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Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf song)

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B-side
  
"Sookie Sookie"

Recorded
  
1968

Format
  
7" single

Genre
  
Acid rock

Released
  
September 1968 (1968-09)

Length
  
4:25 (album) 2:55 (single)

"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.

Contents

The single version differs noticeably from the album version with a different vocal take by Kay used for the first verse of the song and differing instrumental balances, most notably the introduction feedback. The single version is also much shorter than the album version, with a running time of 2 minutes and 55 seconds. (The album version is 4 minutes and 25 seconds long.)

The lyrics "I like to dream, right between my sound machine" were inspired by a hi-fi home stereo system John Kay bought with royalties from his first album.

In 1988, the band rerecorded the song with the hip hop group Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five. The track appeared on their reunion album On the Strength.

Cover versions

  • The song was covered by Creative Source on their self-titled debut album from 1973.
  • A 1978 version by the South African group Buffalo spent 12 weeks the Springbok Radio charts peaking at number five.
  • Band Mother's Finest covered the song on their 1979 album Live.
  • John Paul Young covered the song on the 1981 album, The Singer.
  • Nashville group Bedlam recorded the song for the 1992 Reservoir Dogs film soundtrack.
  • Sami Yaffa and Michael Monroe recorded the song with Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash for the movie Coneheads in 1993.
  • The song was covered by singer Myra in Spanish and English for the 1999 Disney Latin album La Vida Mickey.
  • Band Hanson played the song in their live performance at the Fillmore in 2000.
  • Accordion rock band Those Darn Accordions covered the song for their 2002 EP Amped.
  • All-girl teen rock band KSM covered the song for the 2009 Wizards of Waverly Place soundtrack.
  • Former KISS guitarist Ace Frehley recorded a cover of the song on his solo covers album Origins, Vol. 1, released in April 2016.
  • The song or a remix appears in the films Easy Rider (1969), Candy, Star Trek: First Contact, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Apollo 13, The Dish, Legal Eagles, Amy & Isabelle, Team America: World Police, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Wild America, Go, Home on the Range, Sahara, Friends with Benefits, Monster High: 13 Wishes, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
  • Remixes of the song appear in the video games, Dance Dance Revolution Universe and Triple Play 2001.
  • The original version of the song is featured in the video game, NASCAR Thunder 2003.
  • The song was featured in commercials for Miller Genuine Draft in 1994, the Dodge Viper in 1999 and Chevy SSR in 2004.
  • The song is featured in episodes of the TV series The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! and The King of Queens.
  • Comedian singer Sean Morey parodied the song as "Magic Minivan".
  • The guitar riff is sampled in the beginning of Milli Vanilli's song "All Or Nothing (Club Mix)".
  • An Amish-oriented parody, "Horse-and-Buggy Ride", appeared on a Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, radio station at one point in the 1980s.

    • References

    Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf song) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA