Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf song)
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"Magic Carpet Ride" | ||||||||||
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File:Magic Carpet Ride.png
Cover of the 1968 Netherlands single
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Single by Steppenwolf | ||||||||||
from the album The Second | ||||||||||
B-side | "Sookie Sookie" | |||||||||
Released | September 1968 | |||||||||
Format | 7" single | |||||||||
Recorded | 1968 | |||||||||
Genre | hard rock | |||||||||
Length | 4:25 (album) 2:55 (single) |
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Label | ABC Dunhill | |||||||||
Writer(s) | ||||||||||
Producer(s) | Gabriel Mekler | |||||||||
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"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 No. 3 in the US, and staying in the charts for 16 weeks, longer than any other Steppenwolf song.[3]
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. 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.[citation needed]
In 1988, the band rerecorded the song with the hip hop group (and DJ) Grandmaster Flash. The track appeared on his and the Furious Five reunion album On the Strength.
Cover versions
- Nashville group Bedlam recorded the song for the Reservoir Dogs film soundtrack.
- Band Hanson played the song in their live performance at the Fillmore in 2000.
- The song was covered by singer Myra in Spanish and English for the 1999 Disney Latin album La Vida Mickey.
- All-girl teen rock band KSM covered the song for the Wizards of Waverly Place soundtrack.
- Accordion rock band Those Darn Accordions covered the song for their 2002 EP Amped.
- The song was covered by Creative Source on their self-titled debut album from 1973.
- Band Mother's Finest covered the song on their 1979 album Live.
In popular culture
- 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, 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 NASCAR Thunder 2003, Dance Dance Revolution Universe and Triple Play 2001.
- 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)".
- Michael Monroe and Guns n' Roses guitarist Slash recorded a hard rock/ dance cover for the film Coneheads.
- An Amish-oriented parody, "Horse-and-Buggy Ride," appeared on a Harrisburg, PA, market radio station at one point in the 1980s.
References
- ↑ Eder, Bruce. Steppenwolf the Second at AllMusic. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
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- ↑ Steppenwolf - Chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved January 25, 2014.