Back when dealers sold pot, coke, speed, downers, acid... and the pushers sold heroine.. the pusher tried to get people hooked so they had regular customers till they died... crazy good song... Great reaction.
The pusher was a person who dropped a hit of acid or something in your drink when you werent watching or a person who shot you up with heroin when you were passed out drunk . Anything to get you hooked on what they were selling . This shit was highly prevelant in the 60s and 70s . You learned to always keep your hand Over your drink when at parties and take your drink with you everywhere you went includind taking it into the batheroom with you to keep it protected . You didnt eat anything offered to you by others as you didnt know what they may have laced it with . Ive been a victim of this shit as well as several of my friends .
This song was released in 1968, it was written by country music singer/songwriter/actor Hoyt Axton. He wrote it after one of his close friends died from an overdose. Fun fact: Hoyt Axton played the dad in the movie “Gremlins”. 🎶🎸💕👍
@@John_Chu my bad, I knew that but failed to mention it, another fun fact: Hoyt & Mae are the only mother & son duo to be inducted into the songwriters hall of fame.
john kay lead singer of steppenwolf grew up in this country but was born in Russia.his parents escape and came to america back in the 50's.the song america/monster john kay wrote is about how he saw us throwing away our freedoms in this country.
This song is all about the condemnation of the pusher, Curtis Mayfield made a song titled "Pusherman" which paints the pusher in his element, he talks of being all things to those who need him, it's his way of 'pushing' his drugs on you, 'Hey, you got troubles, I've got your cure.' Yeah, Steppenwolf put it in the correct perspective, he's a monster, he's not a natural man, he deserves the condemnation that's in this song. I remember my aunt didn't like this song because of the use of the word goddamn so many times and my brother tried to tell her that's how strongly he hated the pusher lol, it was hilarious. This was a seriously great reaction, thanks!
Steppenwolf is one of my favorite bands. Love their gritty sound and thought provoking lyrics. Their 16 Greatest Hits album from 1973 has all the essential songs. Next up, “Snowblind Friend”. Then “Monster”
As far as I'm concerned there is no rock and roll hall of fame until Steppenwolf is in it... That's just ridiculous not having one of the most iconic groups in rock and roll inducted...
@@cheryla7480 Although he was born in Russia to German parents he grew up in Canada. The Canadian Music Hall of Fame honors Canadian musicians and Steppenwolf is not a Canadian Band.
@@blanewilliams5960 The Canadian members were Dennis Edmonton ( Guitar ), Jerry Edmonton ( Drums), both from Oshawa, Ontario, Gordy Mc John ((Piano and Organ ) from Toronto, Ontario and John Kay who emigrated to Canada at age thirteen
First heard this when I saw Easy Rider for the first time. Steppenwolf did a great job of covering this tune by Hoyt Axton. Saw Steppenwolf when they came around in the summer of 86. Great show.
Hoyt also wrote Snowblind Friend about cocaine. Unfortunately, his recordings are tied up in rights purgatory and hard to find, thanks to sales of catalogs and distribution questions.
You guys should react to more Steppenwolf… "It's Never Too Late", "Rock Me", "Hey Lawdy Mama", "Move Over", "Who Needs Ya", "Snow Blind Friend", "Ride With Me" 🎸🤘
They are just pointing out that there's a difference between the pusher and a dealer . The dealer wants to sell you sweet dreams , but the pusher don't care if you die !! Definitely need more Steppenwolf !!!
Hoyt Axton wrote “The Pusher”. Steppenwolf’s version was part of the soundtrack for the 1968 film “Easy Rider”. The great LP “Superfly” by Curtis Mayfield was released in 1972.
@@mitchellbatchelor1594 But it wasn’t recorded for the movie… it was on their first album… funny, you don’t think of Hoyt Axton when you hear a song like this..
I admire your taste in music, you picked up on the "tombstones in their eyes", referring to junkies with no hope. Listen to lead man John Kaye solo Easy Evil, it's great. Also check out CSNY. I'm 71, this is music from my generation. Thanks for taking time to listen.
Much of my political mindset were formed in response to the "Monster" LP and GFR's "Survival". Now you might expect that would have headed me left but somehow, I went the other way LoL.
Written by the late great Hoyt Axton (Della and the Dealer) who also wrote "Never Been to Spain" and "Joy to the World" for Three Dog Night. His mother Mae Axton incidentally, co-wrote "Hound Dog" for Elvis.
Well, "The Hall" is a joke so...They've nominated Dolly Parton for this round. I LOVE Dolly, like I'm sure most of us do, but even she knows she doesn't belong there...YET...
They played this song in the movie Easy Rider when Captain America and Billy the Kid do the dope deal at the airport. They sell a brick of coke to Phil Spector. He already had some, just came back for seconds in those days.
"Monster",for sure. Particularly relevant now. Also: "Jupiter's Child","Don't Step On The Grass,Sam","Screaming Night Hog","It's Never Too Late",and "Sookie,Sookie".
You should hear Nina Simone's version of this as well = Pusherman was also a song by Curtis Mayfield but that's not this Hoyt Axton song, it's completely different and still bad ass.
America declared war on ALL drugs, including pot and hash and other harmless stuff. Steppenwolf here makes the distinction between "dealers" of grass (marijuana) and "pushers" of hard ADDICTIVE drugs like heroin. In this song John Kay (the singer and leader of Steppenwolf) says he would declare war ONLY on pushers because the stuff they sell you is almost a death sentence. He LIKES dealers because what they sell is pleasurable and harmless ... perhaps even beneficial. By the way, John Kay was born in Germany but he and his family emigrated to Canada at some point, so he's one of the "Canadian" elements of the band, the others being Goldy McJohn (keyboards), Jerry Edmonton (drums) and Nick St. Nicholas (bass). There were also American members of Steppenwolf, so it wasn't strictly a Canadian band.
