caption associated_acts years_active alias label image_size article_title landscape past_members background genre image origin name
mc5 kramer , handsome dick manitoba , dennis thompson , michael in davis and gilby clarke . 2005 . left to right : wayne destroy order new race all monsters sonic 's rendezvous band the new 1964 -- 1972 , 1992 , 2003 -- 2012 bounty hunters elektra atlantic rhino 270 mc5
 yes see : members group_or_band rock hard rock protopunk blues rock mc5 @ the casbah.jpg detroit , michigan , united states mc5
mc5

mc5 was an american rock band from lincoln park , michigan , formed in 1964 .
the original band line-up consisted of vocalist rob tyner , guitarists wayne kramer and fred `` sonic '' smith , bassist michael davis , and drummer dennis thompson .
`` crystallizing the counterculture movement at its most volatile and threatening '' , according to `` allmusic '' critic stephen thomas erlewine , the mc5 's far left political ties and anti-establishment lyrics and music positioned them as emerging innovators of the punk movement in the united states .
their loud , energetic style of back-to-basics rock and roll included elements of garage rock , hard rock , blues rock , and psychedelic rock .
mc5 had a promising beginning which 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 years after their debut record , the band came to an end .
mc5 was often cited as one of the most important american hard rock groups of their era .
their three albums are regarded by many as classics , and their song `` kick out the jams '' is widely covered .
tyner died of a heart attack in late 1991 at the age of 46 .
smith also died of a heart attack , in 1994 at the age of 45 .
the remaining three members of the band reformed in 2003 with the dictators ' singer handsome dick manitoba as its new vocalist , and this reformed line-up occasionally performed live over the next nine years until davis died of liver failure in february 2012 at the age of 68 .
