<Table> <Tr> <Td> "A Girl I Knew" (1967) </Td> <Td> "Born to Be Wild" (1968) </Td> <Td> "The Pusher" (1968) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> "A Girl I Knew" (1967) </Td> <Td> "Born to Be Wild" (1968) </Td> <Td> "The Pusher" (1968) </Td> </Tr> <P> "Born to Be Wild" is a song first performed by the band Steppenwolf, written by Mars Bonfire . The song is often invoked in both popular and counter culture to denote a biker appearance or attitude . It is sometimes described as the first heavy metal song, and the second verse lyric "heavy metal thunder" marks the first use of this term in rock music (although not as a description of a musical style). </P> <P> "Born to Be Wild" was written by Mars Bonfire (who also wrote several other songs for Steppenwolf) as a ballad . 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 by Steppenwolf in a sped - up and rearranged version that AllMusic'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 ." </P>

Who wrote the song born to be wild