If you liked this, try the live version from the album Early Steppenwolf. Recorded in May of '67 at The Matrix in San Francisco, it is over twenty-one minutes long, and takes a couple of hard left turns , we'll call it , before settling down .the drummer and keyboard player were Canadian, bass and lead guitar are American, and lead singer John Kay was born in what is now Russia , his mother fled the advancing Russian army with infant John in her arms . In time they escaped Eastern Germany for the West before emigrating to Toronto in 1958 when John was 14 , at the time he spoke no English at all. That is where that slight trace of an accent comes from when he sings.
@@flyingburritobro68 yeah, you take what you can get with a two track recorder and a mike hung from the ceiling at the last minute, and the band had no idea that the club had done it .
John Kay was born in the section of Germany in 1944 that later was occupied by the Soviets and became known as East Germany. His mother got them out when he was a young child. He wrote a couple of other songs about it.
Saw this band in the 1970s in a small auditorium in the small city of Barre, Vermont. They were great. The crowd went nuts when tey played this, and when they played Magic Carpet Ride. I was amazed that they came to such a small venue.
Differentiating between the dealer and pusher. The dealer in the 60's was more selling you lighter drugs that you wanted. The pusher would get people hooked on hard drugs to keep their business up.
I've wanted to see someone react to Monster for a long time. It has to be the complete album version and not the cut- down single, Greatest Hits version.
The entire "Monster" LP is chock full of political and social commentary. And as @Tim Skelton says, the entire "America/Monster" cut from the "Monster" LP. That LP as well as Grand Funk's "Survival" were highly influential in forming the early stages of my life philosophy. My goodness, "From Here To There, Eventually"... "You've filled this house with things of gold While handing crumbs to the old and poor And then you preach about being pure And wonder why we're laughing In your old way you're trying to find us But we can't follow what's behind us Too much blind faith, it will blind us Though sometimes it's a blessing"...
@@timskelton2325 The TH-cam channel called, "dicon dissectional reactions" has done the whole album side with Monster from August 9, 2020. ( Monster/Suicide/America ) Just Great!!
Brad and Lex, I was wondering how long it would take for this song to knock the smiles off of your faces. A truely shocking song in 1968, received a lot of play-time on the radio. It's still a disturbing song today.
You two make such a great couple. Brad kind of reserved and thoughtful and Lex one of the most free spirits I have ever seen. Very enjoyable to watch you two interact!
One of my favorite songs of the late 60's. Great song. Their was a guy in our barracks in 1969 who used to play this song just after lights out. It gave the whole barracks a surreal feeling. Great reaction - nice flashback for me.
Can’t believe I was only seven years old when I first heard this song. My cousin had the soundtrack to Easy Rider with this being the first song. I remember being shocked by hearing “GD the pusher”. I also remember my grandfather saying to my cousin, “there he goes again playing the “GD” song!”
I grew up with my Dad playing various vinyl records on the old stero turntable he built himself in college, everything from Steppenwolf to Pink Floyd to The Rolling Stones to Eric Burdon and the Animals to Contry Joe and the Fish, and I remember that this was a song he really liked along with another song of Steppenwolfs called Snow Blind Friend. He never got rid of any of his records and when he passed I inherited them all and every once in a while I like to sit back and do a playthrough of all his records and remember my childhood growing up with great music and the best Dad anyone could ask for.
I and many others knew you guys would love this song from Steppenwolf btw the band performed this song in a small bar in Orange County of south of Los Angeles. I am going to give you guys some information on Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf was an American-Canadian rock band that was prominent from 1968 to 1972. The group was formed in late 1967 in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian band the Sparrows. Pretty much the whole band dressed in Black leather especially John Kay who when he sang moved his hips around like a snake ready to strike! Especially when he had a mic stand on stage. It was like watching a Black Python Snake ready to make with the audience and he got famous for that movement which was way before Prince ever did this movement. So, when he perform this song he was grinding the Mic stand and the Mic stand was between his legs while he layed on stage yelling "God Damned The Pusher man!!!" My friends and I went CRAZY!!!! WE were yelling and Screaming, "God Damned The PUSHER MAN!!!!" Hahaha....lol.....hahaha....it was a lot of fun!!!!! "The Pusher" was put out in 1968.....and the song was banned from many radio stations in America. "Born To Be Wild" was also put out in 1968....became a theme song for the cult movie, "Easy Rider." " Snowblind Friend" was put out in 1970. I request tht you guys react to "Snowblind Friend." It is FIRE!!!!! And then react to "Born To Be Wild."
Great reaction and an absolutely excellent song. Featured in the opening scene of the classic movie "Easy Rider" and promptly followed by "Born To Be Wild" over the opening credits. Easy Rider is one of the few films older than I am that I love, partly because of a very young Jack Nicholson's brilliant performance, but largely do to the absolutely amazing soundtrack. You guys are awesome, please keep up the great work. 🥰
I think I saw this about four times in the theatre when I was 14. Of course I had to buy the blacklight poster of Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on their bikes. I probably still have it somewhere, lol.
@@kjmorley I'd already done many other drugs by the time this came out, I'd kicked Heroin at 14. But the first time I watched this was in a theater, and we'd just smoked a joint outside before going. It was the first time I got REALLY stoned on weed, couldn't stop laughing for no good reason through the whole film...
it is a major crime that Steppenwolf isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... they have lots of hit songs, but two of their lesser known songs that I love are "Jupiter's Child" and "Don't Cry"
Never heard that one before, but I do concur: May the pusherman be damned. The way a pusher operates is that he gives the first few bumps away free, so you get hooked. Once you're hooked, the pusherman has your soul (and all your money).
