MC5

USA, 1964–1972

Detroit band of Wayne Kramer and Fred 'Sonic' Smith. The live album Kick Out the Jams (1969), recorded at high volume and distortion, is a direct precursor of punk.

MusicRoots documents 4 artists who influenced MC5 and 3 artists MC5 influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced MC5?

• John Coltrane — Late Coltrane — the point where a solo stops resolving and just keeps going. That is what the long passages on Kick Out the Jams are reaching for.
• John Lee Hooker — Hooker was a Detroit neighbour — his boogie was literally in the water MC5 drank.
• Sun Ra — Sun Ra showed MC5 that music could be total revolution — artistic and political simultaneously.
• Chuck Berry — Chuck Berry gave MC5 the language of rock'n'roll, which they aimed at the establishment.

Which artists did MC5 influence?

• Primal Scream — Named in the same breath as the Stooges, and by Gillespie himself: 'we were touring the country, playing these high-energy MC5 rock'n'roll songs, but it was house tapes in the van.'
• The Hives — MC5's 'Kick Out the Jams' menace is echoed in the Hives' snarling, high-energy garage-punk.
• Monster Magnet — The MC5's rambunctious high-energy rock is part of Monster Magnet's swaggering attack.