single Dunhill-only variant A.png |alt = side-A label |caption = One of side-A labels of the US single |type = single |artist = Steppenwolf |album = Steppenwolf |B-side = Everybody's Next One |released = 1968 |genre = {{hlist|Hard rock<ref>{{cite book|first= Ian |last= Inglis |year= 2003 |title= Popular Music and Film |publisher= Wallflower Press |page= [https://archive.org/details/popularmusicfilm00iani/page/13 13] |isbn= 978-1-903364-71-0 |url= https://archive.org/details/popularmusicfilm00iani |url-access= registration |quote= Steppenwolf's 'Born To Be Wild', a gritty, hard-rock song that quickly became an anthem for defiant individualism.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title= Heavy Metal |magazine= Billboard |date= May 10, 1986 |page= H-1 |volume= 99 |issue= 18 |issn= 0006-2510 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8CQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22born+to+be+wild%22&pg=PA47-IA2}}</ref>|proto-metal<ref>{{cite book|editor-first= Robert |editor-last= Dimery |year= 2011 |title= 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die |chapter= The Pusher – Steppenwolf (1968) |publisher= Octopus Publishing Group |isbn= 978-1-84403-717-9 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UH_EOUR4tmkC&pg=PT634}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first= Barney |last= Hoskyns |year= 1996 |title= Waiting for the Sun: The Story of the Los Angeles Music Scene |publisher= Viking |page= 172 |quote= 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.}}</ref>}} |length = 3:28 (Album version)<br/>2:55 (7-inch version) |label = Dunhill, RCA |writer = Mars Bonfire |producer = Gabriel Mekler |prev_title = A Girl I Knew |prev_year = 1967 |next_title = The Pusher |next_year = 1968 |misc = {{External music video|header=Official audio|{{YouTube|p8FTmkTIL88|"Born To Be Wild"}}}} }}
"'''Born to Be Wild'''" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first released as a single by Steppenwolf. Although the lyrics do not specifically mention motorcycles, the song is often invoked in both popular and counterculture 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).<ref name="Grdn">{{cite news |last1=Dave Simpson |title=How we made Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild: Interview |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/jul/31/how-we-made-steppenwolf-born-to-be-wild |access-date=20 September 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=31 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first= Robert |last= Walser |year= 1993 |title= Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music |publisher= Wesleyan University Press |isbn= 978-0-8195-6260-9 |url= https://archive.org/details/runningwithdevil00wals |url-access= registration}}</ref>
==Music and lyrics== Mars Bonfire wrote "Born to Be Wild" as a ballad.<ref name="AM">{{cite web|first= Hal |last= Horowitz |title= Born to Be Wild – Song Review |publisher= AllMusic |url= http://www.allmusic.com/song/born-to-be-wild-mt0002632723}}</ref> 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<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title= The Human Expression: Love at Psychedelic Velocity |year= 1994 |publisher= Collectables Records}}</ref> — "Born to Be Wild" was first recorded by Steppenwolf in a sped-up and rearranged version that AllMusic'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".<ref name="AM"/>
According to ''Classic Rock Magazine'', the track was the first in history to incorporate the word "heavy metal" into its lyrics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dome |first=Malcolm |last2=Ling |first2=Dave |last3=Ewing |first3=Jerry |last4=Barton|first4=Geoff |date=2020-03-30 |title=The 30 albums that built heavy metal |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-30-albums-that-built-heavy-metal |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=Louder |language=en}}</ref>
==Release and commercial performance== "Born to Be Wild" was Steppenwolf's third single off their self-titled debut album, and became their signature song, reaching number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot{{nbsp}}100 singles charts. It was kept from the number-one spot by "People Got to Be Free" by the Rascals.<ref>{{cite magazine|title= The Hot 100 |magazine= Billboard |date= 24 August 1968 |access-date= 16 December 2018 |url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1968-08-24}}</ref>
