The discography of Steppenwolf, a Canadian-American
Hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
band, consists of 13
studio album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
s, 14
compilation album
A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...
s, 5 (live albums) 41 singles, and three music videos. The band was formed in 1967 after some members of The Sparrows split. Group members included John Kay,
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),Goldy McJohn, Rushton Moreve and Jerry Edmonton. Their first album, Steppenwolf, was released in 1968, which sold well and reached 6 on Billboard. That same year, Steppenwolf covered " The Pusher" (previously released by
Hoyt Axton
Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...
). The song was later used in Easy Rider. The album's most successful single was " Born to Be Wild", which reached No. 2 on the Billboard. At the time of the release of second album, The Second, the band's bassist Rushton Moreve had a dispute with band leader John Kay, and was eventually replaced with
Nick St. Nicholas
Nick St. Nicholas (born Klaus Karl Kassbaum on September 28, 1943) is a German bandleader, bass guitarist, singer and songwriter; best known for his partnership in Steppenwolf.
Early life
He was born in Plön, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany ...
. The album's single was " Magic Carpet Ride" which reached number 3 on Billboard.
The band's third album, '' At Your Birthday Party'', reached number 7 on the Billboard. The album's single " Rock Me" reached number 10 on Billboard; no single went that high in the United States after that, although they continued to do well on the Canadian singles chart. Steppenwolf released three more albums by 1972 that had no commercial success and eventually led to the band's dissolution. The band re-formed in 1974 with a new lineup, including John Kay, Jerry Edmonton, Goldy McJohn,
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 ...
, and Bobby Cochran. Steppenwolf released three albums during this period, the most successful being "
Slow Flux
''Slow Flux'' is the seventh studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf. The album was released in August 1974, by Epic Records. In the US it was released on the Mums Records label, a short-lived CBS Records subsidiary. It was the f ...
". After three albums, Steppenwolf was dissolved in 1976. The group was re-formed in 1980 and broke up for the last time in 2018. Steppenwolf's newest studio album was Rise & Shine, released in 1990.