Recently, I received an email from the Steppenwolf fanclub informing me that the wonderful organist (John Goadsby, given the stagename "Goldie McJohn") who co-founded the band with John Kay passed away at the start of August.
Steppenwolf, even before the Beatles or the Stones, was my favourite band as a kid. I had all their records and loved Goldie's sound.
Here, from Steppenwolf's first album (1968) - the first album I ever owned - are two recordings that typify Goldie's approach to soundscapes (played, I believe on a Lowrey, rather than a Hammond) and have been favourites of mine for almost 50 years. You will know his playing, of course, from "Born to be Wild", "The Pusher" and probably "Magic Carpet Ride". These are two less-known songs, though - the first and last tracks from side 2, "Desperation" and "The Ostrich". I hope you enjoy them:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB6SxaQK1ds
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu4U3D5QDZg
And from Steppenwolf 7, "Snowblind Friend, another beautiful song by Hoyt Axton - and there is a fantastic photo of Goldie on the cover (at the far right) - which shows a different side of the band:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMxCi3ljWEg
Hard to believe that this most "American" of bands was formed by an East German refugee who sang (and still sings) like Howlin' Wolf and a bunch of Canadians. "Born to be Wild", of course, was also written by a Canadian (Dennis Edmonton, the brother of Steppenwolf's first drummer, Jerry).
Vale Goldie McJohn
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