John Sinclair, best known for managing the MC5 and being a political activist and poet, has passed away at the age of 82 due to congestive heart failure at Detroit Receiving Hospital. Sinclair was a well-known marijuana advocate in the United States, and was instrumental in the fight to legalise it. He was also a founding member of the White Panther Party, an anti-racist and far-left group that formed in the United States. Sinclair was instrumental in launching Iggy Pop and the Stooges’ career, the latter of which was quick to pay tribute to him following the news of his passing. Robert Plant’s bassist, Billy Fuller, was quick to pay respects as well, recounting meeting Sinclair before a gig and receiving a signed copy of Kick Out the Jams.
Sinclair was arrested in the late 1960s and sentenced to a decade in prison for allegedly giving two cannabis joints to police officers. He was released after serving 29 months after a concert by John Lennon, Stevie Wonder, Bob Seger, and others in front of a crowd of 15,000 at the University of Michigan’s Crisler Arena. Lennon wrote a song named after Sinclair. Sinclair also promoted concerts and festivals and helped to establish the Detroit Artists Workshop and Detroit Jazz Center. He taught blues history at Wayne State University and wrote liner notes for albums by artists including The Isley Brothers and Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.
Sinclair’s passing follows that of MC5 guitarist and co-founder Wayne Kramer, who passed away after pancreatic cancer complications. Sinclair was a prolific activist, writer, and thinker, who developed a reputation for speaking truth to power, and inspiring others to do so. His legacy will be missed by many in the music industry, who respected his work as a campaigner for civil rights and independent art
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