(Vocal group, 1968–72) Michigan’s loud and politically resolute MC5 – Rob Tyler (vocals), Wayne Kramer (guitar), Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith (guitar), Mike Davis (bass) and Dennis Thompson (drums) – were connected with The White Panthers. Riddled with slogan-ridden social comment, rude words and raw musical attack, their three albums may be seen to have pre-empted the more dogmatic punk ...
he died in 1999. The Impressions disbanded in 1981. Butler is a Chairman Emeritus of the charitable Rhythm and Blues Foundation. Styles & Forms | Sixties | Rock Personalities | MC5 | Sixties | Rock ...
1960) was born in Seattle, Washington. He was inspired to play guitar by Kiss, subsequently backtracking to the music which inspired them – The New York Dolls, MC5, The Stooges and The Velvet Underground. He bought his first guitar, a Guild S-100, which he would use throughout his career, and formed his first band ...
‘So You Want To Be (A Rock And Roll Star)’. The album was dedicated to ‘my clarinet teacher’, Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, a guitarist in seminal 1960s punk rockers the MC5 who also inspired the songs ‘Frederick’ and ‘Dancing Barefoot’. A Return To The Road In 1980 Patti Smith married Fred Smith and retired from rock and roll to bring up ...
biggest problem was that nobody had a clue what to call it. Drawing their wild, high-energy style from such Detroit-based rock acts of the late-1960s and early 1970s as MC5 and The Stooges, and boasting an androgynous, long-haired look that made The Rolling Stones look like choirboys, glammed-up east coast quintet The New York Dolls were America’s ...
and lyrics that dealt head-on with sex and drugs. The roots of punk rock, goth rock and glam rock can all be traced back to this album. Anti-Establishment The MC5 gathered a loyal following on the strength of their exciting and anarchic live performances, so much so that they elected to record a live show for their debut album ...
about how well you can play, it’s about how well you can communicate. Its roots go back to the beginning of rock’n’roll in the 1950s. The rebellious spirit of MC5 and The Stooges in the 1960s helped to define the punk attitude, while Velvet Underground singer Lou Reed and the sleazy glam of The New York Dolls put flesh ...
February MC5 Kick Out The Jams Often credited as the first intentionally punk band, MC5’s live debut album detonated in 1969. Forming at their Michigan High School, singer Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith, bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson were mentored by political activist John Sinclair of The White Panthers. They were ...
Birdman Appears Along with The Saints, Radio Birdman were among the most influential bands in the emerging Australian punk scene. They’d formed in Sydney in 1974, energized by MC5 and The Stooges. And if they hadn’t been listening too closely (their name is a mis-hearing of The Stooges’ lyric ‘radio burnin’), they’d got the message. They developed their own ...
punk rock venue in 1974. But the two styles proved incompatible and, during the ensuing power struggle in the spring of 1975, Hell found himself replaced by former MC5 bassist Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith. In August of that year they released the seven-minute ‘Little Johnny Jewel’ that was spread across both sides of a single – a tense, sparse ...
AUTHORITATIVE
An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
CURATED
Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.