Adam Lambert performs "Born to Be Wild" on "American Idol" on Tuesday
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

Adam Lambert is the leading contender on this year's "American Idol." The 27-year-old musical-theater veteran proved it yet again Tuesday night during a tribute to Hollywood movie music when he went way back to 1968 for a hyped-up cover of Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild."

While the majority of the other contestants stuck to songs from the 1990s, and all the rest went the ballad route, Lambert stood out because he chose a 40-year-old high-octane rock song associated with the iconic 1969 hippie road movie "Easy Rider" (likely one of mentor Quentin Tarantino's all-time top 10).

After performing a moving cover of the Tears for Fears ballad "Mad World" last week, Lambert did a 180 and gave some techno flash to a song many have credited with being the first-ever heavy-metal tune. Released as the Canadian band's second single in 1968, "Born to Be Wild" essentially helped name the emerging genre of heavy music with the line "I like smoke and lightning/ Heavy metal thunder/ Racin' with the wind/ And the feelin' that I'm under." (The phrase first appeared in late author William Burroughs' 1962 novel "The Soft Machine," in which a character is described as "the Heavy Metal Kid," but the Steppenwolf song was the first piece of music to use it.)

The song became the band's biggest hit and a shorthand reference to the wind-in-your-hair freedom of hitting the open road on a motorcycle thanks to its use in 1969's "Easy Rider," a counterculture classic that follows Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda as they ride their choppers from Los Angeles to New Orleans on a series of epic, drug-fueled adventures. The movie contained a reworked version of the song that included the sounds of motorcycles revving up in the intro. It was written by Mars Bonfire (a.k.a. Dennis Edmonton), who wasn't a member of the band, but whose brother, Jerry, was Steppenwolf's drummer.

It has since come to embody a rebel spirit and has been covered by everyone from INXS and U2 to the Cult, Zodiac Mindwarp and the Love Reaction, Hinder and Ozzy Osbourne (in a 1994 duet with the Muppets' Miss Piggy). It has been featured in movies including "Coming Home," "Borat," "Dr. Dolittle 2" and "Herbie Fully Loaded."

Lambert added his own unique take to the tune, performing it in front of a screen flashing with lightning and fire effects and putting a Broadway patina on the whole thing with his energetic stage maneuvers and a series of sky-high falsetto wails.

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• Steppenwolf

Former Steppenwolf bassist Nick St. Nicholas
Photo: Vh1

Nick St. Nicholas may no longer be flying on Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride," but he can still associate himself with the classic rock band.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday denied the band's appeal of a decision allowing St. Nicholas to advertise himself as a "former member of Steppenwolf," the result of an appearance before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in May.

The case has been in and out of courtrooms since 1996, when St. Nicholas joined the World Classic Rockers, an "all-star" band whose members bill themselves as former members of various rock acts such as the Eagles and the Moody Blues.

Steppenwolf's bassist from 1969 to 1971, St. Nicholas attempted to do the same, but was issued a cease-and-desist letter from Steppenwolf Inc. and singer John Kay, who claimed St. Nicholas signed an agreement in 1980 that gave all ownership rights to the name to Steppenwolf Inc.

St. Nicholas filed a federal suit arguing that the agreement only forbid him from performing as Steppenwolf, not from advertising his résumé. A federal judge dismissed the suit in Steppenwolf's favor, but St. Nicholas successfully appealed in federal and district court.

The bassist was traveling and unavailable for comment Tuesday and Wednesday, but his spokesperson said the case would likely go back to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Lawyers for both sides did not return calls, and Kay's spokesperson said the singer had no comment.

Steppenwolf formed in the late 1960s and recorded such classic rock staples as "Born to Be Wild," "Magic Carpet Ride" and "The Pusher." Still touring, Kay and the group play at the Tulsa State Fair Wednesday (October 3) in Oklahoma.

The World Classic Rockers recently wrapped a stint of several summer festivals.

• Steppenwolf