Born on this day in 1944, Joachim Fritz Krauledat (pka John Kay), the German-Canadian singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known as the frontman of Steppenwolf, becomes the newest Rockin' Octogenarian. Kay joined a bues/folk group known as the Sparrows in 1965, which had moderate success in Canada before moving to California, augmenting its line-up and changing its name to Steppenwolf in 1967. With music that pioneered hard rock and heavy metal Kay's Steppenwolf had international success with songs such as "Born to Be Wild", "Magic Carpet Ride", "Hey Lawdy Mama", "Monster", "The Pusher", and "Rock Me".
In John's honor, check out his fine work in a few classic Steppenwolf videos