Drummer Dennis Thompson, last surviving MC5 member, dies at 75

Dennis Thompson, drummer and last surviving member of Detroit proto-punk heroes MC5, has died. The Detroit Free Press reports that Thompson passed away yesterday morning at the MediLodge in Taylor, Michigan; He had been staying there while recovering from a heart attack in April. Thompson’s death comes just months after the death of MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer in February. John Sinclair, the band’s former manager, died in April. This October, Thompson will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the MC5. Thompson was 75.

Dennis Thompson was born Dennis Tomich in Detroit. He began playing drums as a child and attended Lincoln Park High School. There he and his friend Wayne Kramer formed a garage rock band called Bounty Hunters. In 1965, Kramer invited Thompson, known by the nickname “Machine Gun,” to join the MC5. (The name stood for “Motor City 5.”) Thompson had to play extremely loud to be heard over the band’s massively amplified guitarists, and his fast, booming attack became central to the group’s sound. It influenced entire generations of punk and metal drumming.

The MC5 found a following as the house band at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom, and left-wing poet and activist John Sinclair became their manager. The MC5 served as political firebrands, playing at the 1968 protests outside the Chicago Democratic National Convention and releasing the highly influential debut album Throw the James out, recorded live at the Grande Ballroom the next year. You can hear Dennis Thompson walking out of on this record.

MC5 didn’t last long. After switching labels and releasing a few more albums, they disbanded in 1972. Thompson’s heroin addiction may have been a factor in the group’s demise. In 1975, Thompson joined New Order, an LA-based band founded by former Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, and released one album before splitting up. Thompson and Ron Asheton later joined New Race, a new band featuring three former members of the influential Australian proto-punk group Radio Birdman, but New Race disbanded after an Australian tour. Thompson also played on some of the late punk provocateur GG Allin’s records in the ’80s.

In the ’00s, Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson formed a revived version of the MC5, touring with some of the rock icons the band had inspired. A few years ago, Kramer announced a new studio album titled We are all MC5 that would mean Thompson would play on two tracks. This LP still hasn’t been released.

MC5 singer Rob Tyner died in 1991, guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith in 1994 and band bassist Michael Davis in 2012. Becky Tyner, Rob’s widow, says this Detroit Free Press that Thompson was in the hospital when he got the news of the band’s induction into the Hall of Fame and that his reaction was, “It’s about damn time!” Tyner says, “Dennis was thrilled, so excited and happy. He just wanted to go home to his cat Annie and was optimistic he would recover.”

Below you can see some videos of Dennis Thompson playing with the MC5.