– Wayne Kramer, co-founder of revolutionary rock band the MC5, dies at age seventy-five
– Wayne Kramer, co-founder of iconic rock band the MC5, passes away at seventy-five.
Wayne Kramer, Co-Founder of MC5, Passes Away at 75
MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 21: Wayne Kramer of MC5 performs on stage at Alcatraz on November 21, 2018 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Sergione Infuso/Corbis via Getty Images)
FOX 2 (WJBK) – NEW YORK (AP) — Wayne Kramer, the co-founder of the protopunk Detroit band the MC5 that thrashed out such hardcore anthems as “Kick Out the Jams” and influenced everyone from the Clash to Rage Against the Machine, has died at age 75.
Kramer passed away on Friday at Cedars-Sinai hospital in Los Angeles after battling pancreatic cancer, according to his close friend and executive director of Kramer’s nonprofit Jail Guitar Doors, Jason Heath.
The MC5, featuring Kramer and Fred “Sonic” Smith on guitars, Rob Tyner on vocals, Michael Davis on bass, and Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson on drums, was at the forefront of the revolutionary spirit of the late 1960s to early 1970s. Their raw and uncompromising music, envisioned as the soundtrack for the uprising to come, captured the hearts of many.
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello took to Instagram to pay tribute to Kramer, calling him “the best man I’ve ever known” and crediting the MC5 with inventing punk rock music.
Although the band had limited commercial success and its core lineup didn’t last beyond the early 1970s, their legacy lived on. Kramer chronicled his tumultuous journey in his 2018 memoir, “The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities.”
Today, Thompson is the sole surviving member of the MC5.
Kramer and Smith had been friends since their teenage years and had played with various musicians in Detroit before solidifying the core lineup in the mid-1960s. Drawing inspiration from the Rolling Stones and other hard rock bands of the era, they named themselves the MC5, short for Motor City Five.
The MC5 embraced Marxism, the White Panthers, the Beats, and other social-political movements, making them more politically radical than most of their peers. They were the only band to perform during the infamous 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where anti-war protesters were being violently suppressed by the police.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MARCH 13: Wayne Kramer of the MC5 performs live on stage during the reunion show ‘Sonic Revolution: A Celebration Of The MC5’ at the 100 Club on March 13, 2003 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
Their most famous song, “Kick Out the Jams,” became an anthem and reached the top 40 in 1969. They also released the studio albums “Back in the USA” and “High Time” before disbanding in 1972.
In the following years, Kramer led various incarnations of the MC5 and performed with other groups, including Was (Not Was). However, he also struggled with substance abuse and found himself involved in the life of a “small-time Detroit criminal.” In 1975, he was arrested on drug charges and served a four-year prison sentence.
Wayne Kramer is survived by his wife, Margaret Saadi, and his son, Francis.
For more insights into Wayne Kramer’s life and music, you can listen to FOX 2’s Dave Kinchen’s interview with him on his Rock of Nations podcast.
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1. Wayne Kramer co-founder of revolutionary rock band the MC5 dies at 75
2. Wayne Kramer, co-founder of the MC5, passes away at 75.
