MC5 Caricature

MC5 Caricature, illustrated here in 1970 with (L to R) Wayne Kramer age 22, Dennis Thompson age 22, Michael Davis age 27, Fred “Sonic” Smith age 22 and Rob Tyner age 26.

MC5 (Motor City Five) was an American rock band from Lincoln Park, Michigan, formed in 1964.

MC5 had a promising beginning that earned them a January 1969 cover appearance in Rolling Stone and a story written by Eric Ehrmann before their debut album was released.
They developed a reputation for energetic and polemical live performances, one of which was recorded as their 1969 debut album Kick Out the Jams.
Their initial run was short-lived, though. In 1972, just three years after their debut record, the band came to an end.

The origins of MC5 can be traced to the friendship between guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred Smith. Friends since their teen years, they were both fans of R&B music, blues, Chuck Berry, Dick Dale, The Ventures, and what later was called garage rock: they adored any music with speed, energy and a rebellious attitude.

MC5 became the leading band in a burgeoning hard rock scene, serving as mentors to fellow South-Eastern Michigan bands The Stooges and The Up.
Both The Stooges and the MC5 were signed by Elektra Records, the first hard rock bands contracted by the company.

MC5 of this period was politically influenced by the Marxism of the Black Panther Party and Fred Hampton, poets of the Beat Generation such as Allen Ginsberg and Ed Sanders and Huey P. Newton and their manager John Sinclair.
Their next two albums didn’t fare well, Back In The USA (1970) and High Time (1971). Their last live performance was on December 31, 1972 at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit.

Greatest hits: “Kick Out The Jams”, “The American Ruse”, “Ramblin’ Rose”, “Sister Anne”, “Shakin’ Street”, “I Can Only Give You Everything”, “Starship”, “Tonight”, “Skunk (Sonicly Speaking)” and “Motor City Is Burning”.

On September 17, 1991, Rob Tyner suffered a heart attack in the seat of his parked car close to his home town of Berkley, Michigan. He was taken to Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, where he died, leaving his wife, Becky, and three children at age 46.

Fred “Sonic” Smith married rock singer Patti Smith in 1980. Fred Smith died on November 4, 1994 at age 46 from heart failure.

Michael Davis died of liver failure at the age of 68 on February 17, 2012.

#MC5, #MC5Caricature, #WayneKramer, #DennisThompson, #MichaelDavis, #FredSonicSmith, #RobTyner, #KickOutTheJams, #PaulKing, #PaulKingArtwerks, PaulKingArt.com