== Reception and legacy == In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' placed "Born to Be Wild" at number{{nbsp}}129 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.<ref>{{cite magazine |title= The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (1–500) |magazine= Rolling Stone |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2 |archive-date= August 20, 2006 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060820114448/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/500songs/page/2}}</ref> Also in 2004, it finished at number{{nbsp}}29 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In 2009, it was named the 53rd-best hard rock song of all time by VH1 (It had ranked 40th in the 100 Greatest Songs of Rock and Roll by VH1 nine years earlier.).<ref>{{cite web|first= Andrew |last= Winistorfer |title= VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs list only slightly less annoying than their hip-hop list |website= Prefix Magazine |date= 5 January 2009 |access-date= 3 January 2021 |url= http://www.prefixmag.com/news/vh1s-100-greatest-hard-rock-songs-list-only-slight/24504/}}</ref> In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles.<ref>{{cite magazine|first= Gary |last= Graff |title= Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducts Songs for the First Time, Including 'Born to Be Wild' & 'Louie Louie' |magazine= Billboard |date= April 14, 2018 |access-date= April 15, 2018 |url= https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-inducts-songs-born-to-be-wild-louie-louie-8333912/}}</ref>
In 2021, staff writers at ''Classic Rock Magazine'' expressed the belief that "Born to Be Wild" is "probably the first real metal track."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dome |first=Malcolm |last2=Ling |first2=Dave |last3=Ewing |first3=Jerry |last4=Barton|first4=Geoff|date=2020-03-30 |title=The 30 albums that built heavy metal |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-30-albums-that-built-heavy-metal |access-date=2025-06-14 |website=Louder |language=en}}</ref>
==Personnel== Personnel taken from ''Mixonline''.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.mixonline.com/recording/classic-tracks/classic-tracks-steppenwolfs-born-be-wild-365997 |title=Classic Tracks: Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild" |date=2024 |website=Mixonline}}</ref>
* John Kay – vocals * Michael Monarch – guitar * Goldy McJohn – Lowrey organ * Rushton Moreve – bass * Jerry Edmonton – drums
==Charts== ===Weekly charts=== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}} {|class="wikitable sortable" !Chart (1968–1969) !Peak <br/>position |- {{single chart|Austria|20|artist=Steppenwolf|song=Born To Be Wild|access-date=July 2, 2013}} |- {{single chart|Flanders|16|artist=Steppenwolf|song=Born To Be Wild|access-date=July 2, 2013}} |- {{single chart|Canadatopsingles|1|chartid=5856|access-date=June 17, 2014}} |- {{single chart|Germany|20|artist=Steppenwolf|song=Born To Be Wild|songid=10104|access-date=July 2, 2013}} |- {{single chart|Dutch40|32|year=1968|week=41|access-date=July 2, 2013|refname="Dutch401968"}} |- |New Zealand (''Listener'')<ref>{{cite web |title= Search listener |website= Flavour of New Zealand |access-date= July 14, 2017 |url= http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=715#n_view_location |archive-date= May 16, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210516153322/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search%20listener&qartistid=715#n_view_location |url-status= dead }}</ref> |align="center"|13 |- {{single chart|UK|30|date=19690705|refname=UK30|access-date=July 2, 2013}} |- |US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite web |title=Steppenwolf – Awards |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=July 2, 2013 |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/steppenwolf-mw0000191884/awards}}</ref> |align="center"|2 |} {|class="wikitable" !Chart (1973) !Peak<br />position |- {{single