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Kick Out the Jams (song)

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"Kick Out the Jams"
Side A of the original single
Single by MC5
from the album Kick Out the Jams
B-side"Motor City Is Burning"
ReleasedMarch 1969 (1969-03)
Recorded
Genre
[4]
Length2:37
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
MC5 singles chronology
"Tonight"
(1969) 		"Kick Out the Jams"
(1969) 		"Shakin' Street"
(1970)
Alternative cover
2009 re-issue cover

"Kick Out the Jams" is a song by MC5, released as a single in March 1969 by Elektra Records. The album of the same name caused some controversy due to inflammatory liner notes by the band's manager, John Sinclair, and the track's rallying cry of "Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!". According to guitarist Wayne Kramer, the band recorded this as "Kick out the jams, brothers and sisters!" for the single released for radio play; lead vocalist Rob Tyner claimed this was done without group consensus.[5] The edited version also appeared in some LP copies, which also withdrew Sinclair's excitable comments. The album was released in January 1969; reviews were mixed, but the album was relatively successful, quickly selling over 100,000 copies and peaking at #30 on the Billboard album chart in May 1969 during a 23-week stay.

When Hudson's, a Detroit-based department store chain, refused to stock the Kick Out the Jams album due to the obscenity, MC5 responded with a full-page advertisement in the local underground magazine Fifth Estate saying "Stick Alive with the MC5, and Fuck Hudson's!", prominently including the logo of MC5's label, Elektra Records, in the ad. Hudson's pulled all Elektra records from their stores, and in the ensuing controversy, Jac Holzman, the head of Elektra, dropped the band from their contract. MC5 then signed with Atlantic Records.[6]

Formats and track listing

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US 7" single (EK-45648)
  1. "Kick Out the Jams" (Michael Davis, Wayne Kramer, Fred "Sonic" Smith, Dennis Thompson, Rob Tyner) – 2:37
  2. "Motor City Is Burning" – 4:30

Personnel

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Adapted from the Kick Out the Jams liner notes.[7]

Musicians
Production and additional personnel

Charts

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Chart (1969) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[8] 82
Canada RPM (magazine)[9] 51

Release history

[edit]
Region Date Label Format Catalog
United States 1969 Elektra LP EK-45648

Cover versions

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Band Year Release
Blue Öyster Cult 1978 Some Enchanted Evening
Afrika Bambaataa and Family 1986 Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere)
Volcano Suns 1989 Thing of Beauty
The Big F 1990 Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary
Bad Brains with Henry Rollins 1990 Pump Up the Volume (Music From the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Poison Idea 1992 Pajama Party[10]
The Fluid 1992 Spot the Loon[11]
Guitar Wolf 1994 Kung Fu Ramone
The Presidents of the United States of America 1995 The Presidents of the United States of America
The Mono Men 1995 "Kick out the Jams!"/"We Got What It Takes"
Michael Monroe 1996 Peace of Mind
Entombed 1997 DCLXVI: To Ride Shoot Straight and Speak the Truth
Rich Hopkins & Luminarios 1997 The Glorious Sounds of Rich Hopkins & Luminarios
Monster Magnet 1998 Powertrip
Wayne Kramer 1998 LLMF (Live Like a Mutherfucker)[12]
Rob Tyner Band 1999 Rock and Roll People[13]
Rage Against the Machine 2000 Renegades
Joseph LoDuca 2000 Xena: Warrior Princess episode "Lyre, Lyre, Hearts on Fire"
Jeff Buckley 2001 Jeff Buckley Live À L'Olympia
Agitated 2002 Go Blue, Go Die
The Nomads 2002 Showdown 2-The 90's[14]
Give Up the Ghost 2003 Year One[15]
Europa 2003 Wake Up - A Tribute to Rage Against the Machine[16]
Pearl Jam 2005 12/9/05, Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City, Mexico[17]
Disoscillators featuring You the Rock 2009 Last Rockers
Frankenstein 3000 2010 They'll Be Waking Up Soon[18]
The Strypes 2014 Flat Out[19]
Black Hay 2015 Imitating the Jams
U.K. Subs 2018 Subversions[20]

References

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  1. ^ Stiernberg, Bonnie. "The 50 Best Garage Rock Songs of All Time". Paste. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
  2. ^ Stosuy, Brandon (January 5, 2009). "VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs". Stereogum. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  3. ^ SPIN Media LLC (October 2002). SPIN. SPIN Media LLC. p. 70. ISSN 0886-3032.
  4. ^ "10 Essential Proto-Punk Tracks". Treble. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  5. ^ Thompson, James H. (March 10, 2000). "MC5: Kickin' Out The Jams". Goldmine. No. 512. Krause Publications.
  6. ^ Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums that Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. p. 67. ISBN 9780195373714.
  7. ^ Kick Out the Jams (sleeve). MC5. New York, New York: Elektra Records. 1969.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "MC5 - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
  9. ^ "RPM Top 100 Singles - April 7, 1969" (PDF).
  10. ^ "Pajama Party - Poison Idea". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "Spot the Loon - The Fluid". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  12. ^ "LLMF (Live Like a Motherfucker - Wayne Kramer". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  13. ^ "Rock and Roll People - Rob Tyner". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  14. ^ "Showdown 2: The 90's - The Nomads". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  15. ^ "Year One - Give Up the Ghost". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  16. ^ "Wake Up: A Tribute to Rage Against the Machine - Various Artists". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  17. ^ "Pearl Jam: 12/9/05". nugs.net. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  18. ^ "They'll Be Waking Up Soon - Frankenstein 3000". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  19. ^ "Flat Out - The Strypes". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  20. ^ "Subversions - U.K. Subs". AllMusic.com. RhythmOne. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
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