Steppenwolf - Born To be Wild - 1968

See the the Easy Rider clip here - Youtube

Some years ago I went on a motorbike holiday in Laos with three friends, all far more experienced than me, so I was the tail-end Charlie. When we returned, I took all the photos and videos we took and turned them into a short movie, just for us. No movie is complete without music, so being a motorbike adventure, Born To Be Wild was top of the list.

This song, written by Mars Bonfire was released in 1968 as a single from the album “Steppenwolf”. A year later it was featured in the movie “Easy Rider”. 

For me, the song evokes everything about my holiday. We started in the capital Vientiane and rode through the mountains to Phonsovan, not too far from the Vietnamese border, and then back again.

The song starts off with a wicked guitar riff, then the bass comes, after that you hear John Kay’s gritty vocals kick in singing these opening lines:

Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way

This sets the theme for the whole song. It really is an anthem for anyone that loves motorbikes.

Dave Moore