chart|Dutch40|16|year=1973|week=32|access-date=July 2, 2013|refname="Dutch401973"}} |- {{single chart|Dutch100|14|artist=Steppenwolf|song=Born To Be Wild|access-date=July 2, 2013}} |} {{col-2}} {|class="wikitable sortable" !Chart (1990–1991) !Peak <br/>position |- {{single chart|Flanders|20|artist=Steppenwolf|song=Born To Be Wild|access-date=July 2, 2013}} |- |Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Eurochart Hot 100 Singles |magazine= Music & Media |date= 1 December 1990 |volume= 7 |issue= 48 |page= IV |url= https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-and-Media/90s/1990/MM-1990-12-01.pdf}}</ref> |align="center"|79 |- {{single chart|Dutch40|4|year=1990|week=47|access-date=July 2, 2013|refname="Dutch401990"}} |- {{single chart|Dutch100|5|artist=Steppenwolf|song=Born To Be Wild|access-date=July 2, 2013}} |}
{|class="wikitable" !Chart (1999) !Peak <br/>position |- {{single chart|UK|18|date=19990227|access-date=July 2, 2013}} |} {{col-end}}
===Year-end charts=== {|class="wikitable" !Chart (1968) !Position |- |Canada (''RPM'' Top Singles)<ref>{{cite magazine|title= The RPM 100: Top Singles of 1968 |magazine= RPM |volume= 10 |issue= 19 |url= http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.5867&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.5867.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.5867}}</ref> |align="center"|14 |- |US ''Billboard'' Hot 100<ref>{{cite web|title= Top 100 Hits for 1968 |website= Longbored Surfer |access-date= July 20, 2017 |url= http://longboredsurfer.com/charts/1968}}</ref> |align="center"|31 |} {|class="wikitable" !Chart (1990) !Position |- |Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)<ref>{{cite web|title= Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1990 |publisher= Dutch Top 40 |access-date= August 12, 2021 |url= https://www.top40.nl/bijzondere-lijsten/top-100-jaaroverzichten/1990 |language= nl}}</ref> |align="center"|47 |- |Netherlands (Single Top 100)<ref>{{cite web|title= Jaaroverzichten – Single 1990 |publisher= Single Top 100. Hung Medien |access-date= August 12, 2021 |url= http://dutchcharts.nl/jaaroverzichten.asp?year=1990&cat=s |language= nl}}</ref> |align="center"|57 |}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Denmark|type=single|artist=Steppenwolf|title=Born to Be Wild|award=Gold|id=11523|relyear=1968|certyear=2022|access-date=July 26, 2022}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=single|award=Gold|certyear=2024|relyear=1968|artist=Steppenwolf|title=Born to Be Wild|accessdate=November 29, 2024}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Steppenwolf|title=Born to Be Wild|award=Gold|relyear=1968|certyear=2018|access-date=September 10, 2021|id=5786}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|award=Platinum|certyear=2024|artist=Steppenwolf|title=Born to Be Wild|accessdate=May 15, 2024}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Steppenwolf|title=Born to Be Wild|award=Platinum|relyear=2007|certyear=2024|id=14395-4438-1|access-date=November 21, 2024}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Steppenwolf|title=Born to Be Wild|award=Gold|relyear=1968|certyear=1968|access-date=September 10, 2021}} {{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}
==Cover versions== {{Infobox song |name = Born to Be Wild |cover = |alt = |caption = |type = single |artist = Kim Wilde |album = |B-side = All About Me |released = 2002 |recorded = |studio = |venue = |genre = |length = 3:23 (Radio Mix) |label = Edel |writer = Mars Bonfire |producer = Ricki Wilde |prev_title = Loved |prev_year = 2001 |next_title = Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime |next_year = 2003 |misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|ayQN8wVCTQk|"Born to Be Wild"}}}} }}
In 1985, the song was covered by Australian band Rose Tattoo. Their version peaked at number 25 in Australia.<ref name="AUS"/> In 2002, it was covered by Kim Wilde and released as a nonalbum single. Her cover reached number 84 in Germany<ref name="GER"/> and number 71 in Switzerland.<ref name="SWI"/> Belgian singer Tanja Dexters also covered the song in 2002. Her version peaked at number 21 in Belgium.<ref name="BEL"/>
