"Born to Be Wild" is a song written by Mars Bonfire and first performed by the band Steppenwolf. The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude. It is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song, and the second verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music (although not as a description of a musical style)
"Born to Be Wild" was the band's third single off their 1968 debut album Steppenwolf, and became their most successful single, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles charts. It was kept from the No.1 spot by "People Got to Be Free" by the Rascals.
In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed "Born to Be Wild" at No. 129 on the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Also in 2004, it finished at #29 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs survey of top tunes in American cinema. In 2009, it was named the 53rd best hard rock song of all time by VH1. In 2018, the song was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in a new category for singles.
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