Mars Bonfire

Mars Bonfire was born Dennis Edmonton, the older brother of Steppenwolf drummer Jerry Edmonton. He wrote "Born to Be Wild" alone in his apartment, inspired by his Ford Falcon and a violent thunderstorm in the San Bernardino mountains. He pitched the demo to three or four music publishers before anyone showed interest. Eventually he slipped the cassette tape through Steppenwolf's front door. The phrase "heavy metal thunder" came to him while recalling the periodic table during the storm, and music historians credit it as one of the earliest uses of "heavy metal" as a genre name.

In our deep dive into Born to Be Wild, we trace the song from Bonfire's apartment to the film placement in Easy Rider that gave it global reach, and what it reveals about a songwriter who accidentally named an entire genre.

Born to Be Wild: Lyrics, Meaning & the Full Story →

Deep Dives

Card Game Karaoke

You love the song.
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Card Game Karaoke

You love the song.
But do you know the words?

Flip a card. Sing a lyric. Win the round.

Pre-order Lyrically · $29.99 →

Ships September · price goes up $5 at launch

What players say

★★★★★

“Best party game we’ve played in years. If you know music, you know Lyrically.”

Sarah M.  ·  Verified

★★★★★

“My family fought over who knew the lyrics! We played and sang songs I forgot about.”

James T.  ·  Verified