Is Detroit still the "Rock City"?

[night-timer]

Before I even begin, I just want to say that I truly love the City of Detroit. I hope we all do...

With a population that is 83-84 percent African American, rap is probably the most popular form of [[contemporary) Detroit music.

So, is rock truly even an innovative force in The D?

I am not looking to disrespect Detroit, but have its "hard rock roots" gone?

MC5, The Dictators, Wayne County, [[Jayne County), The Stooges, Bob Seger, Radio Birdman... etc, where are they now...?

[Meddle]

Last I saw Seeger, he was propped up on a stool at the end of the bar at Siloz. But that was in '93 or so.

You forgot Mitch Ryder by the way. Or maybe not.

Personally, I think Detroit is more known for Motown that most anything else in music.

[Zacha341]

No not rap, at least not across the board, for all ages. I'd say in order of relevance R&B, Pop, Rap and Techno!

....With a population that is 83-84 percent African American, rap is probably the most popular form of [[contemporary) Detroit music.

[Jason]

I wasn't around at the time, but I feel like the Detroit rock scene was very specific to those groups and that time period. I don't think Detroit was ever in practice a big player in rock music in the way that LA or London are. Or even just major cities in general.

Similarly, in the early 2000s there were some garage rock bands from Detroit, and that was kind of a "thing" at the time, but in reality it was just a small handful of bands, among hundreds of bands on the charts.

Motown was the real deal though.


It's the same thing with Hockeytown. I don't remember the full details but once I saw some numbers about the various hockey markets, and there wasn't really anything about our numbers that indicated that we were uniquely passionate about hockey.

[Lowell]

The question needs a little refinement. The City of Detroit is 80+% A/A but it is only 15% of "the D", Metro Detroit-Windsor. So who are we characterizing? Even then what are the metrics? Singles/albums/ sold and radio plays? <- now antiquated terms in the age of streaming, but you get my point.

My understanding is that Eminem sold more than anybody in the US, maybe the world, from 2000-2010. Madonna, if she counts, did well too. The grand old names like the Motown Legends, Seger et. al. just collected some royalties, and did nostalgia tours.

I think art in general is in an "end of style" age where nothing dominates but all styles run side by side with an occasional superstar emerging on one genre or another.

[Steve]

[MC5, The Dictators, Wayne County, [[Jayne County), The Stooges, Bob Seger, Radio Birdman... etc, where are they now...?[/QUOTE]

The only Dictators I'm familiar with were a New York band from the mid-seventies. Good band, too. Are there some local Dictators I don't know about?

[jackie5275]

I'd say the hard rock roots are long gone. Rock & roll in the form as indicated by the bands you list is seemingly a dying style all over. The emergence of rap/hip-hop and the strength of pop have had a hand in killing it off. The age of digital music, corporate & satellite radio, multiple fragmented music styles, and the aging of the artists themselves have all been contributing factors to this.

[Pam]

[MC5, The Dictators, Wayne County, [[Jayne County), The Stooges, Bob Seger, Radio Birdman... etc, where are they now...?

The only Dictators I'm familiar with were a New York band from the mid-seventies. Good band, too. Are there some local Dictators I don't know about?

You are right, they were from New York. And Radio Birdman was from Australia. I think they had one guy who was from Ann Arbor originally.
Jayne/Wayne County was also from New York.

The Detroit Rock City label came about I believe because of the audiences. There were out of town bands that broke here before other places- like Kiss, J. Geils etc.

By the way-there were two big rock festivals in Detroit lately so there is still an audience for it. [[Mo Pop and Motor City Muscle) I don't know what's happening on the club scene anymore.

[K-slice]

I mean, KISS proclaimed it to be Rock City, what else do you want?

[kathy2trips]

I don't consider either Eminem [[rap/hip-hop) or Madonna [[pop) as being rock, any more than Motown is rock.

When you listen to Jack White talk about growing up in Detroit, he mentions that he was the only guy he knew who wanted to play guitar. Is rock a strictly European-American thing, Jimi Hendrix aside? Can you imagine how much buzz an African-American rock group from Detroit would generate?

Rock in America [[but not Europe) may be going through a dormancy period as it did 1960-63 before the British Invasion. I am astounded at how many 20-somethings I see at vintage vinyl stores looking at 1950s to 1980s rock and roll. You'd be surprised how many of them actually don't like rap/hip-hop. They don't feel a part of that culture, that it doesn't reflect them. It's up to them, though, to create something new like their predecessors did.

As to the "where are they now" question: 3/5 of the MC5 are jamming in The Great Gig in The Sky with Jimi Hendrix, but Wayne Kramer is on the road with a new autobiography and a 50th Anniversary concert tour. He's going to be at St. Andrew's Hall on October 26th and at the Fillmore Detroit on October 27th for his last American date, then on to Europe.

[Zacha341]

Yeah but I still prefer Franky Beverly and Maze or Kem.

I mean, KISS proclaimed it to be Rock City, what else do you want?

[night-timer]

You are right, they were from New York. And Radio Birdman was from Australia. I think they had one guy who was from Ann Arbor originally.
Jayne/Wayne County was also from New York.

The Detroit Rock City label came about I believe because of the audiences. There were out of town bands that broke here before other places- like Kiss, J. Geils etc.

