How MC5 created punk music

[@impalaman9707]

Detroit really is to the USA what Birmingham was to England. Black Sabbath got the same idea the MC5 had---crank all the amps up to match the attitude of the local factory workers. And one of the most deafening gigs of the 60s actually happened at the Grande Ballroom in 1968---a triple bill of MC5, Stooges---and Blue Cheer!

[@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396]

As a Michigander, I approve this message.

[@precisioncueservice6355]

Both the MC5 and Stooges and other Detroit bands like SRC played and lived in Birmingham MI. I saw them with my mom when I was about 7.

[@impalaman9707]

@@precisioncueservice6355 So there is a real connection! Perhaps the people who founded Birmingham, Michigan came from Birmingham, England?

[@carlsaganlives5112]

@@impalaman9707 Via Alabama.

[@DeliRevv]

@@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396As a downriver rat, I second this message.

[@AshRecordReview]

The mc5 are actually one of the best bands ever

[@johnnyslc]

Looking at you is one of the greatest songs of all time!

[@AshRecordReview]

@@johnnyslc I agree!

[@william6223]

Better than Fleetwood Mac

[@ChiefGuitarOfficer]

They were such an incredibly influential band. We loved discussing the new MC5 book and many guitar topics and it’s inspiration with author Brad Tolinski on our show.

[@brewstergallery]

They changed everything. A watershed in the history of rock and roll.

[@TheFeo2e]

and finally in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

[@johnnytuinals9046]

I used to hangout with Wayne Kramer during the GANGWAR years(1979 and on}Johnny Thunders and I were friends and I started to hang with Wayne.Wayne was Not taking Drugs during that time.I have a Few Gangwar Tapes and Videos that I recorded in storage.I never thought that the MC5 was a great band but JT loved Waynes guitar playing.

[@morgoth1877]

Love this video, your channel is criminally underrated

[@soundofhistory_]

Thank you!

[@JohnHuha]

They put out the best live album ever.

[@MikeHoholek]

What I think about mc5 band. They were totally off the charts when playing there songs and cover songs. They were the ultimate party band. Also very hard working. They were the sign of times.

[@Michel-r6m]

Stooges and MC5 are both great enjoy both 🤠 Kick out the Jams and Down on the Street are in my book of epic songs 😎

[@freedomfromreligion1701]

So underrated. Breath of fresh air still.

[@aaron65312]

I always think of the Monks as proto-punk god fathers.

[@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396]

The Stooges too.

[@mikethebloodthirsty]

The sonics... too. It goes way back before MC5.

[@ChiefGuitarOfficer]

We loved talking to author Brad Tolinkski all about his new MC5 book on our show! The MC5 rule!

[@nadapuesnada7716]

I may be old but I saw the MC5 at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit.

[@soundofhistory_]

That’s awesome!

[@nadapuesnada7716]

@@soundofhistory_ Believe me, it was.

[@timothybarnett1006]

There's lots to love on all 3 albums, releasing a live album as your debut is a baller move, but they managed to bottle the lightning. I'd recommend Wayne Kramer's memoir _The Hard Stuff_ and his solo album of the same name & _Dangerous Madness._

[@richardfinlayson1524]

MC5 were very influential in australia in the 80s, along with the stooges and the the flamin groovies . of course we had radio birdman but later in the eighties a lot of local bands here in melbourne did covers by the previously mentiomned bands,also nuggets pebbles rubble etc ,garage bband comps of sixties RandB , were also popular as was early psych like the 13th floor elevators, there were heaps of bands playing this sort of stuff, it was a great scene. we had great bands like the hoodoo gurus and lime spiders from sydney, the gas babies, arctic circles, bo weevils, huxton creepers, inner sleeves, ,shindiggers, the wet ones, bored, powder monkeys, sunset strip, behind the magnolia curtain ,tyrnaround, pizzza sluts,shower scene from psycho died pretty (sydney) and many more ,a great era in underground music

[@ashtraydekay6624]

Hey, another great video, i think you should do "the stooges" next!

[@soundofhistory_]

It's definitely coming soon, but it won't be next. I've got a couple planned before I can get to that one.

[@iancitizen6489]

Incredible band to see live. Other bands mentioned may be the first punk band, who knows, but they were playing since 1965, years before they recorded anything. The RNR museum is a joke.