About 60 years ago I had the Steppenwolf album this song was on. I listened to it over and over. Something you guys probably are unaware of is this music was designed to appeal especially to listeners that were high (like Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, and The Grateful Dead in the same era with their pro-drug use messages). This was the only anti-drug song during the 60s and 70s. It was about 20 years before Regan/Bush declared their war on drugs. Back then the popular drugs in high school were pills - "reds" - uppers and downers, as well as the escalating use of marijuana, LSD, and heroin in places like Harlem and the inner cities across the country, especially minority neighborhoods. I saw the lead singer, John Kay, perform about 40 years after this album (with Born to Be Wild on it) came out. It was in a casino/toilet during Hot August Nights in downtown Reno at Fitzgerald's casino. He had a terrible semblance of lousy local musicians. The casino was open to the sidewalk in August. It was hot on that mini/junk stage. Because of the Hot August Nights event, the casino floor was jammed with patrons playing the slots and not listening to the music over their rude loud conversations. John Kay was wearing a wig that matched his hair style 50 years earlier when Steppenwolf was at its peak of popularity. Sweat was pouring down his forehead while the audience acted like they didn't know he was there. Being how my parents had been professional musicians for over 50 years, I knew the hell John Kay was going thru. I was the only one of the 100+ nearby patrons that were listening, watching, and being respectful. He made eye contact with me. I looked around, frowned, and shook my head as I raised my hands in disgust. John Kay kept eye contact, frowned, and nodded in agreement as if to say - yea - you're really right - this gig really sucks, I miss the old days when Steppenwolf was a main attraction and there would have been a hundred sexy young groupies in the audience instead of a hundred semi-dead old people in the toilet of a casino so obsessed with their $20 winning or losing on the slots that didn't give a damn about the music or anything except their milking all the free drinks they could out of the casino and the hypnotic pacifying effect of the slot machines they were playing. I was acutely aware of all of the above because I worked in higher-class casinos for over 40 years (as well as toilets like Fitzgerald's my first year of "breaking in") in addition to both of my parents having been professional musicians for over 50 years. Steppin Wolf had much bigger hits with Born To Be Wild in a Peter Fonda movie and Magic Carpet Ride. This song, The Pusher, was too long to be played on FM radio stations in the 60s. Thus, the only ones who heard this song were those of us who bought the album. I'm glad to see you acknowledging it now, sixty years later.
This song was written by a Fella by the name of Hoyt Axton, who ironically (A former drug addict) was a country\Western performer = Steppenwolf also recorded another song of his called "Snowblind Friend" which I really recommend that you listen because it is also very good ** Three Dog Night also recorded 2 songs written by Hoyt Axton in the late 60's\early70's that became big hits and are definitely worth taking a listen to = "Joy To The World" ( The Jeremiah was a Bullfrog song) & "Never Been To Spain" 😎😎😎😎😎
I always liked how he compares a Dealer and a Pusher in this song. Showing how the Dealer is more recreational and the Pusher, literally pushes you to the point of No Return.
I haven’t heard this song since my sister left home for college back in ‘74 and took my Steppenwolf record with her. I need to call her. Thanks for reminding me.
Mr Kay the lead singer was born in Germany, I believe and his mom brought him here to North America. He's also legally blind. Desperation is a great tune by steppen Wolfe but they have alot of great songs . It's never too late,magic carpet ride,Sookie sookie, snow blind friend,monster.... etc etc... monster is one of my favorites ,but I love desperation and all the songs I mentioned and more. Lol good reviews
Great reaction! I really dig watching the youth (you guys) of today experiencing the sounds of the sixties and seventies and hearing their take on the tunes. This was a well played tune back in the day. A great pick for the soundtrack of the film "Easy Rider" and so on... I think the other tune you may have been thinking of/trying to sing is "Pusherman" by Curtis Mayfield. Another great tune from the times. Keep rockin" the old music!
John Kay was the head of Steppenwolf and he was born in germany. His real name was Joachim-Fritz Krauledat and his mother fled with him from the Soviet occupation first to West Germany and later they emigrated to Canada. The song "Born To Be Wild" became a hit in Europe after the movie "Easy Rider". best regards @ all from hamburg (germany)
Written by Hoyt Axton who also wrote "Joy To The World" and "Never Been To Spain" by 3 Dog Night. Another drug related song of his that Steppenwolf recorded was "Snowblind Friend". Awesome stuff.
My favorite Steppenwolf song!!! I was born in 1962, so I really couldn’t appreciate the mid part and end of this particular decade, however, I spend the rest of my life, being a student of it, and I am a hippie, my name is super groovy, and Lex I think you would’ve been great in the 60s you are a groovy chick!!! just like the hippies, I stand for peace love Cannabis and psychedelics
John Cay and two other members of that band were Canadians. All the others were Americans. Brad and Lex, they formed Steppenwolf in California in the 60s. It's not the only rock band that had people from two countries. The Band had an American drummer, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young had Neil Young in it, who aas a Canadian. I don't remember any more bands that had both Americans and Canadians in a band. I'm relatively certain there are more of them, though.
Kay was born on 12 April 1944[2] in Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia).[3] His father Fritz, born 1913 in Absteinen near Pogegen in the Memelland (today Opstainys in Pagėgiai Municipality, Lithuania),[4] was killed a month before Kay was born.[5]
Pusher was slang for dope dealer at least as far back as the 20s & 30s & maybe beyond. By the 60s, "dealer" had come to mean usually a friend who can get you mostly softer drugs like weed, lsd, sometimes maybe pills or even coke as you request. A pusher in this song actively pressures & comes to you to sell you more and stronger drugs like heroin, meth, etc & will even involve kids, recovering addicts, sell badly made or too strong drugs & doesn't give a shit who dies, begs for a fix or fights getting addicted --- money is the only concern. Yes, I've known many of all kinds.
This was from the 60s when the pusher was very controversial, but the message is very clear. The fight against the pushers and dealers were America's Top Priorities in Washington.
This is a song that is tells you the story of the drug filled time of the 60's. The difference between a Dealer and a Pusher. The dealer comes with a lot of grass in his hand...A bag of pot, or some coke...nothing that would kill his spirit. The pusher came with the hard stuff...heroine, LSD, etc. The pusher wants to get you hook on the hard stuff so you will need him and keep coming back. Tombstones in their eyes were the ones hook on the hard stuff. The pusher doesn't care if you live or die. Little fact, LSD...Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds...Beatles 1967. Would be a good reaction.
