Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild‘ was that song playing at the beginning of the new superhero film Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
We first hear the song as Aquaman is playing with his son, and it then continues playing through the montage that comes after.
It is then heard again over the film end credits.
In other words, while the film itself is receiving poor reviews from critics and audiences alike, with one critic commenting if you thought the first Aquaman film was bad, this one is worse, it does at least feature one bangin’ song.
When did Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild‘ come out?
While the now-iconic song has been covered by several high-profile musicians over the last 50 years, it was Steppenwolf who first recorded and released ‘Born to be Wild‘ back in 1968 as the third single from their self-titled debut studio album.
The hard rock track became a very popular song for the band upon release, but then earned even more attention when it was featured in the cult classic film Easy Rider starring Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper.
Between the song’s first release in May, 1968 and Easy Rider hitting movie theaters in 1969, ‘Born to be Wild’ climbed high up music charts in eight countries.
It was ranked at #1 on the Canadian Singles chart, and #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, as well as hitting the Top 20 in Germany, New Zealand, Belgium and Austria.
Since its initial release, Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild‘ has also been recorded by Bruce Springsteen, Ozzy Osbourne and Miss Piggy, Slade, The Cult, Etta James and Kim Wilde.
But it is Steppenwolf’s original recording of the rock track that is still the classic, and that has been named to several music critics Best of… lists over the last five decades.
Listen to Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild‘ as heard at the beginning and end of Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on the song’s video, and via the band’s Steppenwolf album on Spotify.
The film itself is now playing in movie theaters throughout the U.S.