Mars Bonfire
Canadian musician
title: "Mars Bonfire" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["canadian-male-songwriters", "canadian-rock-guitarists", "canadian-male-guitarists", "1943-births", "living-people", "musicians-from-oshawa", "steppenwolf-(band)"] description: "Canadian musician" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Bonfire" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Canadian musician ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox musical artist"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Mars Bonfire |
| image | Dennis Edmonton (Mars Bonfire) of The Sparrows.jpg |
| landscape | |
| caption | |
| background | non_vocal_instrumentalist |
| birth_name | Dennis Eugene McCrohan |
| alias | Dennis Edmonton |
| birth_date | |
| birth_place | Oshawa, Ontario, Canada |
| death_date | |
| genre | Rock |
| occupation | Musician, songwriter |
| instrument | guitar |
| years_active | |
| associated_acts | Steppenwolf, The Sparrows |
| website | |
| :: |
| name = Mars Bonfire | image = Dennis Edmonton (Mars Bonfire) of The Sparrows.jpg | image_size = | landscape = | alt = | caption = | background = non_vocal_instrumentalist | birth_name = Dennis Eugene McCrohan | native_name = | native_name_lang = | alias = Dennis Edmonton | birth_date = | birth_place = Oshawa, Ontario, Canada | origin = | death_date = | death_place = | genre = Rock | occupation = Musician, songwriter | instrument = guitar | years_active = | label = | associated_acts = Steppenwolf, The Sparrows | website =
Dennis Edmonton (born Dennis Eugene McCrohan; 21 April 1943), also known by the stage name Mars Bonfire, is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter, best known for writing the hit song "Born to Be Wild" for Steppenwolf.
Early career
Born Dennis Eugene McCrohan, his brother Jerry and he changed their surnames to "Edmonton" in the early 1960s. The brothers were part of the band the Sparrows, which later evolved into Steppenwolf. Another member of the Sparrows was Bruce Palmer, who later became a member of Buffalo Springfield.
Solo career
Bonfire embarked on a solo career, while his brother Jerry became the drummer for Steppenwolf. After leaving the band, he often collaborated with Kim Fowley, co-writing and contributing to the recordings of Fowley and artists associated with him. On 22 June 2015, Bonfire was awarded the Cultural Impact Award by SOCAN at the 2015 SOCAN Awards in Toronto for "Born to be Wild".
Personal life
Bonfire was a prolific hiker in Southern California for many years. He has completed the Hundred Peaks Section list 25 times. He was noted by the Los Angeles Times for his "affability and flexibility" as a hike leader.
Discography
Songs by Mars Bonfire that were recorded by Steppenwolf include:
- "Born to Be Wild" (Steppenwolf, 1968)
- "Faster than the Speed of Life" (The Second, 1968)
- "Ride with Me" (For Ladies Only, 1971)
- "Tenderness" (For Ladies Only, 1971)
- "The Night Time's for You" (co-written with Morgan Cavett, For Ladies Only, 1971)
- "Caroline (Are You Ready for the Outlaw World)" (Hour of the Wolf, 1975)
Albums:
- Mars Bonfire (1968)
- Faster than the Speed of Life (1969)
References
References
- "Mars Bonfire Biography". [[Allmusic]].
- (31 July 2018). "How we made Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild: Interview". The Guardian.
- "2015 SOCAN Awards".
- "Twenty-Fifth List Completion - Hundred Peaks Section".
- [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-sep-28-os-wildwest28-story.html Reynolds, Christopher Been There. Done That. Once Again. ''Los Angeles Times'' 2004-09-28]
- Bonfire, Mars. (1968). "''Mars Bonfire''". AllMusic.
- Bonfire, Mars. (1969). "''Faster than the Speed of Life''". AllMusic.
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