Obituary : Fred (Sonic) Smith, 44; Guitarist for Band MC5
Fred (Sonic) Smith, original guitarist for the rock band MC5 and several other groups, including his Sonic’s Rendezvous Band, has died. He was 44.
He died Nov. 4 of heart failure in Detroit, said his wife, Patti Smith, a poet and singer from the mid-1970s punk movement.
A native of West Virginia, the guitarist spent most of his life in Detroit. He began his career playing with local bands when he was a teen-ager and joined MC5 in the mid-1960s. The group pioneered the Detroit sound, a forerunner to heavy metal and punk rock.
Smith later made recordings with his wife, including the album “Dream of Life” in 1988.
In addition to his wife, Smith is survived by a son, Jackson; a daughter, Jesse; his parents and two sisters, all of Detroit.
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