Almost Hits: Steppenwolf - The Pusher (1968)

It should come as no surprise to those of you who know the song that Steppenwolf's "The Pusher" is among the more controversial rock records in history. It was released in 1968 on the hard rocking quintet's debut album - and for reasons we'll be discussing here - the backlash it received because of its lyrics overshadowed its powerful, well-meaning message.

The song was written by multi-talented Hoyt Axton (1938 - 1999), who found success in Hollywood as a folk singer, a composer and as an actor. Axton suffered from a cocaine addiction that he was fortunate enough to overcome, but he was also a big proponent of medical marijuana.

The composer wrote a lot of songs in addition to "The Pusher." Among them are "No-No Song," another anti-drug track made famous when it became a hit for Ringo Starr off of his Goodnight Vienna LP. The Kingston Trio recorded Axton's "Greenback Dollar" in 1963, and it became one of the folk group's standards. Axton's most famous song is "Joy to the World," a Grammy nominated, huge #1 for Three Dog Night in 1971. The same band also had a hit with his "Never Been to Spain."

The lyrics to "The Pusher" prevented it from receiving any radio airplay, even on alternative FM, free form, rock stations listeners loved in the late 60s. Despite that, the song became quite popular after it was featured during the opening sequence of the Dennis Hopper-Peter Fonda movie, Easy Rider, in 1969.

Steppenwolf's frontman, John Kay, sang "God damn the pusher" many times during the song's chorus while condemning the use of hard drugs. The salty language made many people hate the record despite it carrying one of the more important messages a pop song could ever deliver. Many people were so upset about its language that they didn't even notice or care about its message. The track begins:
"You know I've smoked a lot of grass,
Oh lord, I popped a lot of pills,
but I never touched nothin' that my spirit could kill."
"You know, I've seen a lot of people walkin' 'round with tombstones in their eyes,
But the pusher don't care ah, if you live or if you die."

And then came the fatal chorus that killed "The Pusher" for radio.

I'll let you decide if the track is too crude for airplay. I like the song, I always have, and I love its message, but I fully understand why you wouldn't want your eight-year-old to hear it on your car radio. That parent would have some serious explaining to do.

Many years later - after the "The Pusher" became a cult favorite - Axton discovered that it had never been published. His mother - Mae Axton, who co-wrote "Heartbreak Hotel" for Elvis Presley - ran his publishing company, and she refused to publish it because of the obscene lyrics. Per Wikipedia - not my favorite source but it's the only place where I found this quote - Axton said, "Mom, it's a biblical curse! God..... Damn the pusher man!" She said, "Oh, now I get it!"  He insisted the lyrics should be interpreted as asking God to curse the pushers. Axton swore he wasn't trying to be obscene. After her son's explanation she finally sent his composition to the publishers. 

Steppenwolf's version of "The Pusher" wasn't released as a single until 1971. It didn't chart anywhere, probably because many people already owned the album, but mostly because radio wanted nothing to do with the song. It still counts as a hit (almost!) because it was so popular in the late 60s.

On the musical side, both Kay and Michael Monarch served as Steppenwolf's electric guitarists. Which of the two played the perfectly eerie lead on the infamous track is unclear.
The first video below features the entire song. The second one shows the opening sequence of the movie with an abbreviated version that begins around the 1:15 mark.
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Almost Hits is an occasional exploration into songs that failed to reach the top 20 on the American Billboard Hot 100. Many have become classics despite what their chart position would indicate.

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