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Wayne Kramer, MC5 Co-Founder and Activist, Dead at 75
Wayne Kramer, founding member of Detroit proto-punk group MC5, activist and one of rock's greatest guitarists, has died at age 75.
Combining Chuck Berry and early Motown influences with a budding interest in free jazz, the pair could kick their band’s legendarily high-energy jams deep into space while simultaneously keeping one foot in the groove.” While MC5’s tenure was short-lived — the band only released two studio albums, 1970’s Back in the USA and 1971’s High Time before their initial break-up — the group had a lasting impact on what would become punk rock, both in its overtly political lyrics and the Kramer/Smith tandem’s explosive riffs. Kramer’s first LP on the label, The Hard Stuff, arrived in 1995, and featured guests like the Melvins’ Dale Crover, drummer Josh Freese, Black Flag/Circle Jerks singer Keith Morris, Bad Religion’s Brett Gurewitz, and many more.
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