MC5’s Michael Davis Memoir Published

Legendary rock band MC5 is celebrating 50 years since the release of the seminal album, Kick Out The Jams. (Check out the upcoming tour with Dug Pinnick on bass.) Part of the year’s festivities include the release of a new memoir by the late Michael Davis. I Brought Down The MC5 is a 350-page book that details the bassist’s time in the band with tales of “triumph and tragedy” as well as rare photos and his own original artwork.

“For me, Michael was the original cool guy,” Iggy Pop stated. “He belongs in the Hall Of Fame, along with his whole group, for their contributions to American music and its politics.”

Davis joined the MC5 in 1964, replacing Pat Burrows. He played on all three of the band’s albums – Kick Out The Jams, Back in the USA, and High Time – before leaving the band in 1972. He would go on to Destroy All Monsters for seven years as well as Blood Orange. He joined surviving MC5 members Wayne Kramer and Dennis Thompson for reunion shows starting in 2003. Davis founded the non-profit The Music is Revolution Foundation in 2006, which raised funds and awareness to support public school music education. He died in 2012 from liver failure.