The world has lost a true icon, as Dennis Thompson, the legendary drummer for MC5, has passed away at the age of 75. Though he was in the process of recovering from a heart attack he suffered in April, Thompson sadly passed away in the MediLodge of Taylor. He was the last remaining member of the original line-up of MC5, with his death coming just months after the guitarist and co-founder Wayne Kramer passed from pancreatic cancer. Additionally, John Sinclair, who was not only the band’s manager but also a renowned poet and activist, passed away last month.
Despite MC5 disbanding in 1972, their influence on music has never dwindled, and their inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame seemed overdue. The band finally achieved this accolade last month, but Thompson’s response was typical of his attitude towards the establishment, telling the Detroit Free Press, “It’s about f***ing time!”.
Formed in 1965, the band put out two studio albums: 1970’s ‘Back in the USA’ and 1971’s ‘High Time’. Speaking of his time in MC5, Thompson said, “The band liked to rehearse — everybody loved to play. We loved what we were doing. It was fast cars, hanging out at the drag strip. It was the best way to break away from the system where you went straight to a factory if you didn’t go to college.”
Thompson’s talent for drumming was unparalleled, and he earned the nickname “Machine Gun” for his aggressive style of drumming. His hard-hitting drumming style appeared on MC5’s groundbreaking 1969 LP ‘Kick Out the Jams’, as well as their two studio albums. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame tweeted that Thompson’s drumming “politicized all bystanders with their unapologetic driving rock & roll and antiestablishment messaged”, and it is not an exaggeration to say that his influence will be felt for a long time to come
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