Favorite Songs From Movies: Born to Be Wild

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New month, new countdown! Back in January I did a monthlong look at songs that had been nominated for “best original song” by the Academy Awards people. I’m back to the movie theme. These songs, however, did NOT get a nomination. Something about the “original song” thing. Eternal glory is better than an Oscar, so let’s get rolling with the alphabetical part of the list. Born to Be Wild - Steppenwolf Ever seen that meme on Facebook that says, “The most disturbing thing is when nobody worries about ‘Born to Be Wild’ where they find the head out on the highway.” It’s widely thought that the line “heavy metal thunder” is what inspired people to call the music “heavy metal.” And it’s a no-brainer that this song is eternally linked with the film Easy Rider. Not necessarily the first “counter-culture” film, but Easy Rider was the first widely successful one. Peter Fonda (who produced it) and Dennis Hopper (the director) starred with Jack Nicholson (whose character obviously believed what they showed in Reefer Madness ) in an independent movie about the independent spirit. I absolutely LOATHE the ending of the movie. It seems that we’re sort of seeing a repeat of that today: what you don’t understand, you kill. The song is absolutely legendary, so much so that the song is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame. Steppenwolf continued their transportation theme with another big hit, “Magic Carpet Ride.” One of the prime examples of how the right song in the right place can create an iconic cinematic moment. Born to Be Wild Written by Mars Bonfire Recorded by Steppenwolf From Easy Rider, 1969 Lookin’ for adventure: