MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson, the last surviving original member of the influential group, died Thursday morning at MediLodge of Taylor, where he had been rehabilitating following a heart attack in April. He was 75.
His death comes a little over three months since fellow MC5 cofounder Wayne Kramer died. Other key figures in the band’s history, all deceased, included singer Rob Tyner, guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, bassist Michael Davis and guitarist Kramer. The group’s former manager, John Sinclair, died April 2.
The group was just voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. The induction ceremony will be held in October in Cleveland.
After leaving the MC5, Thompson continued to perform locally with various Detroit bands, and went on to participate in a series of reunion projects with Kramer during the 2000s.
The MC5 formed in 1965. Thompson credited the band’s rise to its blue-collar work ethic and hard work.
His death comes a little over three months since fellow MC5 cofounder Wayne Kramer died. Other key figures in the band’s history, all deceased, included singer Rob Tyner, guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith, bassist Michael Davis and guitarist Kramer. The group’s former manager, John Sinclair, died April 2.
The group was just voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. The induction ceremony will be held in October in Cleveland.
After leaving the MC5, Thompson continued to perform locally with various Detroit bands, and went on to participate in a series of reunion projects with Kramer during the 2000s.
The MC5 formed in 1965. Thompson credited the band’s rise to its blue-collar work ethic and hard work.
- 5/10/2024
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson has died after complications from a heart attack. He was 75 years old.
As reported by the Detroit Free Press, Thompson passed away at a nursing home in Taylor, Michigan on Wednesday (May 8th), where he had been rehabilitating from a heart attack he suffered in April.
Nicknamed “Machine Gun” due to his fast, hard-hitting style of drumming, Thompson was the last surviving member of MC5, which will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category this fall.
Born in the Detroit area, Thompson picked up the drums when he was just nine years old. While still in high school, he joined a garage band called the Bounty Hunters alongside his friend and future MC5 bandmate Wayne Kramer on guitar.
Kramer co-founded MC5 with fellow guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith in 1963, with Thompson joining the group a few years later to fill...
As reported by the Detroit Free Press, Thompson passed away at a nursing home in Taylor, Michigan on Wednesday (May 8th), where he had been rehabilitating from a heart attack he suffered in April.
Nicknamed “Machine Gun” due to his fast, hard-hitting style of drumming, Thompson was the last surviving member of MC5, which will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category this fall.
Born in the Detroit area, Thompson picked up the drums when he was just nine years old. While still in high school, he joined a garage band called the Bounty Hunters alongside his friend and future MC5 bandmate Wayne Kramer on guitar.
Kramer co-founded MC5 with fellow guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith in 1963, with Thompson joining the group a few years later to fill...
- 5/9/2024
- by Eddie Fu
- Consequence - Music
Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson, the founding MC5 drummer and the last surviving original member of the pioneering proto-punk group, died Wednesday, The Detroit Free Press reported. He was 75.
An exact cause of death was not given, though Thompson had reportedly suffered a series of medical issues in recent months, including a heart attack in April.
Thompson’s death comes just a few months after the February death of his MC5 bandmate, guitarist Wayne Kramer, and the April death of John Sinclair, the group’s manager. A few months after Sinclair’s death,...
An exact cause of death was not given, though Thompson had reportedly suffered a series of medical issues in recent months, including a heart attack in April.
Thompson’s death comes just a few months after the February death of his MC5 bandmate, guitarist Wayne Kramer, and the April death of John Sinclair, the group’s manager. A few months after Sinclair’s death,...
- 5/9/2024
- by Jon Blistein
- Rollingstone.com
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