1) Born To Be Wild – Easy Rider
When someone says the words “Easy Rider,” what do you think? Odds are that if you’re visiting this website, you think of the 1969 counterculture classic starring Dennis Hopper, Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson. Additionally, odds are also good that the first image that pops into your head is Fonda and Hopper riding their motorcycles down the highway. That thought is not complete though without Steppenwolf’s turbo-charged Born to Be Wild playing in the background.
The rebellious spirit of the film is emblematic in the classic rock staple. It fits the early credits scene of Fonda’s Wyatt and Hopper’s Billy embracing the open road and finding an independent way to be free. Easy Rider struck a nerve in the late 1960s, opening after Nixon’s election, two noted assassinations and during Vietnam War protests. This anti-Establishment view of America was very controversial but garnered a big audience of people more interested in seeing a compelling alternative look of American life. The drive and freedom of Born to be Wild was like a calling to moviegoers to embrace a new, crazy, drugged up, rock and roll-fuelled America.
Fonda, who also produced and co-wrote Easy Rider, originally wanted Crosby, Stills & Nash to contribute an original score. However, many of the rock songs he had used in the screenplay (which included this number) turned out to fit the mood of the film so well that Easy Rider now features a soundtrack full of era-appropriate rock hits. Along with seminal titles like The Graduate, Easy Rider was an early influence on creating movie soundtracks from popular songs, instead of an orchestral score.
