"Kick Out the Jams" is a song by MC5, released as a single in March 1969 by

Elektra Records Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...

. The album of the same name caused some controversy due to Sinclair's inflammatory

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

and the track's rallying cry of "Kick out the jams, motherfuckers!" According to Kramer, the band recorded this as "Kick out the jams, brothers and sisters!" for the single released for radio play; band member Rob Tyner claimed this was done without group consensus. 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 The J. L. Hudson Company (commonly known simply as Hudson's) was an upscale retail department store chain based in Detroit, Michigan. Hudson's flagship store, on Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit (demolished October 24, 1998), was the tallest ...

, a Detroit-based

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appe ...

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 The Fifth Estate is a socio-cultural reference to groupings of outlier viewpoints in contemporary society, and is most associated with bloggers, journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and the social media or "social license". Th ...

'' saying "Stick Alive with the MC5, and Fuck Hudson's!", prominently including the logo of MC5's label,

, in the ad. Hudson's pulled all Elektra records from their stores, and in the ensuing controversy,

Jac Holzman Jac Holzman (born September 15, 1931) is an American music businessman, best known as the founder, chief executive officer and head of record label Elektra Records and Nonesuch Records. Holzman commercially helped launch the CD and home video form ...

, the head of Elektra, dropped the band from their contract. MC5 then signed with

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

Formats and track listing

;US 7" single (EK-45648) #"Kick Out the Jams" ( Michael Davis, Wayne Kramer,

Fred "Sonic" Smith Frederick Dewey Smith (September 14, 1948 – November 4, 1994), known professionally as Fred "Sonic" Smith, was an American guitarist, best known as a member of the influential and political Detroit rock band MC5. At age 31, he married and rai ...

, Dennis Thompson,

Rob Tyner Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob ( ...

) – 2:37 #"Motor City Is Burning" – 4:30

Personnel

Adapted from the ''Kick Out the Jams'' liner notes. ;Musicians * Michael Davis – bass guitar, backing vocals * Wayne Kramer – electric guitar, backing vocals *

– electric guitar, backing vocals * Dennis Thompson – drums *

– lead vocals ;Production and additional personnel *

Bruce Botnick Bruce Botnick (born 1945) is an American audio engineer and record producer, best known for his work with the Doors, the Beach Boys, Eddie Money, Love and film composer Jerry Goldsmith. Early work Botnick engineered Love's first two albums, and ...

– production, engineering *

– production

Charts

Release history

Cover versions

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kick Out the Jams (song) 1968 songs 1969 singles Elektra Records singles MC5 songs Monster Magnet songs Rage Against the Machine songs Song recordings produced by Bruce Botnick Song recordings produced by Jac Holzman Songs written by Fred "Sonic" Smith