[@buzzawuzza3743]

The FIVE rocked the world. How about a video on those freaks in The Pink Fairies? Or Hawkwind? Bands that spoke about REVOLUTION!!! Rock on!

[@henrikruckmann6321]

Original and pure they were 💙

[@larrysmac]

The Grande Ballroom was always just that-a ballroom-and never a bar. Also, in the "Louder Than Love" documentary, Roger Daltrey credits the Grande for saving a discouraged Who from packing it in and returning to the UK.

[@matthewboren708]

Great video dude they've always been my go to band when it comes to raw power. It's tragic they all went out that way tho / high-time is a masterpiece..

[@soundofhistory_]

Thank you!

[@euggiemonad2523]

Why no mention of 'Guitar Army' by John Sinclair (who died this summer 2024)? That has a lot of backstory about the MC5

[@armoringregret9833]

I bought the LP in ‘69. Still have it. Kick out the jams MF.

[@ColfaxJones]

You asked, so here you go. You missed out on mentioning the Sonic's Redezvous Band singer/guitar player was Scott Morgan of formerly of The Rationals. He's a big part of the Detroit/Ann Arbor scene/sound and got screwed out of major success by Aretha Franklin, look it up. Also, Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman was from the area, a few years younger than these cats but was inspired by them immensely. He took the Detroit sound with him when he ended up in Australia in the early 70s. He's a rocker, a doctor and a pilot, worthy of your research and a video of it's own. I was born in Detroit, grew up in Ann Arbor so have gotten to meet many of the members of the 5 and the stooges and other associated groups of that scene. All fine people dedicated to rock and roll. Now KICK OUT THE JAMS MF'S!!!!

[@jamesbertrandpharmd]

Thanks!

[@soundofhistory_]

Thank you!

[@josemariamartinez4132]

Fantastic!

[@roaringlion1977]

LONG LIVE THE MC5!! HAIL HAIL ROCK AND ROLL!!

[@KibuFox]

I'm actively working on a book detailing the history of Punk Rock, and the bands that shaped it; as well as how it went on to define and inspire music today. You have no idea how helpful as research material this video is.

[@soundofhistory_]

That sounds great!

[@peterdaigle4772]

Wayne collaborated with Art Bergmann on his Christo-Fascists album, i believe released in 2020. Great tshirt, btw

[@PeteOrmond5678]

Really?! Didn't know that, Art is severely underated

[@keiranbradley3238]

Punk rock was actually invented by George Formby in the English seaside town of Brighton with his 1936 hit "Brighton Rocks". His ukulele lead work is cited by Ron Ashton and Wayne Kramer as a major influence.

[@keiranbradley3238]

Formby's 1936 hit (little bit of) "Brighton Rock) is thought to be a sly drug reference to manoeuvre round the notoriously ban happy British censors. Legend says he's the actual "Sgt.Pepper" of Beatle fame.

[@francismorganstern6455]

Has anyone heard of Blast damed flame from 1973 the earliest punk song I heard they put out 3 song ep before they got drafted in the Belgium military

[@Mr.Guild1971]

"drugs, rock-n_roll & Fuckin' in the streets"

[@jamesdickey5407]

Can't forget the velvet underground

[@carlsaganlives5112]

Lou just thinks he's the coolest cat - these guys are.

[@kevinstimelsky673]

Inventors of Punk,, I would start with The Who and The Kinks!!!

[@endtimessupportgroup5685]

Nope and nope. Too many notes.

[@soundofhistory_]

I think they were definitely influences. MC5 specifically highlighted how The Who playing The Grande had a massive impact on the Detroit scene. But I don’t think they were quite punk yet. But it’s subjective and to each their own

[@cchoi108]

The Kinks maybe.

[@rocknroll_jezus9233]

Goes back before them, Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five setting the groundwork for rock and roll in the '40s with the same structure, beat, energy, and gut feeling that's synonymous with punk rock. "Elvis Presley was a punk" -Joey Ramone Punk rock is just rock and roll and every one of the first punk bands recognized this or at the least thought they were just playing rock and roll, or their influence came directly from David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust doing his best Vincent Taylor- Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Crime, Germs, Fear, Circle Jerks, The Weirdos, Stooges, Misfits, Damned, Stranglers, Kinks, Who, Stones, Beatles, The Doors, Death from Detroit, Nazz, The Sonics, Seeds, Monks, Electric Prunes, Standells, Kingsmen, Remains, Count Five, The Premiers, the Trashmen, The Beach Boys, etc

[@VintageWanderer]

The WHO need to be part of the story too and the Sonic’s and Kinks.

