ANOTHER TRY FOR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL STARDOM : JOHN KAY AND STEPPENWOLF ARE ON THE COMEBACK TRAIL

It’s a long, hard road to rock ‘n’ roll stardom.

And just because you’ve already walked it once doesn’t make it any easier the second time around.

In fact, said John Kay of Steppenwolf, it might make it even harder--and longer.

In the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, Steppenwolf helped define heavy metal with a succession of chart-toppers--”Born to be Wild,” “Magic Carpet Ride” and “The Pusher” were the biggest--that combined grinding melodies and rock-solid rhythms.

Then they broke up.

In 1980, Kay re-formed Steppenwolf with the intention of doing it all over again.

But after six years of trying, the band hasn’t scored a single hit, and today they’re still without a big-label recording contract.

“The general attitude I’ve gotten from the record companies is that they’d prefer to get involved with an unknown garage band and try to make them into the superstars of tomorrow,” said Kay, 42, from his Los Angeles home.

“I guess they’re doubtful as to whether lightning can strike twice--whether a band with a history of hits, like Steppenwolf, can disappear for a while and then come back and do it all over again.

“Of course, an attitude like that doesn’t please me. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that our persistence will finally convince someone out there to give us a chance.”

Kay feels confident he won’t have to wait too much longer. Since the start of a world tour in October with another ‘60s group, the Guess Who, Steppenwolf has finally broken out of the nightclub circuit and is now headlining larger arenas and amphitheaters, such as San Diego State University’s 4,500-seat Open Air Theater, where they’ll be Thursday night.

Then, there’s the fact that Steppenwolf’s music never really faded away like that of other 1960s groups. Instead of being restricted to oldies radio stations, such heavy metal anthems as “Born to Be Wild” and “Magic Carpet Ride” are regularly played on more contemporary album-oriented rock stations.

Steppenwolf songs also have been featured in several recent movies and television shows, including last year’s “Lost in America,” ’Mask” and an episode of “Miami Vice.”

“As a result, our music is consistently being introduced to a whole new generation of rock listeners,” Kay said. “That confirms my theory that the better-known recorded efforts of ours have withstood the test of time. . . .

“None of our songs dealt with peppermint and rainbows, with going to San Francisco with flowers in your hair. They were all anthems for rebellious youth, and since young people’s attitudes haven’t changed much over the years, the things we sang about then are still as relevant as ever today.”

Kay added that his optimism is further buoyed by the recent comeback successes of Tina Turner, John Fogerty and other Steppenwolf contemporaries.

“Like us, they all had extensive histories in this business, and then they weren’t heard from for a while,” Kay said. “And they also ran into brick walls when they initially tried to come back.

“But now, they’re all as big--or bigger--as they ever were. And because of that, the record companies’ prejudice against 1960s bands is starting to change--which means that 1986 may very well be the year for Steppenwolf.”

It’s about time. After several years of recording and touring as a solo artist, Kay said, he revived the Steppenwolf name in 1980--with all new members--in response to a flurry of bogus Steppenwolfs, each fronted by one or two former sidemen, who in his eyes were giving the original band a bad name.

Within a year, he added, every one of the phonies was put out of business, both by a series of court injunctions and by the continual presence on the concert circuit of John Kay and Steppenwolf.

Kay, after all, had been the original group’s founder, singer, guitarist and undisputed leader. Moreover, his dark glasses and black-leather attire had been the key elements in defining the group’s powerful, even threatening, visual image.

So if anyone was qualified to bring back the venerable Steppenwolf name, it was John Kay--and he’s been adding to the legend ever since.

“The first four years, we were strictly out to rebuild the group’s reputation, which had been damaged by all the bogus bands,” Kay said.

“And once we’d done that, we began looking to the future--writing new songs, playing bigger clubs, and putting out a pair of new albums on small, independent labels.

“Now, we’re ready for the next step--which is to gradually incorporate more and more new songs into our live performances, return to the arenas we had played the first time around, and hopefully land a record deal with a major label so we can finally start having hits again.”