Their first album was Kick Out The Jams, recorded live on October 30 and 31, 1968. The album caused some controversy due to the title track's rallying cry of "kick out the jams, motherfuckers," and John Sinclair's inflammatory liner notes. The album concluded with "Starship," a cover of a Sun Ra song.
When Hudsons, a then Detroit based, now defunct department store, refused to stock the LP the MC5 responded with a full page advertisement in the Fifth Estate saying "Fuck Hudsons!" Hudsons pulled all records on Elektra, the MC5's label, and Jac Holzman, the head of Elektra, dropped the band.
Their second album Back In The USA virtually provided a prototype for punk rock with its short, fast, hard-edged angry guitar rock. Their third album High Time would also prove influential on 1970s hard rock bands like Aerosmith and Kiss. The band broke up amidst drug-related problems in 1972. John Sinclair, the band's manager, was politically active with the White Panthers and Fifth estate.
Singer Robin Tyner died in 1991, as did guitarist Fred 'Sonic' Smith in 1994. Guitarist Wayne Kramer is still active, and has released several solo albums.
2003 saw the three surviving members of the MC5 - Kramer, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson - performing as the MC5 at the 100 Club in London with vocal chores being filled by Dave Vanian of The Damned and Ian Astbury of The Cult
The MC5 had been the only band to show up, and the first phalanx of motorcycle cops started pushing in on the crowd as soon as the group stopped playing in late afternoon, though the violent attack on protesters didn't explode until several hours later.
The MC5 eventually helped form the White Panthers, whose 10-point manifesto promised "a total assault on the culture by any means necessary, including rock and roll, dope, and [expletive] in the streets." This, of course, is what captured Washington's attention, though the Detroit police did the dirty work.
The bellows was the Grande Ballroom, where the MC5 became the house band and, eventually, one of the great live acts of the era, its meld of crunch, distortion, feedback and yowling vocals often surpassing the stage power of visiting acts like the Who and Jimi Hendrix.
After John Sinclair was in jail and the MC5 had ended their association with him, they did play benefits for various causes associated with Sinclair's legal difficulties and 'The Movement.' Through the Summer of 1969 and into 1970 the MC5 topped several bills in and around Detroit which were organized as 'Free John Sinclair' events.
Detroit'sMC5 were one of the most electrifying acts to ever storm a Rock & Roll stage and their performances in the late 60's are the stuff of myth and legend.
The story of the MC5 is the last great untold story of the 1960s; it is a microcosm of the civil unrest, political revolt, and cultural upheaval that shook the country's foundation; to leave their tale untold is to leave a crucial chapter of American history unwritten.
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