The last time the MC5 was nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (in 2020), guitarist and co-founder Wayne Kramer referred to the group as “the Susan Lucci of the Rock Hall.” But this time he’s hoping voters will really, really like the venerable rock group enough to finally put it into the shrine.
“I’d be happy to see it happen,” Kramer tells Billboard on the occasion of the MC5’s sixth nomination, putting it behind only Chic (11) and Chaka Khan (7) on the list of nominees who have not been inducted. “Being on tour for the last many years and just seeing the reaction to the music of the MC5, I think this (nomination) is on time. I think that it’s an authentic and honest reflection of the appreciation for the mark the MC5 represents in rock music. The band’s influence shows up across the board in contemporary music. Everyone has kind of a stake in the MC5. I think (induction) would be a sweet token of appreciation.”
There’s no question that despite just three albums, the Detroit group — part of a late ’60s scene that also included Rock Hall inductees the Stooges — has exerted a tremendous influence on bands that came in its wake, from the Ramones to fellow 2022 nominees Rage Against the Machine, Judas Priest and New York Dolls. The group broke up in 1972, with sporadic reunions afterwards. Kramer — who now leads a spin-off band called MC50 — and drummer Dennis Thompson are the only members of the quintet still alive.
Despite the five previous nominations, Kramer says he’s not frustrated over the band’s fortunes. “I’ve always maintained that the MC5 never did go along with the program — and were kicked out of the music business for it,” he explains. “So I’m not surprised that the music business wouldn’t recognize the band. But, y’know, enough’s enough. I’m as cynical as the next guy, but that wears thin after awhile, and I just think we’re in a different time now.”
Kramer will hardly be idle while waiting for the Rock Hall’s inductee announcement in May. He’s hoping that the MC50, which he started in 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Kick Out the Jams, may have a chance to play live this year and says “we’ve got some really exciting stuff on the horizon” in terms of new music and other projects, though he’s not talking specifically about anything yet. Meanwhile, his Jail Guitar Doors, a nonprofit he operates with his wife Margaret Saadi Kramer, continues to expand its reach into U.S. prisons and recently opened a C.A.P.O. (Community Arts Programming & Outreach) center in Los Angeles to serve youths who have been released from custody and “show them that there are alternatives to spending your adult life in the California Department of Corrections.” Kramer and company hope to open more C.A.P.O. centers “in every city and every town in America.”
And, touching on the hot-button issue of the day, Kramer says he’s been “kicking the idea around” of taking his music off of Spotify in the wake of the Joe Rogan controversy. “I don’t mean as much as Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, but symbolically, yeah, sure, I’ve considered it,” Kramer says. “The fact (Spotify) is making even more money off of the Joe Rogan show is really discouraging, and it’s disgusting. People’s lives are at stake. This guy Rogan, he’s in over his head. He doesn’t even know what he’s talking about, and then he says, ‘Well, I’m just having conversations.’ Well no, bro, there’s a lot more going on here than just you having a conversation. He’s in over his depth.”