A total of 223 (!) users came up with the correct answer to the first MMMM puzzle, “Born to Be Wild” by Steppenwolf. How’d they figure it out? The four longest theme entries all end with a phonetic syllable from the song title (BOURNE TOO BY WILDE). The top row of the puzzle does the same thing with the band name (STEP PENN WOLFE).  And finally, the title “Bonfire Song” is a reference to the song’s writer, Mars Bonfire (yes, that’s his real name).  Born to Be Wild is #130 on Rolling Stone magazine’s current list of the greatest rock and roll songs of all time. (A few other websites claim it is #129.)

I asked people to tell me how long they took to solve the puzzle. Among those that submitted their times, Dan Feyer was fastest at 2 minutes 51 seconds.  Other speedy solvers:  David P did it in 3:05, Andy Kravis in 3:25, Francis Heaney in 3:39, and Jon Delfin in 3:40.

Eric Prestemon from Woodside, CA was the lucky randomly chosen winner of a MMMM coffee mug.

A few select comments:

Ray Hamel pointed out that I could have had a few more music clues – MASERATI is Joe Walsh’s car of choice in “Life’s Been Good” and RAM is a Paul and Linda McCartney album.

David Rosen told me he has met Mars Bonfire hiking in Southern California.

Pat H wrote “Way cool! This is the first time in my life I’ve ever figured out a meta all by myself. Assuming I’m right, of course.”

Thanks everyone for playing.  And thanks to all of you who took the time to rate the puzzles and send feedback. The next puzzle will be ready June 5.