Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An kashe mahaifinsa Fritz, wanda aka haife shi a ranar 13 ga Yuni 1913 a Absteinen (Opstainys a cikin Pagėgiai Municipality), kusa da Pleskau wata daya kafin a haife shi. A farkon shekarar 1945, mahaifiyarsa ta gudu tare da shi daga sojojin Soviet da ke ci gaba a lokacin yakin basasa.
kwashewa daga Gabashin Prussia a cikin mawuyacin yanayin hunturu. Jirgin su ya makale kusa da Arnstadt, wanda Amurkawa suka fara mamayewa, amma daga baya ya zama wani ɓangare na yankin Soviet na Gabashin Jamus. A cikin 1949, sun ƙetare iyakar da aka riga aka ƙarfafa don sake zama a Hanover, Jamus ta Yamma (kamar yadda aka ba da labari a cikin waƙarsa "Renegade" a kan kundin "Steppenwolf 7"). Yanzu yana zaune a yankin mamaye na Burtaniya, matashi Joachim, wanda ke fama da matsalar ido, wanda ba zai iya magana ko fahimtar Ingilishi ba, ya fara yin wahayi da koya game da kiɗan rock 'n' roll yayin sauraron Little Richard a rediyon Sojojin Amurka. Ya kuma ga wani labari game da Juyin Juya Halin Hungary na 1956, wanda László Kovács ya harbe shi kuma ya fitar da shi (daga baya daga "Easy Rider"). Lokacin da iyalinsa suka koma Toronto a shekara ta 1958, malamai sun sami matsala wajen furta sunan haihuwarsa, don haka aka kira shi John K maimakon. Bayan shekara biyar, suka ƙaura zuwa birnin Buffalo, a jihar New York.