It is almost as if Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan both listened to this song and said "Ya know what, he's right. If I were President, Oh, I'd declare total war on the Pusherman, for real!" When this song came out it was in the soundtrack of "Easy Rider", so I went out and bought the soundtrack LP, my very first LP purchase, because of this song. Hey they said "God Damn" in the song. In 1969 I was in Junior High, and you just didn't hear stuff like THAT on the radio. Turns out there are lots of great songs in that movie. Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf, The Band, Bob Dylan, etc.
Back in the day, my mom had a ton of 45’s. This was the flip side of born to be wild. She never let me listen to this side. Lol. Probably spurred me to seek the dark side. Thanks mom. 😍
Love Steppenwolf. This song was not played on the radio stations due to the language. I only discovered this from the album. Another good one, I like, is Snowblind Friend.
"Cut him if he stands and shoot him if he runs" goes back at least to the 1930s. it's in "Black Mountain Blues" by the great Bessie Smith, but is probably older still.
My brother GOD REST his soul!!! Loved this song!! He was on drugs for years So bad he got so bad he spent over half of his life in prison , after coming home, he got sick and because of the drugs he needed a liver… waited three years and he never got one… I sure do miss the guy that took my training wheels off and taught me to ride a bike!! ❤️Tennessee
Nice one: Steppenwolf did some really good stuff. Try Magic Carpet Ride or Renegade. The latter is the story of the lead singer's escape from East Germany as child.
Hoyt Axton wrote this song after one of his friends died of a drug overdose. Axton struggled with addiction for much of his life and was keen on exposing the dangers, which he did on "The Pusher" and on another song recorded by Steppenwolf: "Snowblind Friend."
You might find it funny that Hoyt Axton wrote this and he wrote Jerimiah was a Bullfrog (Joy to the World) His mother wrote Heartbreak Hotel. Probably the only mother and son that wrote number1 hits
This song and Born to be Wild were both on the Easy Rider movie soundtrack and was kind of the theme of what happened to the pushers. Hoyt Axton wrote the song after a friend died of an overdose drugs effected all forms of music and producers would use drugs as an ends to their means, from payola to giving artist what ever they wanted to keep them working, The Pushers weren’t just drug dealers !
The lyrics of the song distinguish between a dealer in drugs such as marijuana-who "will sell you lots of sweet dreams"-and a pusher of hard drugs such as heroin-a "monster" who doesn't care "if you live or if you die".
I saw Steppenwolf in Reno Nevada during the early 1980s. They sang all their hits except for The Pusher The Casino wouldnt allow them to sing that song because God damn was part of the lyrics.
Back when dealers sold pot, coke, speed, downers, acid... and the pushers sold heroine.. the pusher tried to get people hooked so they had regular customers till they died... crazy good song... Great reaction.
It’s funny how the term has dropped out of use. Most people no longer know what a pusher is.
It's the same way today.
The pusher was a person who dropped a hit of acid or something in your drink when you werent watching or a person who shot you up with heroin when you were passed out drunk . Anything to get you hooked on what they were selling . This shit was highly prevelant in the 60s and 70s . You learned to always keep your hand Over your drink when at parties and take your drink with you everywhere you went includind taking it into the batheroom with you to keep it protected . You didnt eat anything offered to you by others as you didnt know what they may have laced it with . Ive been a victim of this shit as well as several of my friends .
@@kjmorley It's now the slightly more cleaned up drug dealer. Or Big Pharma. George Carlin would have had much to say about this.
I have heard this song many times and didn't realize he was distinguishing between the two terms until I read your comment! Thanks!
This song was released in 1968, it was written by country music singer/songwriter/actor Hoyt Axton. He wrote it after one of his close friends died from an overdose. Fun fact: Hoyt Axton played the dad in the movie “Gremlins”. 🎶🎸💕👍
Funner fact: Hoyt Axton's mom Mae Axton wrote Elvis' first hit record, "Heartbreak Hotel."
@@John_Chu my bad, I knew that but failed to mention it, another fun fact: Hoyt & Mae are the only mother & son duo to be inducted into the songwriters hall of fame.
Hoyt Axton also wrote Snowblind Friend.
Well, this might put you in mind of the kind of blues you'd hear from SRV, too. It's simply good stuff.
@@John_Chu And she was from Jacksonville, Florida.
john kay lead singer of steppenwolf grew up in this country but was born in Russia.his parents escape and came to america back in the 50's.the song america/monster john kay wrote is about how he saw us throwing away our freedoms in this country.
This song is all about the condemnation of the pusher, Curtis Mayfield made a song titled "Pusherman" which paints the pusher in his element, he talks of being all things to those who need him, it's his way of 'pushing' his drugs on you, 'Hey, you got troubles, I've got your cure.' Yeah, Steppenwolf put it in the correct perspective, he's a monster, he's not a natural man, he deserves the condemnation that's in this song. I remember my aunt didn't like this song because of the use of the word goddamn so many times and my brother tried to tell her that's how strongly he hated the pusher lol, it was hilarious. This was a seriously great reaction, thanks!
Steppenwolf is one of my favorite bands. Love their gritty sound and thought provoking lyrics. Their 16 Greatest Hits album from 1973 has all the essential songs. Next up, “Snowblind Friend”. Then “Monster”
As far as I'm concerned there is no rock and roll hall of fame until Steppenwolf is in it... That's just ridiculous not having one of the most iconic groups in rock and roll inducted...
It's a travesty for sure.
John Kay is in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame,, but not the whole band……I don’t know why?
@@cheryla7480 Although he was born in Russia to German parents he grew up in Canada. The Canadian Music Hall of Fame honors Canadian musicians and Steppenwolf is not a Canadian Band.
@@blanewilliams5960 The Canadian members were Dennis Edmonton ( Guitar ), Jerry Edmonton ( Drums), both from Oshawa, Ontario, Gordy Mc John ((Piano and Organ ) from Toronto, Ontario and John Kay who emigrated to Canada at age thirteen
@@cheryla7480 Right on, thanks for the info.
