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Detroit Riots MC5 1967
Fire, smoke, gunshots, shouting, screaming, looting, rocks, bottles, Molotov cocktails, blood spilling and some people dying, and hundreds of injured. Citizens mostly. Spiraling confrontations all over the city proper.
Wow!
Detroit’s finest, and the Michigan National Guard had a hell of a job that week. Was this the beginning of the second American Revolution? It sure seemed like it. This indeed is what a modern day mini Armageddon looks like people.
Scary tension. Hundreds of arrests were made and jail time for many. And an M1A1 Abrams tank parked right across the street from the Artist’s Workshop, which doubled as the MC5 band house on the second floor.
Couple of members of the MC5 were arrested for assault, I believe. Broke down our doors and crashed in ala Swat at it’s best Whew!
There were fires everywhere. John Lee Hooker wrote “The Motor City’s Burning” and we began to play that song in our set as an homage to all the strife and pain suffered by all the victims on both sides.
“It started on 12th and Claremont ya’all…”
I got out on the first day and holed up at my parent’s house in Lincoln Park. After all, it was safer to watch on TV then to get killed. At least not yet. Work to be done. After this maelstrom of hate and fear there wasn’t a doubt in my soul as to where I stood as a human being.
End the ugly Vietnam war, the riots, the racism and bigotry. Go out as minstrels spreading the word that we all desperately need to ban together and hopefully, or forcibly, change this damn stupidity.
“Kick Out The Jams Motherfuckers!”
7 comments:
Dennis, you know I love you and your posts. One minor error to your blog on the Detroit Riots. The following is from Wikipedia; I'm sure other sources will confirm it. "The M1 Abrams entered U.S. service in 1980, replacing the 105 mm gun, full tracked M60 Patton main battle tank." Having served in the MI ANG, they were doing well to even get Pattons; which we were still using when I was with them in 1988-89. Other than that, GREAT post as always.
Ted
"Ah yes...this brings back memories from my childhood too!"
"I could see the smoke from 12th St from my backyard!"
My understanding is that the John Lee Hooker tune was originally about previous events in Detroit known as the Hastings Street riots-maybe circa the early 40s-(intraweb research says 1943).Hooker then redid the song on the Urban Blues LP and somehow the guy who produced the LP ended up with the songwriting credit. Might have been involved in JLH management at the time. So just to be clear-the Smith on the credit is not Fred.
"I was in the military watching it on the movie theater screen!!"
"worked 7 mile and Gratiot 4p to 4am had curfew joe sgroi had to drive me & his little brother home by 10 pitiful, forgot."
Was returning from Expo 67 with three friends all of us on motorcycles when the riot was going on. We drove through the area while there was looting and the fire department trying to put out fires even drove over firehoses stretched across the roads. There was a M-60 machinegun set up behind a sandbag emplacement by Hudsons Dept store.
As a side note I graduated from LPHS '66' "KICK OUT THE JAMS MF'ers" !
PM
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