While they achieved significant success in Canada, the band never had a song in the top 40 in the United States, although "Lunatic Fringe" from their second album, 1981's As Far as Siam, became popular on US album-oriented rock radio.

Red Rider was formed in Toronto in 1975 when Peter Boynton (keyboards, synthesizers, vocals), Ken Greer (guitars, keyboards, backing vocals) and Rob Baker (drums) joined up with Arvo Lepp (guitar) and Jon Checkowski (bass) and began playing around Toronto, performing both original and cover music.

The song was used in the 1985 movie Vision Quest, appeared in the Miami Vice episode "Smuggler's Blues" and saw high rotation on the United States cable network MTV.

The album did contain the band's top-charting single in the US, "Young Thing, Wild Dreams (Rock Me)", which reached number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100.

After the release of the album, Randall Coryell was added to the official lineup for live dates, as was guitarist Peter Mueller; this six-piece version of the band would last through early 1990.

In the fall of 1988, the band (now a sextet) released their sixth album, Victory Day, which contained the track "Big League", about the death of a young hockey player.

Cochrane, Greer, and Jones reunited as Red Rider in 2002 to play a benefit show after their 1980s guitar tech, John Garrish, was mugged and stabbed to death in the Yorkville section of Toronto.