[@JakeStrange66]

One thing I never could stand - the Sex Pistons getting so much undeserved credit. Another is that the band Cock Sparrer has been recording music since 1972 & never gets mentioned by anyone. Not even among my favorites, but they deserve a mention.

[@gavinmgraham]

The entire point of boy bands is to get attention and credit. Sex Pistols are no exception.

[@fletchkeilman2205]

Cock Sparrer were attached to the Glam and Pub Rock scene...like Eddie and the Hot Rods...prior to the punk explosion. These two scenes had a lot to do with Punk's inception in England. Some bands from that time didn't like the label "punk", but we're attached to it regardless. This would be advantageous for many bands, and a death whistle for others. After the whole "Spirit of 77" craze, Punk took a more grass roots approach in England. Sham 69, Cockney Rejects, And Cock Sparrer then spearheaded the "Oi!" movement, which had more to do with the working class, and less to do with art school trendies. Cock Sparrer definitely saw their music go thru a lot of "genres", so to speak, but punk was the moniker most associated with the band. And they definitely don't seem to have a problem with it. One of the best bands to ever do it.

[@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396]

SP had a good manager.

[@jgonzo5523]

No mention of the White Panthers?

[@nvm9040]

What about the first two Velvet Underground albums or is more proto and post punk slash proto noise rock

[@soundofhistory_]

I’d call it more proto punk, but there’s an argument there for sure. So much so I made a 45-ish minute video about them 😂😂

[@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396]

⁠Then they became proto goth.

[@nvm9040]

@@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396 wait rlly

[@nvm9040]

@@soundofhistory_ definitely proto punk in white light white heat mostly

[@wildmarjoramdieselpunk6396]

@@nvm9040 And proto shoegaze…but that’s covered here.

[@oimdexojay3322]

Can you do the doors next Jim Morrison

[@hollynorris957]

An interesting point is that John Sinclair was said to have been busted with 2 joints and got him 10 years. Long about that time another John “Lennon” heard about it and joined a concert to raise money for his family this resulted in Johns song titled John Sinclair witch brought attention to the arrest for whatever reason he was released from jail days later.

[@Red_Whitenblu]

The first I ever heard of Wayne Kramer was on a compilation album. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m4C4qn-DhN6klc0si=wXOEe-lyTd2GVuQM Punk-o-rama III. Im not sure how I aquired the album, but I just listened to it as background noise. But there was one song on the album that really caught my attention. "Bad Seed". And I was thinking, who are these guys? Something about the wah pedal on the solo sounded sooo cool. It was a live recording and you could tell everyone was going nuts.

[@davesnothere8859]

the velvet underground too

[@ndrocefalo]

Next video: How Saicos created punk music

[@garyleonardteacher5162]

GOOD LUCK

[@impalaman9707]

Elektra was also the label of the Doors and the Stooges. They were pretty much like the "Sire" records of the 60s--the place for "cutting edge" artists. If Elektra wasn't so worried about the MC5 hurting their "cash cow" the Doors, because removing all Elektra records from record stores also meant removing the Doors records, I say they should have kept the MC5 because as good as Atlantic was for other artists, they were wrong for the MC5. No telling what better albums they would have made together if they stayed on there and not gone to Atlantic. And having a music critic produce your albums is almost always a bad idea---I'm thinking of Blue Oyster Cult as well when I say this

[@normanstanley2142]

The band Monster Magnet say they were inspired by MC5 and Hawkwind. MM is probably the best pure sex,drugs and rock and roll band still around.

[@FaultySporkMa]

Los Saicos anyone?

[@Arational]

Guess you never heard of the Deviants.

[@stephenlangsl67]

I thought that it was The Ramones that got punk rock started.

[@soundofhistory_]

Depends on who you ask. There’s really no “this band started punk.” But the Ramones debut album was super influential and really kickstarted the genre

[@_Pauper_]

Whatupdō!

[@jandrewworld]

What about the Monks? They're even less well known influential proto-punk band.

