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Who Was Wayne Kramer? Everything To Know About The MC5 Co-Founder and Guitarist As He Dies Aged 75
MC5 Co-Founder Wayne Kramer, legendary guitarist, dies at 75. His iconic journey from radical rock to prison and redemption leaves a lasting legacy. Find more details on the late legend below!
Guitarist Wayne Kramer, the co-founder of the protopunk Detroit band the MC5 passed away aged 75 on Saturday, February 2. The news of his death was announced on his Instagram. “Wayne S. Kramer. PEACE BE WITH YOU. April 30, 1948 - February 2, 2024,” read the caption of the post announcing Kramer's demise.
A second post on his Instagram page noted, "Wayne Kramer passed away today peacefully from pancreatic cancer. He will be remembered for starting a revolution in music, culture, and kindness."
Wayne Kramer’s life was marked with as many lows as highs which makes it worth looking back at. More details on the late rockstar are down below.
Wayne Kramer and MC5
Born on April 30, 1948, in Detroit, Michigan. In his teenage years, Kramer forged a friendship with guitarist Fred Smith in 1963. The duo were nothing but teenagers and fans of blues and R&B genres when they co-founded the garage band named The Bounty Hunters. Rob Tyner, Pat Burrows, and Bob Gaspar joined the duo as a vocalist, bassist, and drummer, and The Bounty Hunters transitioned into MC5 or the Motor City Five in late 1964. In the following year, the MC5 replaced Burrows and Gasper with bassist Michael Davis and drummer Dennis Thompson. 
MC5 was not just another hot boy band with upbeat music. Their compositions were rather infused with radical politics and it was all thanks to John Sinclair, a left-wing writer and the co-founder of the White Panther Party. Sinclair managed the group and fueled their political ideas until 1969 when he was sentenced to nine and a half years for handing joints to an undercover police officer.
MC5 was later discovered by Elektra Records A&R. With the label, the band recorded their renowned debut album Kick Out The Jams (1969). Their other two albums Back in the USA (1971) and High Time (1972) were for Atlantic Records.
The band’s journey, however, was short-lived and the group disbanded in 1972 following bans and censorships from both the government and the radio, a consequence of their aggressive political stance.
Wayne Kramer - A small-time Detroit criminal
After MC5, Kramer decided to form an R&B band called Radiation with Melvin Davis in 1975. While pursuing his musical passion with the band, he also got involved in the drug trade, which eventually led to a four-year prison sentence.
However, after his release in 1979, Kramer didn't let that setback stop him. He embarked on a solo career and started touring extensively. It wasn't until he signed with Epitaph label that things really took off for him.
His albums like The Hard Stuff (1995), Dangerous Madness (1996), and Citizen Wayne (1997) made a significant impact. In 2002, Wayne Kramer released his solo album titled Adult World under his own MuscleTone label, which he co-founded with his wife and manager, Saadi Kramer. As his career progressed, Kramer gained recognition for his work in composing scores for both film and television.
Tom Morello paid tribute to Wayne Kramer
Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine wrote on his Instagram, “Brother Wayne Kramer was the best man I’ve ever known. He possessed a one of a kind mixture of deep wisdom & profound compassion, beautiful empathy and tenacious conviction. His band the MC5 basically invented punk rock music…Wayne came through personal trials of fire with drugs and jail time and emerged a transformed soul who went on to save countless lives through his tireless acts of service. He and his incredible wife Margaret founded @jailguitardoorsusa which founds music programs in prisons as life changing effective rehabilitation. I’ve played with Wayne in prisons and watched him transform lives, he was just unbelievable…the countless lives he's touched, healed, helped and saved will continue his spirit and legacy. He was like a non-Tom Joad. Whenever and wherever any of us kick out the jams, Brother Wayne will be right there with us.”
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