Wayne Kramer, MC5 co-founder and guitarist, now jokes the band is the "Susan Lucci" of rock and roll groups. Wednesday morning came news that Detroit's seminal hard rock band, the MC5, was once again on the ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's not really about validation, as VH-1 describes the MC5 as one of the most influential hard rock bands of all time. But as Kramer told Billboard, "I’d be happy to see it happen...I think (induction) would be a sweet token of appreciation.”

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MC5 was formed almost 60 years ago, in 1963. Five guys from Detroit who rocked. They only made three albums and broke up fifty years ago. But as influential Billboard writer Gary Graff points out, they were the forerunners and influence for Hall inductees The Stooges, the Ramones, Judas Priest, New York Dolls, and fellow 2022 nominees Rage Against the Machine. Others refer to MC5 as "proto-punk".

From Detroit suburb Lincoln Park, the original five were Rob Tyner on vocals, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred "Sonic" Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson. Tyner and Smith both died young at 46, Davis died ten years ago at 68. Kramer now tours with what is essentially an all-star team, billing itself as MC50.

(Wayne Kramer via YouTube)

10th Anniversary Benefit Supporting Road Recovery - New York
Wayne Kramer of MC5 (Getty Images)
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Given the acts the Rock Hall has welcomed, especially in the past few years, it seems the MC5 would be a slam-dunk. They were one of the first to do what they did, and others followed.

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Check Out the Best-Selling Album From the Year You Graduated High School

Do you remember the top album from the year you graduated high school? Stacker analyzed Billboard data to determine just that, looking at the best-selling album from every year going all the way back to 1956. Sales data is included only from 1992 onward when Nielsen's SoundScan began gathering computerized figures.

Going in chronological order from 1956 to 2020, we present the best-selling album from the year you graduated high school.

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