By the way-there were two big rock festivals in Detroit lately so there is still an audience for it. [[Mo Pop and Motor City Muscle) I don't know what's happening on the club scene anymore.

I thought Radio Birdman had more than one Detroiter, but I could be wrong. Their song 'Murder City Nights' was about Woodward Avenue in the 70s. Some of the other acts mentioned were obviously not from Detroit but sure seemed like they were. Overall, it's not just about the bands themselves but whether there is still a market for rock music amongst Detroiters anymore, considering that they were known for being receptive to rock... indeed it may now have been surpassed by other music styles and genres.

[Honky Tonk]

Overall, it's not just about the bands themselves but whether there is still a market for rock music amongst Detroiters anymore, considering that they were known for being receptive to rock...

Here's a couple of photos of Hart Plaza from this year's "Detroit Muscle 2018" rock extravaganza. I was only there for a few hours, but a friend who still "rocks out" and was there for all three days, said it looked pretty much the same.

[Pam]

Here's a couple of photos of Hart Plaza from this year's "Detroit Muscle 2018" rock extravaganza. I was only there for a few hours, but a friend who still "rocks out" and was there for all three days, said it looked pretty much the same.

Wow, that's pathetic.

[masterblaster]

Before I even begin, I just want to say that I truly love the City of Detroit. I hope we all do...

With a population that is 83-84 percent African American, rap is probably the most popular form of [[contemporary) Detroit music.

So, is rock truly even an innovative force in The D?

I am not looking to disrespect Detroit, but have its "hard rock roots" gone?

MC5, The Dictators, Wayne County, [[Jayne County), The Stooges, Bob Seger, Radio Birdman... etc, where are they now...?

You forgot Ted Nugent!!! The Motor City Madman!! Also, Alice Cooper was from here, but he founded his band in Phoenix.

I think that Motor City Muscle festival was too ambitious. It occurred on the same weekend as the Woodward Dream Cruise and it was spread across several different areas of Downtown/Riverfront. Also, I think it could have been advertised better. Next year, maybe just confine it to one place, like Hart Plaza, or put it in Pontiac where the Dream Cruisers are going to be, or move it to another weekend.

[ggores]

Before I even begin

Could it be possible! This old saint has not heard in his forest that "Rock is DEAD?"

I think that Detroit has a rich musical heritage. Of course. So far as ROCK AND ROLL goes, yes, or perhaps simply "ROCK"...

Detroit is a Mecca for musicians.

I can testify that from, say, 1973 thru 1978, Detroit was the "Home Of Rock -N- Roll".

Today, for example, I have read raving reviews of the Taylor Swift concert the other night at Ford Field. Yet I cannot name 1 song she does.

When Bowie died, that was it., far as I know.

So-called "rock" is politicized and completely disingenuous now.

But still... if you ever get out and actually SEE a live band, local, ugly, sweaty, happy to just be able to play... then baby, that's rock-on-roll!'

"And it's the same.... old song..... but with a different beat since you been gone".

[Meddle]

You forgot Ted Nugent!!! The Motor City Madman!!

Most civilized people try to. I have one Amboy Dukes album that I like however.

Coop's cool though.

[Meddle]

So-called "rock" is politicized and completely disingenuous now.

Rock has always been politicized. Some of the best tunes ever are protest songs by the likes of Neil Young and U2 among many, many others.

Perhaps you meant 'commercialized' or 'mechanized'?

[kathy2trips]

According to this guy, Detroit Rock has been dead since March 8, 1971. This was, of course, four months before MC-5 released High Time, their best LP.

[Zacha341]

^^^ Agreed. Yes, the best of rock was political, socially challenging and philosophical. Rush's well known Freewill and others quickly come to mind. Pink Floyd's [[Brick In The Wall) etc.

Likewise, plenty of great funk classics abound critiquing technology and the coming 'social order' etc. such as Newcleus Computer Age.

Others, such as Brides of Funkenstein [[Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy)!

[waz]

Thank you ggores. My sentiments exactly.
The last "rock" "band" to make it big out of Detroit was White Stripes, and while I love 'em, they always seemed like the last breath of an era to me.

[pjbear05]

I have always referred to Cobo Hall as "The House that Rock Built" from all the great concerts I saw there, and those were a drop in the bucket. Seger, Hendrix, Yes, Blow Your Face Out [[Geils/Mountain/Golden Earring), Rick Wakeman, and the number 1-Stampeders/Robin Trower/Jethro Tull.

[Honky Tonk]

I have always referred to Cobo Hall as "The House that Rock Built" from all the great concerts I saw there, and those were a drop in the bucket. Seger, Hendrix, Yes, Blow Your Face Out [[Geils/Mountain/Golden Earring), Rick Wakeman, and the number 1-Stampeders/Robin Trower/Jethro Tull.

Neil Diamond, The Doors, Led Zeppelin. [[probably a few more I can't remember right now)

[kathy2trips]

Neil Diamond, The Doors, Led Zeppelin. [[probably a few more I can't remember right now)

When was Led Zeppelin at Cobo? I know they were at the Silverdome in 1977 and at the Grande in 1969.

[pjbear05]

When was Led Zeppelin at Cobo? I know they were at the Silverdome in 1977 and at the Grande in 1969.

Search engines make multiple references to Zep at Cobo 7/12/73.