'Easy Rider' marks 50th anniversary with Radio City event

Fifty years after its release, the counterculture landmark "Easy Rider" will rock out with a live band at Radio City Music Hall.

John Kay of Steppenwolf and Roger McGuinn of The Byrds will be part of "Easy Rider Live," in which the iconic film will be accompanied by a live rock band under the direction of T Bone Burnett, the acclaimed music producer. Peter Fonda, who produced, co-wrote and starred in the film, will serve as producer of the event. The set list should include many classic-rock nuggets from the soundtrack, including Steppenwolf's "Born to Be Wild," The Byrds' "I Wasn't Born to Follow" and The Band's "The Weight."

A story of two soul-searching, motorcycle-riding drifters (played by Fonda and co-writer Dennis Hopper, who also directed), "Easy Rider" brought the hippie revolution to mainstream America when it arrived in theaters in July 1969. The on-screen nudity and drug use led to a Certificate X rating in Britain and an outright ban in France, while in America the film stunned Hollywood by generating millions on a paltry $375,000 budget. "Easy Rider" was added to the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" in 1998.

"Easy Rider Live" takes place Friday, Sept. 20. Tickets go on sale Aug. 2 at noon. For more information go to http://easyrider.live/.