Death of Last Original MC5 Member, Dennis Thompson

From BestClassicBands.com:

Dennis Thompson, the original drummer for the influential Detroit rock group, MC5, and the last survivor of that band, died today [May 9, 2024]. The death of Thompson—known as “Machine Gun”—at age 75, a month after suffering a heart attack, follows the passing of the band’s guitarist and vocalist, Wayne Kramer, also 75, in February. The MC5’s manager, John Sinclair, who was also a political activist and poet/writer, died April 2.

After being passed over for induction, for decades, by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the MC5 was finally selected in April as a member of the Class of 2024, in the Musical Excellence category.

The group’s lead singer, Rob Tyner, died in 1991; guitarist Fred “Sonic” Smith passed in 1994; and bassist Michael Davis died in 2012. News of Thompson’s death at a medical rehabilitation facility was first posted by the Detroit Free Press, citing a “series of medical issues.” The paper notes that he was in the hospital when he was told the group had finally been chosen for induction by the Rock Hall.

“It’s about f---g time,” was Thompson’s reaction upon receiving the news, according to the Free Press, quoting Tyner’s widow, Becky. Thompson was hoping to attend the induction ceremony in October. “Dennis was thrilled with it, so excited and happy,” Becky Tyner told the paper. “He just wanted to get home to his cat, Annie, and was optimistic about recovering.”
Controversy confronted the band constantly. Managed by leftist activist John Sinclair, the MC5—for Motor City 5—became aligned with the White Panther Party, a radical political and social organization opposed to racism and capitalism. The group’s debut album for Elektra Records, Kick Out the Jams, recorded live at Detroit’s Grande Ballroom in late 1968 and released in 1969, caused a stir for its in-your-face brand of rock, infused with a sense of abandon borrowed from jazz greats like Sun Ra and Albert Ayler. Its title track, which, in its earliest release, included the phrase “Kick out the jams, m-----s” being shouted, caused the record to be banned by most radio stations, and also caused Elektra to issue a censored version.

Formed in 1963, the MC5 prefigured punk-rock with an aggressive, thundering approach to hard rock that eschewed meandering psychedelia and flower-power and went against other prevailing trends of the late ’60s. By 1967, the core membership of the group was in place, the band’s infatuation with radical politics serving as a touchstone for its songwriting. Discovered by Elektra publicity director Danny Fields, the MC5 was signed to the label and released its debut; it received substantial attention from the rock press but lack of radio airplay kept it from ascending above #30 on the Billboard LPs chart. Dropped by Elektra, they signed with Atlantic Records, but neither of their two albums for the label, Back in the USA [produced by future Bruce Springsteen manager Jon Landau] and High Time, both studio recordings, cracked the top 100.

In the late 60s and early 70s Motown signed several well established acts but then sort of took their eye off the ball resulting in frustration. True that a lot was happening at once with the move to LA and entering the film industry with "Lady Sings The Blues". Nevertheless there were some fantastic tracks from artists such as Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons, Bobby Darin and to a lesser extent Sammy Davis Jr and Lesley Gore.

Thankfully, in the case of Bobby Darin, material that had long been vaulted has been made available over the years - mainly thanks to Joe Marchesse & co [[e.g. Andy Skurrow) who've made it possible for these tracks to see release on CD. The Real Gone CDs have wonderful liner notes as well and are well worth looking up. In particular, "Another Song On My Mind" includes a great resume of Darin's Motown career - much of this can still be seen on the Real Gone website -

https://theseconddisc.com/2011/02/16...-motown-years/

You can see the full CD artwork here -

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...57668721459480

And here are the covers for Darin's Motown albums / CDs

https://www.flickr.com/photos/cookep...in/dateposted/

Please advise of any errors

BOBBY DARIN MOTOWN DISCOGRAPHY

Recorded - 6 February 1971 Live at The Desert Inn [[Renamed “Finally” but still unreleased at the time)

M1183 – 17 April 1971
A Melodie
B Someday We'll Be Together

M1193 – November 1971
A Simple Song Of Freedom
B I'll Be Your Baby Tonight

M1203 – 2 June 1972
A Sail Away
B Hard Headed Woman

M753 ALBUM AUGUST 1972 – Bobby Darin

M1212 – Promo 3 November 1972 [[withdrawn)
A Average People [[mono)
B Average People [[stereo)

