Punk / Original and Proto
-
£ 21.99
- Ex Tax: £ 21.99
MC5 : An Oral Biography of Rock's Most Revolutionary Band
MC5 - Book - by Brad Tolinksi
(2024)
A riveting oral biography of the proto-punk Detroit rockers MC5, based
on original interviews with the band and key members of their inner
circle Few bands have dared to ignite a revolution through their fusion
of activism and art like MC5. Managed by the charismatic radical and
hippie spokesman, John Sinclair, MC5 wasn't just a band; they were a
thunderous proclamation of dissent, amplifying the voices of the
marginalized long before it was fashionable. From championing Black
Lives Matter to rallying for cannabis legalization, they fearlessly
thrust their beliefs onto the world stage. For their efforts, the
rabble-rousing musical arm of the White Panther Party, the scourge of J.
Edgar Hoover's FBI and other defenders of public decency, were often
beaten with clubs, threatened at gunpoint, tossed into jail, and even
unceremoniously dumped by their record company, right as their album was
storming up the charts--and all while the Sex Pistols were still on
training wheels. What has been lost amidst this notoriety is MC5 itself,
a band worth remembering not because they were bad boys, but because
they were so damn good. In MC5: An Oral Biography of Rock's Most
Revolutionary Band?, music journalists Brad Tolinski and Jaan Uhelszki
invite readers to reconsider this legendary group. Centered around a
series of interviews with MC5, their manager, and their inner
circle--many of whom are no longer with us--that Tolinski and Uhelszki
inherited from CREEM Magazine founding staffer and Mojo's US editor Ben
Edmonds prior to his death, this book presents a genuinely candid,
funny, and moving portrait of rock's most uncompromising and articulate
band. MC5 also features a virtual "who's who" of 1960s rockers,
including Iggy and the Stooges, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, promoter
Bill Graham, John Lennon, the Jefferson Airplane, and political
firebrands like Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, Tom Hayden, and Black
Panther Eldridge Cleaver. As innovative, insightful, and inspiring as
the band itself, MC5 is a fitting testament to the legacy of these
iconic rock pioneers--told in their very own words.