[@davidroberts7282]

What about the legendary proto-punk all-black Detroit band called Death that emerged out of the ruins, chaos, destruction of mid-70's Detroit after collapse and disbanding of the Stooges and MC5, the long-term economic and political consequences of the 1967 race riots where many upper and middle-class white and black families were abandoning the inner metro area for suburbs like Pontiac, Smithfield, Bloomington Heights, Auburn Hills as fast as they could and far less vibrant, industrially-decaying Detroit auto industry would emerge from the rubble?

[@stimso]

Exactly. Less well known. This not very influential. A few bands were into them, but none very big. Except The Fall. Don't get me wrong. I love the Monks. But hardly anyone heard them til the 80s, well after punk took off. Innovative and ahead of their time and in my opinion genuinely great, but not influential on formative punk

[@stimso]

​@@davidroberts7282I think of them as hard rock with an unusual name for the time. I like them, but outside a small circle of record collectors, no one knew about them. Good band I think. Just not influential. Which isn't a slight. They just were never well known.

[@bajajoaquin]

I’m a long time MC5 fan, but I feel you didn’t really make a case that they were the proto punk band. Who did they influence? What came out of it? You can draw a line from the stooges or from the Ramones or lots of other bands. Maybe the MC5, too but you don’t actually provide that in this video.

[@NonameNoLastName-v4y]

Maybe only in america. UK punk was all The Damned

[@soundofhistory_]

UK punk was also heavily inspired by The Stooges and MC5 (more so the stooges, to be fair)

[@NonameNoLastName-v4y]

@@soundofhistory_ just got in to MC5 i like them so far. Stooges are ok i think even you love them or dont. But great video man

[@ayhcult]

Howlin Wolf created punk rock .......you're welcome

[@jefferypitts343]

After seeing mc5, I burned my draft card.

[@docshadrach]

Punk was created in Peru kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnXMqH16lrOsick

[@blastingcapps4341]

KOTJMF !!!

[@deeel5692]

Death created Punk Rock.

[@josemejia9349]

What makes them punk rock?

[@soundofhistory_]

The focus on playing loud, aggressive and explosive songs instead of the more guitar-solo drawn out focus of the era. Plus their focus on social and political commentary was really influential especially for the British scene. Mostly, it’s the bands they influenced. It’d be hard to find an early punk band that’s not somewhat inspired by them

[@josemejia9349]

@@soundofhistory_ a lot of punk is not loud or aggressive or political. I know it’s a subject for in depth discussion. Good video. They were Black Panthers also, right?

[@soundofhistory_]

@@josemejia9349 But those are hallmarks of punk. They were white panthers, who, if I remember correctly, were kind of rejected by the black panthers, even though they were trying to be like a partner group

[@josemejia9349]

@@soundofhistory_ hallmarks of hard rock, Fred married Patti Smith which was interesting. Freinds with Larry from the 3 stooges, saw Elvis in 1956, they are all kinds of cool. I think they fit the 60s mainstream aesthetics though. Hairy revolutionaries and such.

[@Ray-tu4rw]

It wasn't protopunk it was Detroit Rock & Roll.

[@holderrrrname]

Detroit has always played it loud

[@jaredperkins8066]

Let us not forget the MC5 FINALLY are getting inducted to the RNR HOF. It is a travesty this has to happen after all the members have passed away. Also should mention the new MC5 album Heavy Lifting is coming out in Oct I think. Although there isn't Rob, Michael, or Fred the album does feature Wayne and a couple tracks with Dennis. Hopefully as the yrs go by their legacy will inspire many musicians. Kick out the jams forever and always...and thanks to the MC5 for the years of entertainment they've given me. Good video too btw.

[@PhatLvis]

Great band for Attitude and Sound. Not so many Great songs, but a few Very Cool ones. Can't be beat, though, in terms of Young, Dumb, Loud, Rocking and Seriously Don't Give a F%#@!

[@shortstuffstumpleson]

Great band, but, I'm getting pretty tired of hearing how MC5 or Stooges were the first punk bands. Y'all, there were so many unknown garage punk bands all over the country, midwest and especially Texas that were making records that were absolutely early punk records - at the same time that MC5 was forming. MC5 didn't even come out with records until '67. Again, there were so many, but if anyone should get some sort of credit for being the first punk band it should be THE SONICS. Just listen to their first single from '64, 'The Witch' w/ a total punk version of 'Keep A Knockin'. That shit is punk. They maybe even had what would be considered the first full length punk LP in early '65. MC5 did not "create punk music". The Sonics did, hands down. You're not the first punk band just because you have riots at your gigs and shoot heroin.