Other artists who covered this song include Hinder,<ref>{{cite news|first= Maura |last= Johnston |author-link=Maura Johnston |title= The 50 Worst Songs of the '00s, F2K No. 15: Hinder, "Born To Be Wild" |newspaper= The Village Voice |date= December 11, 2009 |url= http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2009/12/the_50_worst_so_12.php |url-status= dead |archive-date= July 27, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140727142533/http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2009/12/the_50_worst_so_12.php}}</ref> Etta James,<ref name="Cover"/> Link Wray,<ref name="Cover">{{cite book |first= Bob |last= Leszczak |year= 2014 |title= Who Did It First?: Great Rock and Roll Cover Songs and Their Original Artists |publisher= Rowman & Littlefield |page= 25 |isbn= 978-1-4422-3321-8}}</ref> Slade,<ref>{{cite web|first= Stephen |last= Cook |title= Slade – Slade Alive! |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= July 18, 2013 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/slade-alive%21-mw0000543940}}</ref> The Cult,<ref>{{cite web|first= Ned |last= Raggett |title= The Cult – Electric |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= July 18, 2013 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/electric-mw0000189571}}</ref> INXS,<ref name="Cover"/> Ozzy Osbourne with Miss Piggy,<ref>{{cite web|first= James Christopher |last= Monger |title= Ozzy Osbourne – Prince of Darkness |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= July 18, 2013 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/prince-of-darkness-mw0000249206}}</ref> Bruce Springsteen,<ref name="Cover"/> Slayer,<ref>{{cite web|first= Richie |last= Unterberger |author-link= Richie Unterberger |title= Various Artists – NASCAR on Fox: Crank It Up |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= July 18, 2013 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/nascar-on-fox-crank-it-up-mw0000222882}}</ref> Blue Öyster Cult,<ref name="Cover"/> Status Quo,<ref name="Cover"/> Fanfare Ciocărlia,<ref name="Borat">{{cite web|first= Heather |last= Phares |title= Original Soundtrack – Borat [Original Soundtrack] |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= July 18, 2013 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/borat-original-soundtrack-mw0000563799}}</ref> Krokus,<ref>{{cite web|first= Alexey |last= Eremenko |title= Krokus – Hoodoo |publisher= AllMusic |access-date= July 18, 2013 |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/hoodoo-mw0001967986}}</ref> Wilson Pickett,<ref name="Cover"/> and La Renga.<ref>{{cite web|title= El día en que La Renga hizo estallar el Víctor Jara por primera vez |website= Irock.cl |date= July 9, 2013 |access-date= January 30, 2014 |url= http://www.irock.cl/articulos-el-dia-en-que-la-renga-hizo-estallar-el-victor-jara-por-primera-vez/ |language= es}}</ref>
===Charts=== ====Rose Tattoo version==== {|class="wikitable" !Chart (1985) !Peak <br/>position |- |Australia (Kent Music Report)<ref name="AUS">{{cite web|title= Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989 |publisher= Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien |access-date= June 17, 2014 |url= http://australian-charts.com/forum.asp?todo=viewthread&id=21533&pages=}}</ref> |align="center"|25 |}
====Kim Wilde version==== {|class="wikitable" !Chart (2002) !Peak <br/>position |- {{single chart|Germany|84|artist=Kim Wilde|song=Born To Be Wild|songid=5387|refname="GER"}} |- {{single chart|Switzerland|71|artist=Kim Wilde|song=Born To Be Wild|refname="SWI"}} |}
====Tanja Dexters version==== {|class="wikitable" !Chart (2002) !Peak <br/>position |- {{single chart|Flanders|21|artist=Tania Dexter|song=Born To Be Wild|refname="BEL"}} |}
==See also== *List of number-one singles of 1968 (Canada)
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Steppenwolf}} {{Hinder}} {{Kim Wilde}} {{2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}} {{authority control}}
Category:1968 songs Category:1968 singles Category:1985 singles Category:2002 singles Category:Steppenwolf (band) songs Category:Kim Wilde songs Category:Dunhill Records singles Category:Edel AG singles Category:Epic Records singles Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Category:RCA Records singles Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles