1969 Live Album, Banned By Some Stores, Ranked Among 'Greatest Punk Albums' of All Time
Out of Lincoln Park, Michigan, the rock band MC5 quickly made a name for themselves with their outspoken music and chaotic on-stage energy. The band became the frontrunners of the punk rock movement, with a live band album considered one of the best, and was fired by their label.
MC5 released their debut live album, Kick Out the Jams, in 1969, which was recorded at the Grande Ballroom in Detroit over the course of two nights on Halloween. The album was a two-sided record with hit tracks like "Ramblin' Rose" and "Motor City is Burning." It received mixed reviews upon its release, with Rolling Stone calling it a "ridiculous, overbearing, pretentious album".
Despite this, Kick Out the Jams became iconic as a rock album, and Rolling Stone now ranks it at No. 85 on their list of the Best Punk Albums of All Time. They tag the album as "a proto-punk landmark" that originally peaked at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 charts. MC5's title track for the album landed at No. 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts upon its release.
According to LouderSound, the band wanted to be revolutionary by releasing a live album as their debut, seeing as performing was what they did best. It also worked for the record label since the band didn't 100% know how to work in a studio and would have cost a fortune.
While the album was a success on the charts, it soon face controversy over its title track, "Kick Out the Jams" due to its opening line and profanity.
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MC5 was fired by Elektra Records over 'Kick Out the Jams'
The opening of "Kick Out the Jams" starts with, "And right now ... right now ... right now it's time to ... kick out the jams, motherf*ckers!" before the opening guitar riff. Contrary to popular belief, the band knew very well that the offensive word wouldn't sit well with executives and audiences.
Guitarist Wayne Kramer explained that they developed two versions of the track, knowing the profanity was "never going to get played on the radio, so we recorded a ‘Kick out the Jams, brothers and sisters' version for the single." He reveals that they had asked the record label to hold off on debuting the album until the single peaked on the charts. In a frenzy of popularity, the label debuted the album, "and when kids came home with this record and mom and dad heard ‘motherf*cker', you could hear the outrage reverberate across America."
The guitarist went on to reveal that the label released a clean version of the album despite the band not wanting to. Due to the original album having profanity and the word printed on the inside jacket, multiple stores refused to sell it, including a local store called Hudson's. Due to the band's contract giving them control over advertising, they took out an ad against the store using the label's logo without permission. "That was the final straw, and Elektra fired us," said Kramer.
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This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 10:41 AM.