John Kay (born
Joachim Fritz Krauledat, 12 April 1944, Tilsit,
East PrussiaEast Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia...
) is a German Canadian singer, songwriter and guitarist known as the frontman of
SteppenwolfSteppenwolf is a Canadian hard rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Toronto by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of its predecessor, The...
.
In the
Evacuation of East PrussiaThe evacuation of East Prussia refers to the evacuation of the German civilian population and military personnel in East Prussia and the Klaipėda region between 20 January, and March 1945, as part of the evacuation of German civilians towards the end of World War II...
in early 1945, in harsh winter conditions, his mother first had to flee with the baby boy from the advancing Soviet troops. In 1948, the two also fled from
ArnstadtArnstadt is a town in Ilm-Kreis, Thuringia, Germany, situated on the Gera River. It is one of the oldest towns in Thuringia and is nicknamed Das Tor zum Thüringer Wald, The Gate to the Thuringian Forest....
in the East German
Soviet occupation zoneThe Soviet Occupation Zone was the area of central Germany occupied by the Soviet Union from 1945 on, at the end of World War II...
to resettle in
HanoverHanover or Hannover , on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, in their dignities as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg Hanover or Hannover , on the river Leine, is...
,
West GermanyWest Germany is a common English name for the period of the Federal Republic of Germany between its' formation in May 1949 to German reunification in October 1990, when the German Democratic Republic was dissolved and the five states on its territory joined the Federal Republic of Germany,...
(as recounted in his song "Renegade" on the album
Steppenwolf Seven). Located in the
British occupation zoneThe Allied powers who defeated Nazi Germany in World War II divided the country west of the Oder-Neisse line into four occupation zones for administrative purposes during the period 1945–1949. In the closing weeks of fighting in Europe, American forces had pushed beyond the previously agreed...
, teen aged Joachim, suffering from eyesight problems, listened to music broadcast by the
British Forces Broadcasting ServiceThe British Forces Broadcasting Service was established by the British War Office in 1943. Today it provides radio and television programmes for HM Forces, and their dependents, in Afghanistan, Belize, Bosnia, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, Germany, Gibraltar, Kosovo, the Middle...
before his family moved to Canada in 1958.
He joined a blues rock and
folk musicThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
group known as
The SparrowsCanadian Sixties blues-rock band, The Sparrow evolved out of Jack London & The Sparrows and later morphed into heavy rock group, Steppenwolf.-Early years:Singer/songwriter and guitarist Dennis Edmonton, drummer Jerry Edmonton and bass player Nick St...
in 1965, which had moderate success in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
before moving to
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, augmenting its line-up and changing its name to
SteppenwolfSteppenwolf is a Canadian hard rock group that was prominent in the late 1960s. The group was formed in 1967 in Toronto by vocalist John Kay, guitarist Michael Monarch, bassist Rushton Moreve, keyboardist Goldy McJohn and drummer Jerry Edmonton after the dissolution of its predecessor, The...
in 1967. With music that pioneered
hard rockHard rock or heavy rock is a sub-genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock and is considerably harder than conventional rock music...
and
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
, Kay's Steppenwolf had international success with songs such as "
Born to Be Wild"Born to Be Wild" is a rock song written by Mars Bonfire and made famous by the Canadian rock band Steppenwolf. It is often used in popular culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude...
", "
Magic Carpet Ride"Magic Carpet Ride" is a rock song written by John Kay and Rushton Moreve from the band Steppenwolf. The song was initially released on the album Steppenwolf the Second...
", "Monster", "The Pusher", and "Rock Me". This was multiplied by the use of "Born to Be Wild" and "The Pusher" in the 1969 movie
Easy RiderEasy Rider is a American road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda and directed by Hopper. It tells the story of two bikers who travel through the American Southwest and South with the aim of achieving freedom...
.
Kay recorded both as a solo artist and with Steppenwolf during the late 1970s, and wrapped up Steppenwolf's 40th year of touring with a final gig in October 2007.
In 2004 he was inducted into
Canada's Walk of Fame, in recognition of his early years as a Canadian citizen and the beginnings of his musical career in Toronto. Whereas any celebrity that meets criteria can finance their way into the
Hollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame is a sidewalk along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA, that serves as an entertainment museum...
http://www.hollywoodchamber.net/icons/history.asp, inductees to Canada's Walk of Fame are only selected via a supervising
committeeA committee is a type of small deliberative assembly that is usually intended to remain subordinate to another, larger deliberative assembly—which when organized so that action on committee requires a vote by all its entitled members, is called the "Committee of the Whole"...
. John Kay was present at the induction ceremony in Toronto, and reiterated his strong affection for Canada.
Kay suffers from increased sensitivity to light, so he wears his trademark sunglasses. He also has congenital
achromatopsiaAchromatopsia , is a medical syndrome that exhibits symptoms relating to at least five separate individual diseases. Although the term may refer to acquired disorders such as color agnosia and cerebral achromatopsia, it typically refers to an autosomal recessive congenital color vision disorder,...
, complete colorblindness, a defect of the eyes which causes legal blindness. Despite this condition, he is an avid videographer.
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