Wayne Kramer, guitarist of the Detroit proto-punk pioneers the MC5, has died. He was 75.
The news was shared via Kramer's official Instagram page, which notes that he passed sometime today (February 2nd). No cause of death has been reported.
The post announcing his death is brief, including a photo of Kramer, the phrase "Peace be with you," and the dates marking his birth and death.
See the memorial below.
Kramer co-founded the MC5 when all the band members were very young teens in 1963, but the group truly came to prominence in 1969 when their now-classic live album Kick Out the Jams was released. Its rambunctious title track made a decent splash on the Billboard Hot 100, and the band were courted by several industry bigwigs who tried to mold them into the next hit American rock band.
They'd release two more albums, 1970's Back in the USA and 1971's High Time, but due to a combination of drug abuse, interpersonal turmoil and run-ins with the law due to their left-wing political activism, the group ended up falling apart.
However, Kramer's music — along with that of their Motor City peers the Stooges — would become massively influential on the first wave of punk rock later in the 1970s. From then on, Kramer's guitarwork has been heralded as revolutionary, inspiring everyone from the Ramones to Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello. "Kick Out the Jams," in particular, has burned brightly, having been covered over the years by everyone from RATM and Pearl Jam to Monster Magnet and Entombed.
Below, read tributes to Kramer's excellence from Morello and fellow Detroit rocker Alice Cooper. R.I.P.
