Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf song) explained

Magic Carpet Ride
Cover:Magic Carpet Ride.png
Border:yes
Caption:Cover of the 1968 Netherlands single
Type:single
Artist:Steppenwolf
Album:The Second
B-Side:Sookie Sookie
Recorded:1968
Length: (album version)
(single version)
Label:ABC Dunhill
Producer:Gabriel Mekler
Prev Title:The Pusher
Prev Year:1968
Next Title:Rock Me
Next Year:1969

"Magic Carpet Ride" is a rock song written by John Kay and Rushton Moreve from the Canadian-American hard rock band Steppenwolf. The song was initially released in 1968 on the album The Second. It was the lead single from that album, peaking at number three in the US, and staying in the charts for 16 weeks, longer than any other Steppenwolf song.[1]

The 45 rpm version is not only an edit of the album version, but contains a different vocal take on the first verse. Despite the single's popularity, the album version enjoyed heavy airplay on FM radio and is still the preferred version on most classic rock stations, as well as the one most commonly included on compilations and in popular media.

Writing and recording

When preparing to record the band's second album, The Second, bassist Rushton Moreve came up with a "bouncy riff". Band member Jerry Edmonton's brother, Mars Bonfire, started playing guitar, and the band developed the riff. For the introduction, guitarist Michael Monarch created feedback which was spliced on to the beginning of the band's recording. John Kay had recently bought a new top-quality hi-fi system, and started writing lyrics "about how great our new stereo system sounded," adding imagery about making a wish. After completing the lyrics and recording the vocal track, Kay overdubbed a falsetto, and sound engineer Bill Cooper spliced an extra chorus at the end of the track.[2] While denying that the song was about drug experiences, Kay did admit to the Wall Street Journal in 2016 that "I may have smoked a joint" the night he and Monarch got the idea for the song.[3] Kay also alleged the lyrics went beyond referencing the quality of the new stereo and were also a reference to his relationship with his wife Jutta and envisioning that he had made a wish with Aladdin's lamp.

Billboard described the single as a "pulsating rocker" with similar sales potential to Steppenwolf's earlier single, "Born to Be Wild".[4] Record World predicted that "the young set will flip for [the song]."[5]

Chart history

Weekly charts

Chart (1968–1969)Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)12
Austria 12
Canada RPM Top Singles[6] 1
Germany 11
New Zealand (Listener)[7] 5
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 3
US Cash Box Top 100[9] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1968)Rank
Canada (RPM Top Singles)[10] 45
US Billboard Hot 100[11] 62
US Cash Box[12] 60

Cover versions

Notes and References

  1. http://www.billboard.com/artist/280528/steppenwolf/chart?page=1&f=379 Steppenwolf - Chart history
  2. Book: Myers, Marc . Marc Myers. 2016 . Anatomy of a Song . Grove Press . 133–140 . 978-1-61185-525-8.
  3. News: The Story Behind Steppenwolf's 'Magic Carpet Ride'. Marc. Myers. Wall Street Journal. July 12, 2016. October 13, 2020.
  4. News: Billboard. 2021-02-22. September 28, 1968. 84. Spotlight Singles.
  5. Single Picks of the Week. Record World. September 28, 1968. 1. 2023-05-30.
  6. Web site: Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada . Collectionscanada.gc.ca . 17 July 2013 . 2017-07-14.
  7. Web site: flavour of new zealand - search listener. Flavourofnz.co.nz. 7 June 2021.
  8. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 -
  9. Web site: Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 7, 1968 . July 14, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140812084759/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19681207.html . August 12, 2014 . dead .
  10. The RPM 100: Top Singles of 1968 . . 10 . 19 .
  11. Web site: Top 100 Hits of 1968/Top 100 Songs of 1968. Musicoutfitters.com. 7 June 2021.
  12. Web site: Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 28, 1968 . July 14, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161009061908/http://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/1968YESP.html . October 9, 2016 . dead .
  13. Web site: SA Charts 1965–March 1989. Rock.co.za. 22 November 2020.