MC5

Motor City Five

MC5, short for Motor City Five, formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan; Wikipedia gives 1963 and Toppermost 1964. Rob Tyner, born Robert Derminer, coined the name and took his surname from the pianist McCoy Tyner. The classic line-up was Tyner, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Michael Davis and Dennis Thompson. Early singles came out on the local A-Square and AMG labels before Elektra signed them in 1968. Their debut, Kick Out the Jams, was recorded live at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit on October 30 and 31, 1968, and released early in 1969 on Elektra, reaching number 30 on the Billboard 200.

Back in the USA (1970, Atlantic) was produced by Jon Landau and High Time (1971) by Geoffrey Haslam. Davis left in February 1972, and the band ended that year. Later releases include Live at the Sturgis Armoury (recorded 1968, issued 1998), Teen Age Lust and the box sets Purity Accuracy (2004) and Total Assault (2018). A new album, Heavy Lifting, appeared in 2024. Tyner died in 1991, Smith in 1994, Davis in 2012, and Kramer and Thompson in 2024. The films MC5: A True Testimonial (2002) and Louder Than Love: The Grande Ballroom Story (2012) tell the story.

Reviews of the first album split. Lester Bangs in Rolling Stone called it ridiculous, overbearing, pretentious, though he later said it was among his most-played; AllMusic's Mark Deming called it one of the most powerfully energetic live albums ever made, and Rolling Stone placed it 294th among its 500 greatest albums.