With not a penny to my name, it’s Jutta & The Pink Pussycat to the rescue. Music Moguls are no help, enter Gabriel Mekler, just in time. Garage band music brings the LAPD, but a cassette with “Born to be wild” sounds promising. The Demo session that almost wasn’t….thanks to the LAPD…spawns the name “Steppenwolf”. Dunhill Records takes a chance with ‘The Wolf’. Then it’s ‘Good bye’ Western and “Hello” American Recorders and a finished album in just 4 days. Jutta is pregnant and loses job, pregnant pussycats are not wanted. Long hair’s a no-go at Disneyland, but I will remember this indignity. First LP and “Sookie, Sookie” are released early ‘68 and we’re played on AM and FM. March 29, 1968: Daughter Shawn is born while I’m on stage with “The Wolf” at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Dunhill doesn’t think “Born to be wild” is a single, but we beg to differ. We, “The Wolf”, play nationwide and watch Arthur Brown ignite himself in NYC’s “The Scene” club. Hugh Heffner applauds our sound & lyrics at his “Playboy after dark” TV show. 1968 is very good to us, our records are high on the charts, but it’s a very difficult year for our country, with too many leaders lost and much turmoil in the streets. We leave all that behind for a few days and play in Honolulu, enjoying some fun in the sun as well. Once back on the mainland we begin headlining in arenas, have 2 songs in the Film Candy, appear on the Smothers Brothers CBS TV show and then….continued on EP5….stay tuned, there’s much more to come. JK