Steppenwolf Songs Ranked
Steppenwolf was a Canadian-American rock band, prominent from 1968 to 1972. The group was formed in late 1967in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian band The Sparrows. Guitarist Michael Monarch and bass guitarist Rushton Moreve were recruited via notices placed in Los Angeles-area record and musical instrument stores. Steppenwolf sold over 25 million records worldwide, released eight gold albums and 12 Billboard Hot 100 singles, of which six were top 40 hits, including three top 10 successes: “Born to Be Wild”, “Magic Carpet Ride”, and “Rock Me”. Steppenwolf enjoyed worldwide success from 1968 to 1972, but clashing personalities led to the end of the core lineup. Today, John Kay is the only original member, having been the lead singer since 1967. The band was called John Kay & Steppenwolf from 1980 to 2018. Here are all of Steppenwolf songs ranked.
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14. Sookie Sookie (Steppenwolf, 1968)
“Wow, a Steppenwolf single not in my father’s collection! Damn…I’m more used to seeing and hearing “Sookie Sookie” due to it being the B-Side of the “Magic Carpet Ride” single, and always liked the song, especially when the chorus comes along. “Sookie sookie sookie sookie sookie sookie SUE!”
13. Desperation (Steppenwolf, 1968)
“‘Desperation’ ‘s chorus of over-driven guitars sound at once sweet, elegant and deafening. Steppenwolf ‘s range of songs makes for a most entertaining listen.”
12. Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam (The Second, 1968)
“Don’t Step on the Grass, Sam” is a screed against the people who were demonizing marijuana; the lyrics are pretty heavy-handed, but the music has a nice “Hey Lawdy Mama”-type feel.”
11. The Pusher (Steppenwolf, 1968)
“This is almost like a mainstream rock version of Lou Reed’s ‘Heroin’ but instead of The Velvets Heavy alt-rock experimental drone we get Steppenwolf’s heavy acid-blues rock groove. They’re both great songs – Steppenwolf’s preachy, earnest, cautionary, The Velvet Undergrounds experiential, apathetic, scary. Check out Love’s ‘Signed DC’ for the third side of this triangle – a real ‘bummer in the summer of love’ song, this time from the perspective of the trapped and self pitying junky”
See more: Steppenwolf Albums Ranked
10. For Ladies Only (For Ladies Only, 1971)
“Their sound has gotten very commercial sounding at this point, and lost a considerable amount of its hard edge, yet somehow this one seems like an improvement over their previous outing, in my opinion.”
9. Move Over (Live at 25, 1995)
“”Move Over” is fast hard rock with guitar, incl. the break, piano, powerful drumming and Kaye’s typically gravelly vocals. This is pure Steppenwolf at their best! High powered rock n roll. Nothing more needs to be said.”
8. Jupiter’s Child (At Your Birthday Party, 1969)
“At Your Birthday Party is not their best effort but still pretty good stuff. When they were heavy, they were good but sometimes they would add some silly ballads and ya know, they were not so good. Still, this is a very solid album with some toe tappers.”
7. Snowblind Friend (Steppenwolf 7 1970)
“Snowblind Friend is about the best thing I’ve heard come out of the music community about the pitfalls of excessive drug use. You guys shunned this record and now you want me to record a statement saying ‘Please kids, don’t do drugs?’ Forget it! ”
See more: Tommy Tutone Albums Ranked
6. Rock Me (Candy, 1968)
“This is a celebratory track, they just found a girl that was kidnapped in are area on 7/7 ironically. Any way so that calls for a celebration. The track features miranda’s are some kind of South American instrument I have seen at carnivale on TV. The singing is pretty nice, his voice is not too dissimilar to John Fogerty’s.”
5. Hey Lawdy Mama (Gold: Their Great Hits, 1971)
“This 45 marks the only studio versions of these tracks released on original vinyl. Both titles also appeared on the “Steppenwolf Live” LP. “Hey Lawdy mama” is funky, mid-tempo hard rock with guitar, Kaye’s gruff vocals and a voice box guitar break. The other side is mid-tempo country rock with bottleneck guitar and another voice box guitar break.”
4. Ride With Me (For Ladies Only, 1971)
“Released in July 1971, this was one of their catchiest singles ever. Should have become a big, big hit, but unfortunately it didn’t (no chart entry here in Germany, only # 37 in their homeland USA). Perfect for hearing it in open cars in the summer sunshine.”
3. Monster (Monster, 1969)
“This is obviously the single edit of the much longer LP track. It’s mid-tempo, heavy hard rock with protest lyrics, guitar and mal/fem vocal harmony backing vocals. The other side goes all the way back to their first album. This is mid-fast boogie rock wit guitar and piano, incl. the break.”
2. Magic Carpet Ride (Candy , 1968)
“Magic Carpet Ride” is mid-tempo, psych influenced hard rock with organ, heavy bass, a funky beat and a psychedelic break featuring organ and guitar effects. The other side reached back to their first album. This is mid-tempo hard rock with guitar, incl. the break, organ, some funk elements and a heavy sound overall.”
1. Born to Be Wild (Steppenwolf, 1968)
“Steppenwolf was formed in 1967 and “Born To Be Wild” would be their highest charting single spending three weeks at number two on the American charts. I saw them in concert about seven years ago and it is still a great song.”