Motorhead

Back in 1974, somewhere between cosmic jams and pharmaceutical excess, Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister, then the gravel-voiced bassist for Hawkwind, found himself on the balcony of the Continental Hyatt House in Los Angeles. This storied hotel, better known to rock history as the "Riot House," was a preferred nesting place for touring rock bands, where room service rarely involved food and the television sets often took impromptu flying lessons. It was here that Lemmy reportedly borrowed Roy Wood's acoustic guitar (Wood of Wizzard and ELO fame) and dashed off the song "Motorhead" in a speed-fueled burst of energy. Stories describe him singing and howling into the night as cars slowed down to listen before driving away.

The word "motorhead" is British slang for someone heavily into amphetamines, which, let's just say, was not a metaphor in Lemmy's case. The lyrics are a love letter to speed (in every sense), and the song throbbed with that energy.

The track was released in March 1975 as the B-side to Hawkwind's "Kings of Speed." It was Lemmy's final original contribution to the band - two months later he was unceremoniously booted out after a drug bust at the Canadian border.