MC5 Bassist Michael Davis Passes

MICHAEL DAVIS, 68, bassist for influential late ‘60s Detroit political rock band MC5, has died of liver failure, at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, CA, last Friday (2/17), after a month-long hospitalization for the disease, according to his wife, Angela. The bassist played with the revolutionary rock group and later joined a version of the band dubbed DKT-MC5 with former members Wayne Kramer on guitar and drummer Dennis Thompson. A sought-after bassist and producer, Davis was planning to be in Belgium this week recording with punk-rock musician Sonny Vincent. He co-founded the non-profit Music is Revolution Foundation, dedicated to supporting music education programs in public schools. Over the last few years, Davis also returned to painting, which he first studied while at Wayne State University in Michigan. He dropped out of the program in 1964 to play music, but started studying art again recently in Oregon and California, with the intention of finishing his bachelor’s degree in fine arts. Davis is survived by his wife, their three sons, and a daughter from a previous marriage. (2/21a)