Dennis Thompson, whose powerhouse drumming drove the MC5, has died, according to the Detroit Free Press. The MC5 were one of the most aggressive and politically active bands of the 1960s and their driving brand of rock music was a foundation of punk rock, Motorhead and every strain of hard rock that followed.
According to the Free Press, Thompson passed away at MediLodge of Taylor, where he had been rehabilitating following a heart attack in April.
His death follows the passing of the band’s guitarist, Wayne Kramer, in February and its influential manager, John Sinclair, last month. Just weeks ago the band was finally inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a long-overdue accolade that only Thompson had lived to see. His first reaction, Becky Tyner, widow of MC5 singer Rob Tyner, told the Free Press was: “It’s about fucking time!” He told her he was eager to attend October’s induction ceremony in Cleveland.
Raised in Detroit, Thompson and Kramer played together as teenagers in a band called the Bounty Hunters. He joined Kramer, guitarist Fred Smith, singer Rob Tyner and bassist Michael Davis in the MC5 in 1965 and the group quickly became popular on the vibrant Detroit music scene. As rock evolved in the mid-1960s, the MC5 rapidly evolved with it, moving from its beat-group origins to something much more aggressive. The bandmembers’ hair grew longer, their politics (deeply influenced by Sinclair) more radical, and their sound grew quickly into a vibrant form of hard rock spiked influenced by free-form jazz.
Popular on PvNew
The group was incubated in Detroit’s famous Grande Ballroom, where they opened for countless top acts of the era — ranging from the Who and Cream to Sun Ra —and their debut album, the classic “Kick Out the Jams,” was recorded live at the venue in 1968. True to form, the original cover artwork the group submitted for the album was a psychedelic painting featuring a giant marijuana leaf (its label, Elektra Records, used a collage of live band photos instead).
The group’s politics, as much as its rebellious attitude, caused problems every step of the way. The MC5 was the only act to perform in Chicago during the infamous Democratic National Convention in 1968 where police attacked thousands of young demonstrators. The stance suited Sinclair and Kramer but did not sit well with Thompson.
“We became a political band. The media tagged us as a band that was the vanguard of ‘the revolution,’” he said in 2003, according to the Free Press. “I didn’t want to be the band of the revolution. It’s not what we started out to do. Looking back from a 30-year vantage point, I can see it was beneficial because of the notoriety. It was powerful stuff, and that media notoriety helped make us a household word. But at same time it was ending our career. It was killing us.”
The group also feuded with Elektra and were dropped. They released two strong albums for Atlantic —1970’s “Back in the USA,” which was produced by future Bruce Springsteen producer/manager Jon Landau, and “High Time” the following year —but drug addiction felled Thompson and other band members. He kicked his addiction, but the MC5 petered out in 1972.
Thompson continued to perform with Detroit-area bands over the years and worked with Kramer and Davis in the 2000s.
More to come….
