Wayne Kramer, one of the founding members of the legendary Detroit hard rock band MC5, has passed away at the age of 75.
His death was confirmed on his official Instagram page.
Kramer, born Wayne Kambes, passed away on Friday. The news was confirmed by a simple black and white photo of the rocker and the caption: “Wayne S. Kramer PEACE BE WITH YOU” 🕊️
Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello paid tribute to Kramer on his Instagram, sharing a lengthy post about the late musician.
“Brother Wayne Kramer was the best man I’ve ever known,” he wrote. “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.”
As a teenager, Kramer, alongside friend Fred “Sonic” Smith, co-founded the iconic band MC5, which stood for Motor City Five, in the mid-’60s.
In 1969, after the band signed to Elektra, Kramer and company returned to Detroit and its Grande Ballroom to record what would become their hit debut album “Kick Out the Jams.”
The band rose to prominence as the house band at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom in 1967. Their live performances, notably at the 1968 Democratic National Convention protests, solidified their reputation as a fierce and influential act.
MC5’s distorted brand of grunge rock, the rallying cry of “Kick out the jams, motherfuckers” and their endorsement of the Black Panthers’ role in the 1967 Detroit riots made the group quite controversial. In support of their album MC5 toured with bands like Cream and Big Brother and the Holding Company and they continued to influence the realms of punk and metal.
Kramer found himself in trouble in 1975 after he was arrested for selling drugs to an undercover police officer. After his release, he started a band called Gang War with Johnny Thunders and founded the nonprofit Jail Guitar Doors.
In more recent years, Kramer remained politically active, performing alongside Rage Against the Machine at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, and he played shows in support of Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign.
In 2018, Kramer published his memoir “The Hard Stuff.” That same year he announced the MC50 tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Kick Out the Jams.”
He is survived by his wife, Margaret Saadi, and his son, Francis.
