Nick St. Nicholas (born Klaus Karl Kassbaum on September 28, 1941) is a German-Canadian musician[1] who was the bassist of the rock band Steppenwolf in the late 1960s.

Kassbaum spent a brief period as bassist with the Epics, then Shirley Matthews and the Big Town Boys before organizing a set of musicians who eventually coalesced as the Mynah Birds, featuring singers Rick James, Neil Young and Jimmy Livingston.

[4][5] In 1965, Kassbaum replaced Bruce Palmer as bassist with Jack London and the Sparrows, became Nick St. Nicholas, and played on most of the tracks on their only LP, which was released in that year.

Having booked the band at the Matrix club in San Francisco, on May 14, 1967,[6] two live shows were recorded, including a 20-minute version of "The Pusher."

After having recorded two albums without him, St. Nicholas's Sparrow bandmates, (vocalist/guitarist John Kay, drummer Jerry Edmonton and organist Goldy McJohn) came to see him perform with T.I.M.E.

[12][13][14] Following St. Nicholas's ouster from Steppenwolf, he replaced Dickie Peterson in Blue Cheer alongside Ruben De Fuentes on guitar and Terry Rae on drums.

In the early 1990s, St. Nicholas formed a new Lone Wolf with Griffey, singer Richard Ward, and drummer Daryl Johnson, featuring at bike rallies and clubs,[17] continuing until 1997.

In 1997 St. Nicholas began a new heavy metal chapter as he launched the supergroup World Classic Rockers, bringing Griffey with him into the new venture along with Sparrow and Steppenwolf bandmate Michael Monarch.