Vocalist Tyner died of a heart attack in late 1991 at the age of 46 and was followed by Fred Smith, who also died of a heart attack, in 1994 at the age of 46. They developed a reputation for energetic and polemical live performances, one of which was recorded as their 1969 debut album Kick Out the Jams before the original lineup disbanded in 1972. MC5 had a promising beginning that earned them a January 1969 cover appearance in Rolling Stone and a story written by Eric Ehrmann before their debut album was released. Their loud, energetic style of back-to-basics rock and roll included elements of garage rock, hard rock, blues rock, and psychedelic rock. 'Crystallizing the counterculture movement at its most volatile and threatening', according to AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the MC5's leftist political ties and anti-establishment lyrics and music positioned them as emerging innovators of the punk movement in the United States.

Their three albums are regarded by many as classics, and their song ' Kick Out the Jams' is widely covered. MC5 was listed by VH1 as one of the most important American hard rock groups of their era.

The original band line-up consisted of vocalist Rob Tyner, guitarists Wayne Kramer and Fred 'Sonic' Smith, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson. MC5, also commonly called The MC5, is an American rock band from Lincoln Park, Michigan, formed in 1963.

Surviving the aftermath garage