Born to Be Wild” was written by Mars Bonfire (who also wrote several other songs for Steppenwolf) as a ballad.Writer Bonfire was previously a member of the Sparrows, the predecessor band to Steppenwolf, and his brother was Steppenwolf’s drummer. Although he initially offered the song to other bands – The Human Expression, for one – “Born to Be Wild” was first recorded in 1967 by Steppenwolf in a sped-up and rearranged version, that the All Music Guide’s Hal Horowitz described as “a roaring anthem of turbo-charged riff rock” and “a timeless radio classic as well as a slice of ’60s revolt that at once defines Steppenwolf’s sound and provided them with their shot at AM immortality.