First heard this when I saw Easy Rider for the first time. Steppenwolf did a great job of covering this tune by Hoyt Axton. Saw Steppenwolf when they came around in the summer of 86. Great show.
Hoyt also wrote Snowblind Friend about cocaine. Unfortunately, his recordings are tied up in rights purgatory and hard to find, thanks to sales of catalogs and distribution questions.
You guys should react to more Steppenwolf…
"It's Never Too Late", "Rock Me", "Hey Lawdy Mama", "Move Over", "Who Needs Ya", "Snow Blind Friend", "Ride With Me"
🎸🤘
Monster live version
Now THAT is a playlist! 😉
And Jupiters child 🤘
Don't forget Tenderness
Foggy Mental Breakdown. Possibly their best song.
They are just pointing out that there's a difference between the pusher and a dealer . The dealer wants to sell you sweet dreams , but the pusher don't care if you die !! Definitely need more Steppenwolf !!!
IMO this was their best. There's a lot more to Steppenwolf than Born to be Wild.
Yes. SnowBlind Friend, Tenderness, Monster. Peace out.
Their Greatest Hits Album is a great compilation, and Screaming NightHog and Who Needs Ya are a couple of great songs.
Hell yeah there is
Don't forget Monster! I was in college then and that was our anthem.
@@robjohnson5872 and Jupiter's child🙂saw them at The Ryman
"You know, I've seen a lot ofd people walking 'round with tombstones in their eyes"...Wow! That's a strong, powerful lyric! The best line in the song!
Curtis Mayfield, "I'm your pusherman" is a partner to this tune in a way. Superfly by Curtis is a great album.
this is exactly what I had in mind :) it is a great song, and an amazing album
Pusherman is a great song.
Hoyt Axton wrote “The Pusher”. Steppenwolf’s version was part of the soundtrack for the 1968 film “Easy Rider”. The great LP “Superfly” by Curtis Mayfield was released in 1972.
@@mitchellbatchelor1594 But it wasn’t recorded for the movie… it was on their first album… funny, you don’t think of Hoyt Axton when you hear a song like this..
Yes it is. "If you wanna be a junkie now...".
I admire your taste in music, you picked up on the "tombstones in their eyes", referring to junkies with no hope. Listen to lead man John Kaye solo Easy Evil, it's great. Also check out CSNY. I'm 71, this is music from my generation. Thanks for taking time to listen.
I had a brother your age , died waiting on a liver!!!! Gd the pusher man!!❤️
Sounds like the guitars are weeping...amazing song!! Love your channel guys!!
*Monster* is another Steppenwolf must-listen. Another social commentary song like The Pusher!
Much of my political mindset were formed in response to the "Monster" LP and GFR's "Survival". Now you might expect that would have headed me left but somehow, I went the other way LoL.
The Ostrich is another
Written by the late great Hoyt Axton (Della and the Dealer) who also wrote "Never Been to Spain" and "Joy to the World" for Three Dog Night. His mother Mae Axton incidentally, co-wrote "Hound Dog" for Elvis.
Not Hound Dog, Heartbreak Hotel.
Why this band is not in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame is mind boggling. Nominated once but didn’t get in….makes no sense.
They only inducted Born to be wild as a song - not the band. RRHF is a joke
Well, "The Hall" is a joke so...They've nominated Dolly Parton for this round. I LOVE Dolly, like I'm sure most of us do, but even she knows she doesn't belong there...YET...
I say the same thing about J. GEILS BAND
@@donbelenger817 in my top ten bands. Peter Wolf alone as a front man makes them worthy.
The Guess Who should be in there too. I think the only Canadian band in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is Rush.
They played this song in the movie Easy Rider when Captain America and Billy the Kid do the dope deal at the airport.
They sell a brick of coke to Phil Spector. He already had some, just came back for seconds in those days.
"Monster",for sure. Particularly relevant now. Also: "Jupiter's Child","Don't Step On The Grass,Sam","Screaming Night Hog","It's Never Too Late",and "Sookie,Sookie".
Steppenwolf is cool.
You should hear Nina Simone's version of this as well = Pusherman was also a song by Curtis Mayfield but that's not this Hoyt Axton song, it's completely different and still bad ass.
America declared war on ALL drugs, including pot and hash and other harmless stuff. Steppenwolf here makes the distinction between "dealers" of grass (marijuana) and "pushers" of hard ADDICTIVE drugs like heroin. In this song John Kay (the singer and leader of Steppenwolf) says he would declare war ONLY on pushers because the stuff they sell you is almost a death sentence. He LIKES dealers because what they sell is pleasurable and harmless ... perhaps even beneficial.
By the way, John Kay was born in Germany but he and his family emigrated to Canada at some point, so he's one of the "Canadian" elements of the band, the others being Goldy McJohn (keyboards), Jerry Edmonton (drums) and Nick St. Nicholas (bass). There were also American members of Steppenwolf, so it wasn't strictly a Canadian band.
The War on Drugs wasn't exactly a "Total War".
If you liked this, try the live version from the album Early Steppenwolf. Recorded in May of '67 at The Matrix in San Francisco, it is over twenty-one minutes long, and takes a couple of hard left turns , we'll call it , before settling down .the drummer and keyboard player were Canadian, bass and lead guitar are American, and lead singer John Kay was born in what is now Russia , his mother fled the advancing Russian army with infant John in her arms . In time they escaped Eastern Germany for the West before emigrating to Toronto in 1958 when John was 14 , at the time he spoke no English at all. That is where that slight trace of an accent comes from when he sings.
That Matrix version is good but the recording quality sucks and that is being kind!
@@flyingburritobro68 yeah, you take what you can get with a two track recorder and a mike hung from the ceiling at the last minute, and the band had no idea that the club had done it .
Their song Renegade is about John's escape from East Germany. His birth name was Joachim Kraudelat.
