Uploaded January 2014 | Updated September 2026, 2 minutes ago
"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 becoming the band's second-biggest hit, surpassed only by "Born to Be Wild".
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.
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
"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 becoming the band's second-biggest hit, surpassed only by "Born to Be Wild".
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.
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
