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Even with John Kay’s broken English, Little Richard’s primal voice gave the 12-year-old “chicken skin.”
Kay first heard American rock ‘n’ roll on the U.S. armed forces radio station in West Germany, after escaping East Germany with his mother. For him, it was freedom.
That power of music — to free its listener and to elicit an emotional response — has stayed with Kay through his 50-year career and hits like Born to Be Wild, Magic Carpet Ride, the Pusher and Monster.
John Kay and Steppenwolf will play at Caesars Windsor Saturday for a show that hopes to take people back to the 1960s with the classics and surprise them with some newer pieces.
Kay says his music comes from two places: a Blues and rock ‘n’ roll foundation mixed with powerful lyrics.
He grew up among the protesters against the Vietnam War and during the civil rights movement. Some of his favourite lyrics are on Monster, a 1969 political album. Kay said he’s seen those songs become relevant again among his younger fans as the U.S. opens discussions about race and inequality.