John Kay was born in the section of Germany in 1944 that later was occupied by the Soviets and became known as East Germany. His mother got them out when he was a young child. He wrote a couple of other songs about it.
Saw this band in the 1970s in a small auditorium in the small city of Barre, Vermont. They were great. The crowd went nuts when tey played this, and when they played Magic Carpet Ride. I was amazed that they came to such a small venue.
The guitar licks in this song were FANTASTIC!
Differentiating between the dealer and pusher. The dealer in the 60's was more selling you lighter drugs that you wanted. The pusher would get people hooked on hard drugs to keep their business up.
LMFAO 🤣😆🤣😆
OKAY, if you say so.
Monster is a great song, and so relevant then and now. The music is great for Lex, and Brad would really be intent on the lyrics.
I've wanted to see someone react to Monster for a long time. It has to be the complete album version and not the cut- down single, Greatest Hits version.
The entire "Monster" LP is chock full of political and social commentary. And as @Tim Skelton says, the entire "America/Monster" cut from the "Monster" LP. That LP as well as Grand Funk's "Survival" were highly influential in forming the early stages of my life philosophy. My goodness, "From Here To There, Eventually"...
"You've filled this house with things of gold
While handing crumbs to the old and poor
And then you preach about being pure
And wonder why we're laughing
In your old way you're trying to find us
But we can't follow what's behind us
Too much blind faith, it will blind us
Though sometimes it's a blessing"...
@@timskelton2325 The TH-cam channel called, "dicon dissectional reactions" has done the whole album
side with Monster from August 9, 2020. ( Monster/Suicide/America ) Just Great!!
When the "America" chorus begins, I still get chills after all these years.
Brad and Lex, I was wondering how long it would take for this song to knock the smiles off of your faces.
A truely shocking song in 1968, received a lot of play-time on the radio. It's still a disturbing song today.
Hell yes to whoever recommended this one. This song never wears out.
The lyrics speak for themselves, but the music is pure electric blues.
If ever two people were made for each other, it's you two. God bless.
You two make such a great couple. Brad kind of reserved and thoughtful and Lex one of the most free spirits I have ever seen. Very enjoyable to watch you two interact!
End of the 60s psychedelia right there!
Released in '68. This sound is the absolute roots of classic rock. Great reactions--and Lex, love that you were instantly into it.
One of my favorite songs of the late 60's. Great song. Their was a guy in our barracks in 1969 who used to play this song just after lights out. It gave the whole barracks a surreal feeling. Great reaction - nice flashback for me.
Can’t believe I was only seven years old when I first heard this song. My cousin had the soundtrack to Easy Rider with this being the first song. I remember being shocked by hearing “GD the pusher”. I also remember my grandfather saying to my cousin, “there he goes again playing the “GD” song!”
“Snowblind Friend,” seems like a natural follow-up!!!
I grew up with my Dad playing various vinyl records on the old stero turntable he built himself in college, everything from Steppenwolf to Pink Floyd to The Rolling Stones to Eric Burdon and the Animals to Contry Joe and the Fish, and I remember that this was a song he really liked along with another song of Steppenwolfs called Snow Blind Friend. He never got rid of any of his records and when he passed I inherited them all and every once in a while I like to sit back and do a playthrough of all his records and remember my childhood growing up with great music and the best Dad anyone could ask for.
I and many others knew you guys would love this song from Steppenwolf btw the band performed this song in a small bar in Orange County of south of Los Angeles. I am going to give you guys some information on Steppenwolf. Steppenwolf was an American-Canadian rock band that was prominent from 1968 to 1972. The group was formed in late 1967 in Los Angeles by lead singer John Kay, keyboardist Goldy McJohn, and drummer Jerry Edmonton, all formerly of the Canadian band the Sparrows. Pretty much the whole band dressed in Black leather especially John Kay who when he sang moved his hips around like a snake ready to strike! Especially when he had a mic stand on stage. It was like watching a Black Python Snake ready to make with the audience and he got famous for that movement which was way before Prince ever did this movement. So, when he perform this song he was grinding the Mic stand and the Mic stand was between his legs while he layed on stage yelling "God Damned The Pusher man!!!" My friends and I went CRAZY!!!! WE were yelling and Screaming, "God Damned The PUSHER MAN!!!!" Hahaha....lol.....hahaha....it was a lot of fun!!!!! "The Pusher" was put out in 1968.....and the song was banned from many radio stations in America. "Born To Be Wild" was also put out in 1968....became a theme song for the cult movie, "Easy Rider." " Snowblind Friend" was put out in 1970. I request tht you guys react to "Snowblind Friend." It is FIRE!!!!! And then react to "Born To Be Wild."
Steppenwolf "Snowblind Friend" is another banger
Blind Melon did an interpolation of this song and it’s fantastic! Definitely recommend checking it out!
Love me some Steppenwolf. You guys should check out the song 'Ball Crusher'.
Great reaction and an absolutely excellent song. Featured in the opening scene of the classic movie "Easy Rider" and promptly followed by "Born To Be Wild" over the opening credits.
Easy Rider is one of the few films older than I am that I love, partly because of a very young Jack Nicholson's brilliant performance, but largely do to the absolutely amazing soundtrack.
You guys are awesome, please keep up the great work. 🥰
I think I saw this about four times in the theatre when I was 14. Of course I had to buy the blacklight poster of Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on their bikes. I probably still have it somewhere, lol.
@@kjmorley I'd already done many other drugs by the time this came out, I'd kicked Heroin at 14. But the first time I watched this was in a theater, and we'd just smoked a joint outside before going. It was the first time I got REALLY stoned on weed, couldn't stop laughing for no good reason through the whole film...
Unfortunately I’m older than the film but still love it and its sound-track…
Yep...sort of ironic considering the characters played by Fonda and Hopper were scum of the earth "pushers".