M1212 – 3 November 1972 [[probably a bootleg)
A Average People
B Something In Her Love

M1217 – 20 November 1972
A Happy [[Love Theme From "Lady Sings The Blues")
B Something In Her Love

Bobby Darin died 20 December 1973

M813 ALBUM February 1974 – Darin 1936-1973

PR4 [[PROMO EP) - 1974
A1 If I Were A Carpenter
A2 Moritat [[Mack The Knife)
B1 Blue Monday
B2 Happy [[Love Theme From "Lady Sings The Blues")

MW3014 – 1974 [[UK & EU)
A Blue Monday
B Moritat [[Mack The Knife)

M5185 ALBUM July 1981 – Darin 1936–1973 re-issued with 5 tracks having different mixes.

MCD09070MD CD 1987 – Live At The Desert Inn [[first ever issue)

MOTD -5185 CD 1989 – Darin 1936–1973 first issue on CD.

3746351852 CD 1991 – Darin 1936-1973 CD re-issue

NTD-6509-2 CD 2005 – Live At The Desert Inn [[re-issue / remaster / 2 extra tracks “Work Song” and “Beyond The Sea”.

RGM-0440 2xCD 6 May 2016 – Another Song On My Mind [[Real Gone Music)

RGM-0714 CD 13 July 2018 – Go Ahead And Back Up [[Real one Music)

Does anyone ever hear any mention of Willie Tyler and Lester? At the Martha Reeves Walk of Fame celebration it was announced that Willie Tyler was in attendance but no mention was made of Lester.

Willie had an album released on Motown which I have a copy of.

I hope Lester is still with us.

Any comments?

Is there a photo of Mike with the Modifiers or as Mike Varo as I want to put together a CD for my collection. I`d be very grateful if somebody could help.

A question about these releases:

Does anyone know why "Your Wonderful Sweet, Sweet Love" is absent from both?

'NOT ABOUT MONEY'
Donna Summer’s Widower on Suing Kanye West for ‘I Feel Love’ Sample: ‘Wrong Is Still Wrong’

Bruce Sudano said he thought West and Ty Dolla $ign's usage of the iconic Summer song for "Good [[Don't Die)" was "just not the right fit"

BY TOMÁS MIER

MAY 3, 2024

Donna Summer‘s widower Bruce Sudano is reflecting on his legal back-and-forth with Kanye West and Ty Dolla $ign over the usage of Summer’s Seventies classic “I Feel Love.”

In a new interview with Billboard, Sudano revealed that West’s team had reached out to Summer’s estate to use “I Feel Love” for “Good [[Don’t Die),” and that he ultimately turned them down. West ended up still using the sample, though with another person’s voice and different lyrics. The Summer estate ended up suing the rapper for “blatant theft” in late February.

“Kanye’s people sent me an mp3 and I decided, ‘No, this is not a good fit,’” Sudano told the outlet. “I go back to them and say no, then, ‘How much do you want?’ It’s not about the money. It’s just not a good fit.”

“Then it comes out and it’s no longer Donna singing and he’s changed the lyric and has somebody sing the same melody — now it’s ‘Ooh, I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive I’m alive,’ and I say this is copyright infringement,” he continued. “And once it’s out, it’s out. So I brought a complaint and we’ll see where that road leads. I respect Kanye as an artist, but this is just wrong.”

The Summer estate sued West and Ty Dolla $ign, accusing the duo of “shamelessly” stealing the hook from the disco classic for the Vultures track. “In the face of this rejection, defendants arrogantly and unilaterally decided they would simply steal “I Feel Love” and use it without permission,” the lawsuit read.

Sudano told Billboard that he’s been open to musicians sampling Summer’s work in the past and that Beyoncé even insisted on playing the sample on “Summer Renaissance” in person for him to approve it.

“It’s a very unfortunate situation,” said Sudano. “All of these things are very subjective. I try to view it through Donna’s lens and how she would protect her catalog in the right way. Kanye is a great artist, but wrong is still wrong.”

Sudano explained that there is “a lot of thievery that still goes on” but that he felt like he needed to “take a stand” against the usage of the song for “all those other people as well.”

Before he filed the lawsuit, Sudano posted about the dispute on social media and said he was assessing his legal options. “I intend to protect to Donna’s copyright,” he told Rolling Stone in a phone interview.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/m...Y8C1KpTf_sWLe4