Bassist Michael Davis of politically-charged protopunk legends MC5 passed away Feb. 17 in Chico, Calif., following a battle with liver disease. He was 68. Davis joined MC5 in 1965 and appeared on all three of the band's albums -- the live 1969 classic 'Kick Out the Jams,' 1970's 'Back in the USA' and 1971's 'High Time' -- before getting booted for drug abuse shortly before the band broke up in 1972.
MC5 singer Rob Tyner and guitarists Fred “Sonic” Smith both died of heart attacks in the early '90s, but that didn't stop the surviving members (including Davis) from reforming in 2003, and they had been performing together since 2005 with punk legend Handome Dick Manitoba handling vocals.