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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZMC5'Motor City Five', a raucous rock band formed '67 in Detroit. Lineup: vocalist Rob Tyner (b Robert Derminer, d 17 September 1991), guitarists Wayne Kramer (b 30 April 1948) and Fred 'Sonic' Smith (d 4 November 1994 aged 45); Michael Davis on bass, Dennis Thompson on drums. Shouting revolution and profanity, they were not big commercially but an influence on later punk. They played for riots in Chicago '68; debut album Kick Out The Jams '69 on Elektra (recorded live '68) included lyric with 'motherfucker' in it, a top 30 LP but some shops would not stock it. Their manager (John Sinclair of the White Panther Party) was jailed for marijuana; Elektra dropped them; Atlantic signed them and rock critic Jon Landau produced Back In The USA '70, hailed by rock critics but reached only no. 137 in Billboard; High Time '71 did not chart. They struggled solo in various capacities; Kramer was jailed for dealing in cocaine, returned to music and played on Was--Not Was single 'Wheel Me Out'. Fred Smith married Patti Smith, co-wrote and co-produced for/with her. Teenage Lust on CD '97 was a live Michigan gig; Full Circle '97 on Alive by John Sinclair and His Blues Scholars featured his New Orleans-based band plus Kramer on guitar, setting his own poetry and interviews with jazz and blues greats to R&B rhythms. |