[@frameworthy8]

Grand E Ballroom? Grandie? Grandy? It's just "Grand", dude. The E is silent. WTF?! KOTJMF!!!!!

[@soundofhistory_]

Not according to a ton of artists who played there and the guy who owned it

[@donyoung7874]

It's spelled Grande and pronounced Grand-ee.

[@sawneyhasbean]

Come on! Clearly no single person or group "created punk music". Like all musical developments it's a complicated and somewhat subjective story of innovation, inspiration, plagiarism and blind chance! How far does one go? What is being defined? I mean..personally, I get a stronger "punk" sensation from some works of Little Richard or Hasil Adkins than, say, (because the presenter wears their t-shirt).... The Clash.

[@soundofhistory_]

It’s just a title to get you to click, not that serious. Unfortunately that’s how KZbin works.

[@kkupsky6321]

Punk is an attitude not a music…

[@soundofhistory_]

It’s also very much a music

[@kkupsky6321]

@@soundofhistory_ yea it is. I just wanted to be punk and not admit it. I love mc5 and the first concert I ever saw was with iggy pop. Just the one stooge. It’s like arguing who made metal tho.

[@kkupsky6321]

@@soundofhistory_ also don’t tell Glenn Danzig. I don’t want that jersey dwarf coming for my family.

[@Sam-uz3ov]

They sound like steppenwolf

[@wpl8275]

An unmanageable band isn’t going to go anywhere commercially. And hooking up with Sinclair made it worse for them. So basically their success was all in their impact on stage in live performances. A brief career together. But one of the most powerful and exciting/electric bands of that period in time nonetheless. And tremendously influential for bands later on.

[@battleelf6523]

BEING SELF-DESTRUCTIVE IS NOT REVOLUTIONARY, COOL OR INTERESTING?

[@danneeson7056]

No one band created "punk rock", like all forms of music, its evolution not revolution. The MC5 created nothing but confusion in their own ranks. Started out as a garage/covers band and were liked by a beat poet with music connections and who was a pusher of commie politics, and he molded the group into left wing commie dupes. As bassist Mike Davis said, that marxist crap "was not real and not fun". At the height of their fame with the release of the live album in early 1969, MC5 were a group of hippie type acid heads, playing acid rock. That was the term used at that time. No such thing as punk, which was a derogatory term. The Stooges first two albums are also heavy acid rock platters. Cheers.

[@johnuhelski8613]

The MC 5 are possibly the worst band in music history . They were a third rate garage band that I heard in the late 60's in Ann Arbor , Michigan. OMFG , they sucked !! NO TALENT and loud. What a JOKE!! My cousin just wrote a book about them and I am not pleased.

[@chrisfurius]

Except they didn't create punk music FFS.

[@davidferrara1105]

Ugh, no child, they did not invent punk. I was around while your mom and dad were playing with Ninja Turtles

[@soundofhistory_]

Congratulations?

[@napoleoninrags1346]

I like turtles

[@cchoi108]

So who in your opinion did?

[@michaelgallagher3640]

Enlighten us.

[@stimso]

​​@@cchoi108I'd say various garage bands, the MC5, Stooges, Velvet Underground, and even Bowie contributed. Early Who and Kinks should be in there. I agree bands like the Sonics and Monks are worthy of mention, but didn't really help create punk because very few people ever heard them. If you read any oral history of punk, meaning interviews with the first recognized punks, several things pop up: Stooges, VU, MC5, the Nuggets anthology, Bowie. Punk to me was always like a "dirty glam." The theatrical colored mohawk crowd were into glam, the more toned down jeans and leathers came from pub rock. The Ramones are a weird one. Joey wore feather boas and high heels in high school. Glammed out. Also forgot the New York Dolls. Cock Sparrer were about in 1972. The Damned released an album in 76. When was the Ramones' first? I know they were playing in 74. Not much later than the Stooges but coming close to 10 years after the Velvets first started. I know this is a jumbled comment. Just like the origin of punk. A bunch of bands reaching back to 63 or 64 with a fuzzed out dirty sound. By 76 it had a label. But about a dozen bands were already in that arena. Not to mention forgotten guys like Sonny Vincent. He put stuff on vinyl in 72 that's punk as fuck nobody has ever heard. So. My half drunk answer to "Who created punk?". 😊