Guitar Woeld top 100 metal guitarists...

[Papa Josh]

Yeah, I reckon that's bullshit. Both in how the term was derived and certainly in the description of his music.

I thought it was pretty common knowledge that the term "heavy metal" came from the Steppenwolf lyrics in "Born to be Wild" ?

I don't know... hell, even my dad thinks Hendrix started the heavier approach to guitar playing.

I don't even remotely associate Steppenwolf with heavy metal, although that same MTV special referred to them as well, noting the same lyric you did. Point is though, even MTV admitted that everyone has a different idea of where metal started...

 

[JayKeeley]

I don't even remotely associate Steppenwolf with heavy metal, although that same MTV special referred to them as well, noting the same lyric you did. Point is though, even MTV admitted that everyone has a different idea of where metal started...

Right, but just to be clear, I wouldn't ever associate Steppenwolf with metal either - just that one lyric:

"I like smoke and lightning,
Heavy Metal thunder,
Racing with the wind,
And the feeling that I'm under"

That song was written in the mid-60's, released in 1968, and became the theme song to Easy Rider, which, with it's massive cult popularity, was probably listened to by many a people desperate to get out of the 'flower power' era. You know, the kind of folk that were living in Birmingham, England say....maybe?

I only speculate.

 

[Ayeka]

I thought it was pretty common knowledge that the term "heavy metal" came from the Steppenwolf lyrics in "Born to be Wild" ?

From the September 2002 issue of Spin magazine:

1964 William S. Burroughs first uses the term "heavy metal" in his novel Nova Express. A writer for Creem magazine first uses the word to describe a band (anarchaic Detroit rockers MC5), 1968.