Canadian Goldy Mcjohn was founding member of Steppenwolf

Goldy Mcjohn, a Canadian founding member of Steppenwolf whose roaring organ sounds and big hair brought a powerful presence to the group behind the classic-rock staples “Born to be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride,” has died.

The keyboard player, whose given name was John Goadsby, died on Tuesday of a heart attack, according to a post on his Facebook page. He was 72.

A funeral service is scheduled for next Friday in Seattle.

“He died at home in my arms, that’s all I can say,” Mcjohn’s wife, Sonja, told The Canadian Press by phone from Seattle on Friday, adding they had been together for 30 years.

He was playing the organ right up until the day before he died, she said.

“I bought him an organ that he wanted really bad and he played it almost every day since I got it for him. And I wish I could hear him now.”

Mcjohn and husky-voiced lead singer John Kay were among the founding members of Steppenwolf. The group, which also included Canadians Jerry Edmonton on drums and Nick St. Nicholas on bass among its core members, got its start in Toronto as the Sparrows.

Rockabilly musician Ronnie Hawkins recalls them playing at his club, the Hawk’s Nest, above the Le Coq d’or Tavern on Yonge Street in Toronto.

“They were just starting when they were at the Hawk’s Nest, but I remember them, and the piano player had that afro or whatever you call that great big head of hair,” Hawkins said by phone Friday from his home in Peterborough, Ont.

“(The crowd) loved them. That’s what got them started. They were so good at the Hawk’s Nest, they started getting jobs everywhere.”

After securing a deal with Columbia Records, the Sparrows spent time in New York and then migrated west to the San Francisco Bay area and Los Angeles, where they broke up and reformed as Steppenwolf.

“I kept needling the guys. I said, ‘Man, I saw what’s going on out on the West Coast,”’ Kay recalled in an interview with The Canadian Press last October.

“I saw the formation of the Byrds and numerous other hot bands out there.”

The group’s self-titled debut album released in 1968 was a hit and included the iconic track “Born to be Wild,” written by Mars Bonfire, who was the Canadian guitarist for the Sparrows and the brother of Edmonton.

“It came out and boy, that’s what put ‘em on top,” said Hawkins.

“It became a big one and it’s still getting work for them. You still hear that song. It sounded like one of them wild, teenage things.”

The gritty biker anthem, as well as the group’s hit cover of Hoyt Axton’s “The Pusher,” were on the soundtrack for Dennis Hopper’s cult classic 1969 film “Easy Rider.”