John Kay

In the 1960’s, Elvis was king, the Beatles were the greatest, James Brown was the godfather of soul but the coolest band had to have been Steppenwolf. Lead singer and songwriter John Kay was one of three Canadians in the group that made their mark with songs such as ‘Born to Be Wild’, ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ and ‘The Pusher’. Despite selling over 25 million records worldwide, Steppenwolf broke up and they each went their separate ways. In the late 70’s, a number of promoters tried to cash in on the name and launched several Steppenwolf reunion tours, with various members of the original band, but none with John Kay. Success was mixed, and the reputation of Steppenwolf as a tightly knit, hard rock band began to suffer. In the 80’s, John Kay wrestled back the rights to the name Steppenwolf and began to tour again, slowly rebuilding a reputation of a band that knows how to give a good show for its fans. Thirty years later, John Kay and Steppenwolf continue to tour, but no more than a dozen shows per year. John is now spending more of his time with a foundation he set up with his wife, called the Maue Kay Foundation that is engaged in the protection of the environment and promoting human rights. Ken Rockburn spoke to John Kay at the legendary Bluebird Café in Nashville.