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Artist
John Kay
12+ albums
classic rockrockbluesCanadianblues rock
about
John Kay (born Joachim Fritz Krauledat; April 12, 1944) is an American rock singer, songwriter and guitarist known as the frontman of Steppenwolf. Early Life Kay was born on April 12, 1944 in Tilsit, East Prussia, Germany (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia). His father Fritz, born 1913 in Absteinen near Pogegen in the Memelland (today Opstainys in Pagėgiai Municipality, Lithuania), was killed a month before Kay was born. In early 1945, Kay's mother fled with him from the advancing Soviet troops during the evacuation of East Prussia in harsh winter conditions. Their train got stuck near Arnstadt, which was first occupied by the Americans, but then became part of the East German Soviet occupation zone. In 1949, they crossed the already-fortified border to resettle in Hanover, West Germany (as recounted in his song "Renegade" on the album Steppenwolf. Now living in the British occupation zone, the young Joachim, who had eye problems and could not speak or understand English, was first inspired by and learned about rock 'n' roll music while listening to Little Richard on U.S. Armed Forces radio. When his family moved to Toronto in 1958, teachers had a hard time pronouncing his birth name, so he was called John K instead. Five years later, they moved to Buffalo, New York, and became American citizens. Kay stated in an interview that "The first letter I got when I arrived in Buffalo, New York, was from the draft board." However he was ruled 4-F (medically ineligible) du
