Steppenwolf was a Canadian-American hard rock band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Formed in 1967, the group originally consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist John Kay, lead guitarist

Michael Monarch Michael Monarch (born July 5, 1950) is an American guitarist. He is best known for his work with the band Steppenwolf. Monarch was born in Los Angeles. As the original lead guitarist with Steppenwolf (1967 through most of 1969),Rushton Moreve Rushton Moreve (born John Rushton Morey; November 6, 1948 – July 1, 1981) was an American bass guitarist best known for his work with the rock band Steppenwolf from 1967–68 and again in 1978. According to singer John Kay, he was an in ...

, drummer

Jerry Edmonton Gerald Michael Edmonton (born Gerald McCrohan, October 24, 1946 – November 28, 1993) was a Canadian-American musician who was the drummer, and secondary lead vocalist for the rock band Steppenwolf. Early life and career Edmonton was born in ...

and keyboardist

Goldy McJohn John Raymond Goadsby (May 2, 1945 – August 1, 2017), known as Goldy McJohn, was a Canadian keyboard player best known as the original keyboardist for rock group Steppenwolf. Originally a classically trained pianist, he was a pioneer in the ...

. The band's final lineup featured Kay, keyboardist Michael Wilk (since 1982, and bassist between 1984 and 2009), bassist Gary Link (from 1982 to 1984, and since 2009), drummer Ron Hurst (since 1984) and lead guitarist Danny Johnson (since 1996).

History

1967–1976

Steppenwolf evolved from the Sparrows in late 1967 and originally included John Kay,

and

. After the release of two studio albums, Moreve was fired in early 1969 for failure to appear at several performances, with former Sparrows bassist Nick St. Nicholas taking his place. Monarch left the group in August, with

Larry Byrom Steppenwolf was an American-Canadian rock band that was prominent from 1968 to 1972. The group was formed in late 1967 in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian ...

taking his place in time for the recording of '' Monster''. St. Nicholas ceased working with Steppenwolf in April 1970, and was formally excluded from the band the following year. He was replaced by

George Biondo George Michael Biondo (born September 3, 1945) is a musician who served as bass guitarist of the Canadian rock band Steppenwolf from April 1970 to October 1976. Born in New York, Biondo has been based in Southern California throughout a career ...

. Byrom was replaced by

Kent Henry Kent Henry Plischke (April 5, 1948 – March 18, 2009), known as Kent Henry, was an American guitarist and songwriter best known for his contributions to Steppenwolf and Blues Image.UncreditedKent Henry: Guitarist with Steppenwolf and Blues Imag ...

for the 1971 release ''

For Ladies Only ''For Ladies Only'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. The album was released in November 1971, by Dunhill Records. It is a political concept album mainly about feminism but with several more conventional so ...

''. In February 1972, Steppenwolf disbanded; Kay, Henry and Biondo continued working together, while Edmonton and McJohn formed a group called Manbeast. In early 1974 Steppenwolf reformed, with guitarist

Bobby Cochran Bobby Cochran (born 1950) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has worked with many bands, including Steppenwolf, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Leon Russell, and Bob Weir's band Bobby and the Midnites. He was in ...

joining returning members Kay, Biondo, Edmonton and McJohn. Kay fired McJohn the following February, with

Andy Chapin Andrew Chapin (February 7, 1952 – December 31, 1985) was an American keyboardist best known for his short stint with the Ricky Nelson Band, which ended in 1985 when Nelson and his bandmates died after Nelson's personal DC-3 aircraft crashed ...

taking his place. The new keyboardist declined to tour with the group, however, and was replaced by

Wayne Cook Wayne Cook (1949) is an American keyboardist best known for his time with Steppenwolf and Player. He co-wrote the instrumental "Lip Service" and played keyboards on Steppenwolf's 1976 '' Skullduggery'' album. The following year, he joined Playe ...

. The band released three studio albums during its second tenure, before disbanding in late 1976. Following the group's second breakup, former members St. Nicholas and McJohn formed a band dubbed "New Steppenwolf", it was licensed and legit until 1980 at which time the licensing agreement wasn't complied with prompting Kay and Edmonton (who owned the rights to use the name) to take legal action.

1980–2018

Kay reformed the band as "John Kay and Steppenwolf" in January 1980, rebuilding the group with brothers Michael (lead guitar) and Steve Palmer (drums), bassist Kurtis Teel and keyboardist Danny Ironstone (Teel and Ironstone were soon replaced by Chad Peery and

Brett Tuggle Brett Tuggle (September 23, 1951 – June 19, 2022) was an American musician who is best known for his keyboard playing with Fleetwood Mac and the David Lee Roth band. Career Early years As a child, he studied classical piano and learned guitar ...

, respectively). Peery and Tuggle performed on the 1981 live album '' Live in London'', but were replaced for the recording of the following year's studio return '' Wolftracks'' by

Welton Gite Welton may refer to: Places United Kingdom *Nether Welton, a place in Cumbria * Welton, Cumbria, a place in Cumbria * Welton, East Ayrshire, Scotland; a UK location *Welton, East Riding of Yorkshire *Welton, Lincolnshire ** Welton Hill, a haml ...

and Michael Wilk, respectively. Gary Link took over on bass for 1984's ''

Paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictory or a logically u ...

'' but had left alongside the Palmer brothers by the end of the year, with Rocket Ritchotte (lead guitar) and Ron Hurst (drums) joining shortly after, and keyboardist Michael Wilk took the bass. The band released '' Rock & Roll Rebels'' in 1987, which was the group's first to feature the four-piece lineup. Ritchotte left Steppenwolf in 1989 to tour with the David Lee Roth Band, returning the following year and remaining until late 1993. During his time away from the band, he was replaced briefly by

Les Dudek Les Dudek (born August 2, 1952, at Naval Air Station, Quonset Point, Rhode Island, United States) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. In addition to his solo material, Dudek has played guitar with Steve Miller Band, The Dudek-Fin ...

, and later by Steve Fister. Following his departure, Fister returned to Steppenwolf for another three-year run. In 1996, Danny Johnson joined Steppenwolf in place of the departed Fister. Bassist Gary Link rejoined the band in 2009. In October 2018, at the end of the band's 50th anniversary tour, Kay announced that the group had officially retired.

History

1967–1976

1980–2018

Members

Timeline

Lineups

References

External links