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Obituaries
MC5’s Michael Davis 1943-2012
By CMU Editorial | Published on Monday 20 February 2012
Michael Davis, bass player with American rock legends MC5, has died after suffering liver failure, his wife confirmed this weekend.
Davis joined MC5 in Detroit in the mid-60s when they were still developing their sound, and played on the band’s three albums, ‘Kick Out The Jams’, ‘Back In The USA’ and ‘High Time’, released in 1969, 1970 and 1971 respectively.
He was forced out of the group in 1972 as he struggled with heroin addiction, though the band quickly fell apart after his departure anyway. Aside from a time in jail for drug offences, Davies pursued a number of other musical and visual art projects over the years, playing with both Destroy All Monsters and Blood Orange for a time, before reuniting with the surviving MC5 members for a reunion in 2003/4.
In 2006 Davis suffered injuries in a serious motorcycle crash, and after that was inspired to form a non-profit organisation with his wife Angela called The Music Is Revolution Foundation which supported music education programmes in schools, especially for those students who struggle in the school system.
He died at the Enloe Medical Center in California on Friday after receiving a month of treatment for liver disease. He is survived by his wife, their three sons, and a daughter from a previous marriage.
