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John Kay And The Sparrow - Collector's Item (1966-1967)
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John Kay And The Sparrow - Collector's Item (1966-1967)
1. Twisted 2. Goin' To California 3. Baby Please Don't Go 4. Down Goes Your Love Life 5. Bright Lights Big City 6. Can't Make Love By Yourself 7. Good Morning Little School Girl 8. King Pin 9. Square Headed People 10. Chasin' Shadows 11. Green Bottle Lover 12. Isn't It Strange 13. Tomorrow's Ship (bonus track) 14. Twisted (bonus track) 15. Goin' To California (bonus track) 16. Hoochie Coochie Man (bonus track) 17. Pusher (bonus track) 18. Goin' Upstairs (bonus track) 19. Tighten Up Your Wig (bonus track) 20. Too Late (bonus track)
Biography by Greg Prato: Steppenwolf
leader/founder John Kay is perhaps the most overlooked early
contributor to the musical style that would become heavy metal and hard
rock. Kay was the first rocker to use the phrase heavy metal in a song,
in one of metal's first great anthems: Steppenwolf's 1968 classic "Born
to Be Wild." Born Joachim Fritz Krauledat on April 12, 1944, in the
section of Germany that was once known as East Prussia, it was the
American rock & roll that he heard on U.S. Armed Forces radio after
his family moved to East Germany that fueled his interest in music.
After relocating to Toronto, Canada, in 1958, Kay became even more
transfixed by rock & roll — leading to Kay picking up the guitar,
writing songs, and playing in local bands.
In the '60s, Kay
founded the Sparrow, a rock outfit who played both Canada and the U.S.,
but received little attention. The group had fallen apart by 1967, but
with a new, harder-edged style of rock beginning to conquer the charts
and airwaves (Cream, Jimi Hendrix, and the Yardbirds), Kay decided to
pursue this direction with his next band, Steppenwolf (titled after
Hermann Hesse's novel of the same name). After moving to Los Angeles,
the fledgling band was signed to Dunhill and recorded their self-titled
debut, issued in 1968. The album became a sizeable hit, as "Born to Be
Wild" was unleashed on an unsuspecting record-buying public, becoming
one of rock's most instantly identifiable and enduring hits of all
time. After the track was used in the 1969 cult classic movie Easy
Rider, it subsequently appeared in countless other movies and TV
commercials over the years and was covered by numerous other bands
(Blue Oyster Cult, Slade, Crowded House, and the Cult).
Steppenwolf
continued to crank out hit albums (1968's The Second, 1969's At Your
Birthday Party, and 1969's Monster), singles ("Magic Carpet Ride,"
"Rock Me"), and tours on a regular basis, with Kay being the only
constant member among a revolving door of other musicians. By 1972, Kay
decided to end the group, issuing his first solo albums around the same
time: Forgotten Songs & Unsung Heroes and My Sportin' Life.
Steppenwolf's retirement didn't last for long, however, as Kay
alternated between the band and his solo career throughout the '70s,
'80s, and '90s. He even took a few former members of the band to court
when they, too, began touring behind the name Steppenwolf. In 1994, Kay
penned an autobiography, Magic Carpet Ride, and four years later,
Steppenwolf and Kay were the subject of an interesting Behind the Music
episode for VH1.