@@BobSoltis1 The were couriers. Calm down, Karen.
it is a major crime that Steppenwolf isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame... they have lots of hit songs, but two of their lesser known songs that I love are "Jupiter's Child" and "Don't Cry"
One of the most unique voices in rock. One of the best bands of the era and belongs in the R&RHOF.
Loved blasting this in the 70’s from the car in the high school parking lot 😎
Eight track players blasting this song on Craig Powerplay speakers
Y'all did "Born To Be Wild" and "Magic Carpet Ride", so we're good!
Never heard that one before, but I do concur: May the pusherman be damned. The way a pusher operates is that he gives the first few bumps away free, so you get hooked. Once you're hooked, the pusherman has your soul (and all your money).
Steppenwolf has so many fantastic songs
About 60 years ago I had the Steppenwolf album this song was on. I listened to it over and over. Something you guys probably are unaware of is this music was designed to appeal especially to listeners that were high (like Led Zeppelin, Jefferson Airplane, and The Grateful Dead in the same era with their pro-drug use messages). This was the only anti-drug song during the 60s and 70s. It was about 20 years before Regan/Bush declared their war on drugs. Back then the popular drugs in high school were pills - "reds" - uppers and downers, as well as the escalating use of marijuana, LSD, and heroin in places like Harlem and the inner cities across the country, especially minority neighborhoods. I saw the lead singer, John Kay, perform about 40 years after this album (with Born to Be Wild on it) came out. It was in a casino/toilet during Hot August Nights in downtown Reno at Fitzgerald's casino. He had a terrible semblance of lousy local musicians.
The casino was open to the sidewalk in August. It was hot on that mini/junk stage. Because of the Hot August Nights event, the casino floor was jammed with patrons playing the slots and not listening to the music over their rude loud conversations. John Kay was wearing a wig that matched his hair style 50 years earlier when Steppenwolf was at its peak of popularity. Sweat was pouring down his forehead while the audience acted like they didn't know he was there.
Being how my parents had been professional musicians for over 50 years, I knew the hell John Kay was going thru. I was the only one of the 100+ nearby patrons that were listening, watching, and being respectful. He made eye contact with me. I looked around, frowned, and shook my head as I raised my hands in disgust. John Kay kept eye contact, frowned, and nodded in agreement as if to say - yea - you're really right - this gig really sucks, I miss the old days when Steppenwolf was a main attraction and there would have been a hundred sexy young groupies in the audience instead of a hundred semi-dead old people in the toilet of a casino so obsessed with their $20 winning or losing on the slots that didn't give a damn about the music or anything except their milking all the free drinks they could out of the casino and the hypnotic pacifying effect of the slot machines they were playing.
I was acutely aware of all of the above because I worked in higher-class casinos for over 40 years (as well as toilets like Fitzgerald's my first year of "breaking in") in addition to both of my parents having been professional musicians for over 50 years. Steppin Wolf had much bigger hits with Born To Be Wild in a Peter Fonda movie and Magic Carpet Ride. This song, The Pusher, was too long to be played on FM radio stations in the 60s. Thus, the only ones who heard this song were those of us who bought the album. I'm glad to see you acknowledging it now, sixty years later.
This song was written by a Fella by the name of Hoyt Axton, who ironically (A former drug addict) was a country\Western performer = Steppenwolf also recorded another song of his called "Snowblind Friend" which I really recommend that you listen because it is also very good ** Three Dog Night also recorded 2 songs written by Hoyt Axton in the late 60's\early70's that became big hits and are definitely worth taking a listen to = "Joy To The World" ( The Jeremiah was a Bullfrog song) & "Never Been To Spain" 😎😎😎😎😎
I always liked how he compares a Dealer and a Pusher in this song.
Showing how the Dealer is more recreational and the Pusher, literally pushes you to the point of No Return.
I haven’t heard this song since my sister left home for college back in ‘74 and took my Steppenwolf record with her. I need to call her. Thanks for reminding me.
Mr Kay the lead singer was born in Germany, I believe and his mom brought him here to North America. He's also legally blind. Desperation is a great tune by steppen Wolfe but they have alot of great songs . It's never too late,magic carpet ride,Sookie sookie, snow blind friend,monster.... etc etc... monster is one of my favorites ,but I love desperation and all the songs I mentioned and more. Lol good reviews
as a kid, the pusher was the scariest boogie man there was.... he got u hooked!!
Great reaction! I really dig watching the youth (you guys) of today experiencing the sounds of the sixties and seventies and hearing their take on the tunes. This was a well played tune back in the day. A great pick for the soundtrack of the film "Easy Rider" and so on...
I think the other tune you may have been thinking of/trying to sing is "Pusherman" by Curtis Mayfield. Another great tune from the times. Keep rockin" the old music!
I find myself waiting on what Lex says, shes so descriptive!!! Love it.
I was a freshman in high school when this was popular.
They do a great job on "Snowblind Friend" also written by Hoyt Axton.
John Kay was the head of Steppenwolf and he was born in germany. His real name was Joachim-Fritz Krauledat and his mother fled with him from the Soviet occupation first to West Germany and later they emigrated to Canada. The song "Born To Be Wild" became a hit in Europe after the movie "Easy Rider". best regards @ all from hamburg (germany)
Brad's detached affect works for this song, and Lex is just beautiful, man. Dig?
Indeed. Many people comment how the 2 focus on different parts of the song and they complement each other because of it.
Saw this live in SF when they were The Sparrow. Powerful!
Love so many songs from Steppenwolf. Y'all should listen to "Don't Step on the Grass Sam". 😉♥
Written by Hoyt Axton who also wrote "Joy To The World" and "Never Been To Spain" by 3 Dog Night. Another drug related song of his that Steppenwolf recorded was "Snowblind Friend". Awesome stuff.
My favorite Steppenwolf song!!! I was born in 1962, so I really couldn’t appreciate the mid part and end of this particular decade, however, I spend the rest of my life, being a student of it, and I am a hippie, my name is super groovy, and Lex I think you would’ve been great in the 60s you are a groovy chick!!! just like the hippies, I stand for peace love Cannabis and psychedelics
My wife and I had seen John Kay and Steppenwolf in concert twice. If only they were still together we would go see them again.
