MC5

MC5 (also known as the Motor City Five) was an American rock band formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in 1963. The classic lineup consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson. MC5 were listed by Parade as one of the best rock bands of all time and by VH1 as one of the greatest hard rock artists of all time. The band's music is widely recognized as influential, and their 1969 song "Kick Out the Jams" has been covered by many artists. "Crystallizing the counterculture movement at its most volatile and threatening", according to AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, MC5's leftist political ties and anti-establishment lyrics and music positioned them as pioneers 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. Guitarist Tom Morello described MC5 as having "basically invented punk rock." MC5 had a promising beginning that earned them a January 1969 cover appearance on Rolling Stone and a story written by Eric Ehrmann before their debut live album was released. They developed...