Easy Rider (Music From The Soundtrack)

Released

Easy Rider was a huge hit upon release in 1969, and one of the movies that propelled the so-called “New Hollywood” movement that lasted until the mid ’70s. Its soundtrack features two songs from Steppenwolf’s debut album — the motorcycle anthem “Born to Be Wild” and the anti-drug song “The Pusher” — as well as Jimi Hendrix’s “If 6 Was 9,” a cover of the Band’s “The Weight” (the movie used the original) by also-rans Smith, the Byrds’ “Wasn’t Born to Follow,” and a semi-title track, “The Ballad of Easy Rider,” by that group’s Roger McGuinn. Honestly, the Steppenwolf and Hendrix songs stand out like someone walking into a hippie party with a jambox and a jug of LSD-laced wine, but hey, even motorcycle enthusiasts need to mellow out every once in a while.

Phil Freeman

Suggestions
Abraxas cover

Abraxas

Santana
Agents of Fortune cover

Agents of Fortune

Blue Öyster Cult
Frances the Mute cover

Frances the Mute

The Mars Volta
Rides Again cover

Rides Again

James Gang
Infinity of Now cover

Infinity of Now

The Heliocentrics
The Second cover

The Second

Steppenwolf
Revolver cover

Revolver

The Beatles
In Concert cover

In Concert

Rare Earth
Hairway to Steven cover

Hairway to Steven

Butthole Surfers
Dark Sunrise cover

Dark Sunrise

Rikki Ililonga, Musi-O-Tunya