John Cay and two other members of that band were Canadians. All the others were Americans. Brad and Lex, they formed Steppenwolf in California in the 60s. It's not the only rock band that had people from two countries. The Band had an American drummer, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young had Neil Young in it, who aas a Canadian. I don't remember any more bands that had both Americans and Canadians in a band. I'm relatively certain there are more of them, though.
Kay was born on 12 April 1944[2] in Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia).[3] His father Fritz, born 1913 in Absteinen near Pogegen in the Memelland (today Opstainys in Pagėgiai Municipality, Lithuania),[4] was killed a month before Kay was born.[5]
Pusher was slang for dope dealer at least as far back as the 20s & 30s & maybe beyond. By the 60s, "dealer" had come to mean usually a friend who can get you mostly softer drugs like weed, lsd, sometimes maybe pills or even coke as you request. A pusher in this song actively pressures & comes to you to sell you more and stronger drugs like heroin, meth, etc & will even involve kids, recovering addicts, sell badly made or too strong drugs & doesn't give a shit who dies, begs for a fix or fights getting addicted --- money is the only concern. Yes, I've known many of all kinds.
My absolute favorite Steppenwolf song!
You guys need to watch "Easy Rider". This would give you a feel for the 60s and where this was coming from
Such a great song, the guitars in this song are outstanding.
This was from the 60s when the pusher was very controversial, but the message is very clear.
The fight against the pushers and dealers were America's Top Priorities in Washington.
This is a song that is tells you the story of the drug filled time of the 60's. The difference between a Dealer and a Pusher. The dealer comes with a lot of grass in his hand...A bag of pot, or some coke...nothing that would kill his spirit. The pusher came with the hard stuff...heroine, LSD, etc. The pusher wants to get you hook on the hard stuff so you will need him and keep coming back. Tombstones in their eyes were the ones hook on the hard stuff. The pusher doesn't care if you live or die. Little fact, LSD...Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds...Beatles 1967. Would be a good reaction.
It is almost as if Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan both listened to this song and said "Ya know what, he's right. If I were President, Oh, I'd declare total war on the Pusherman, for real!" When this song came out it was in the soundtrack of "Easy Rider", so I went out and bought the soundtrack LP, my very first LP purchase, because of this song. Hey they said "God Damn" in the song. In 1969 I was in Junior High, and you just didn't hear stuff like THAT on the radio. Turns out there are lots of great songs in that movie. Jimi Hendrix, Steppenwolf, The Band, Bob Dylan, etc.
Back in the day, my mom had a ton of 45’s. This was the flip side of born to be wild. She never let me listen to this side. Lol. Probably spurred me to seek the dark side. Thanks mom. 😍
Love Steppenwolf. This song was not played on the radio stations due to the language. I only discovered this from the album. Another good one, I like, is Snowblind Friend.
"Cut him if he stands and shoot him if he runs" goes back at least to the 1930s. it's in "Black Mountain Blues" by the great Bessie Smith, but is probably older still.
My brother GOD REST his soul!!! Loved this song!! He was on drugs for years So bad he got so bad he spent over half of his life in prison , after coming home, he got sick and because of the drugs he needed a liver… waited three years and he never got one… I sure do miss the guy that took my training wheels off and taught me to ride a bike!! ❤️Tennessee
This track is so Powerful and convincing. Gives chills everytime......
Great Band and song , love Steppenwolf Good Canadian/ American band...
Nice one: Steppenwolf did some really good stuff. Try Magic Carpet Ride or Renegade. The latter is the story of the lead singer's escape from East Germany as child.
One of the most influential bands of the 60's and 70's and yet, not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is a joke.
Probably my #1 favorite Steppenwolf song of all time...🤟🏿😎🖖🏿
This is pure 60's rock message classic.
Some of the best guitar distortion of all time.
Congrats! If your baby grows up listening to the music and wisdom of this era. You can't go wrong😎
Just one of my favorite steppenwolf songs no bad albums.
Hoyt Axton wrote this song after one of his friends died of a drug overdose. Axton struggled with addiction for much of his life and was keen on exposing the dangers, which he did on "The Pusher" and on another song recorded by Steppenwolf: "Snowblind Friend."
You might find it funny that Hoyt Axton wrote this and he wrote Jerimiah was a Bullfrog
(Joy to the World) His mother wrote Heartbreak Hotel. Probably the only mother and son that wrote number1 hits
Went to the Ruidoso motorcycle rally Y2K. Steppenwolf was the band at the rally.
A little back ground, The Pusher is written by a famous country western singer named Hoyt Axton. He was going thru a bad time of his life.
This song and Born to be Wild were both on the Easy Rider movie soundtrack and was kind of the theme of what happened to the pushers. Hoyt Axton wrote the song after a friend died of an overdose drugs effected all forms of music and producers would use drugs as an ends to their means, from payola to giving artist what ever they wanted to keep them working, The Pushers weren’t just drug dealers !
Brad, that was Curtis Mayfield singing I'm your pusher from the Superfly movie.
You wouldn't hear this song on the radio in 1968, unless you lived in a city that had a late night "underground" station.
Keep grooving lexi
The lyrics of the song distinguish between a dealer in drugs such as marijuana-who "will sell you lots of sweet dreams"-and a pusher of hard drugs such as heroin-a "monster" who doesn't care "if you live or if you die".
Guys - Check out a live version of this song on YT. You will really see as well as hear the emotion.
I saw Steppenwolf in Reno Nevada during the early 1980s.
They sang all their hits except for The Pusher
The Casino wouldnt allow them to sing that song because God damn was part of the lyrics.
What a song!!! The guys back in the day were really trying to open people's eyes to the dangers! Great reaction!🕸❤🕸
One of the most influential bands from the 60's and 70's and yet, not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. the Hall of Fame is a joke.