# Fred "Sonic" Smith
**Fred "Sonic" Smith** (Frederick Dewey Smith; September 1949 – November 4, 1994) was an American guitarist and songwriter, co-founder and guitarist of the Detroit rock band MC5 and later founder of Sonic's Rendezvous Band.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-13-me-62193-story.html) His dual-guitar work with Wayne Kramer defined the MC5's loud Detroit sound, a forerunner to heavy metal and punk rock, and he later played a major role in his wife [Patti Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/patti-smith)'s 1988 album *Dream of Life*.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-13-me-62193-story.html) • [3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/mc5)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Frederick Dewey Smith[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) |
| Born | West Virginia, 1949 (AllMusic gives 1949; WorldCat gives 1949)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) • [4](https://entities.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJx8Hk7H77G3mKQqwByPQq.html) |
| Died | November 4, 1994, of heart failure in Detroit, aged 44[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-13-me-62193-story.html) |
| Signature band | MC5, formed in Lincoln Park, Michigan, in late 1964[5](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mc5-p4864/biography) |
| Later group | Sonic's Rendezvous Band, founded 1974; released only the self-distributed single "City Slang"[6](https://rebuilddetroit.com/313-legends/fred-sonic-smith-detroits-reluctant-rock-revolutionary/) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) |
| Spouse | Patti Smith; son Jackson and daughter Jesse[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-13-me-62193-story.html) |
| Honor | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction with MC5, ceremony in Cleveland[7](https://apnews.com/article/6df741e7b641e25a198b16a4162f0986) |
## Early life and MC5
Smith was born in [West Virginia](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-virginia); his family moved to Detroit during his early childhood, and he began learning guitar at age 12.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) By junior high he was playing in a local band, where he met classmate Wayne Kramer, who like Smith played [British Invasion](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-invasion)-influenced garage rock. In 1964 the two joined with Rob Tyner to form MC5, short for "Motor City Five," a name designed to sound like a hot-rod club.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) The MC5 account places the band's formation in [Lincoln Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/lincoln-park), Michigan, in late 1964, with Smith, Kramer, Tyner, bassist Pat Burrows, and drummer Bob Gaspar, all still in high school.[5](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mc5-p4864/biography) A different account traces the pair back to a 1964 duo called the Bounty Hunters in Lincoln Park.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/mc5)
In 1967 the band's musical approach attracted the poet and counterculture organizer John Sinclair, who became its manager and sharpened its political slant. As the house band of the radical leftist [White Panther Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/white-panther-party), MC5 became one of the most controversial bands in America.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) The classic lineup paired Smith and Kramer on guitars with Tyner on vocals, Michael Davis on bass, and Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson on drums.[8](https://apnews.com/article/90d2858255bf18ae7758ccb9e453a3ca) Their 1969 debut album, *Kick Out the Jams*, exemplified the band's sound: a dual-guitar blast combining bare-bones rock and roll with the eclecticism of free jazz.[9](https://www.guitarworld.com/news/wayne-kramer-mc5-obituary) • [10](https://pocketmags.com/us/guitar-player-magazine/february-2021/articles/wayne-kramer-fred-sonic-smith) Roaring out of Detroit in early 1969, the band went, in Kramer's words, from "the tip of the spear" to a state of siege within a year.[11](https://tidal.com/magazine/article/mc5s-back-in-the-usa/1-70559)
The MC5 had little commercial success and put out just three albums, but its legacy endured for its sound and its fusing of music to political action.[7](https://apnews.com/article/6df741e7b641e25a198b16a4162f0986) [Tom Morello](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-morello), guitarist for [Rage Against the Machine](https://www.edgepedia.org/rage-against-the-machine), said "Without them, there is no punk rock music" and placed the band's members among the founders of that brand of music; the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at a ceremony in [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland).[7](https://apnews.com/article/6df741e7b641e25a198b16a4162f0986)
## Sonic's Rendezvous Band
After MC5's end, Smith formed Sonic's Rendezvous Band in 1974 with Scott Morgan of the Rationals, Scott Asheton of the Stooges, and Gary Rasmussen of the Up.[6](https://rebuilddetroit.com/313-legends/fred-sonic-smith-detroits-reluctant-rock-revolutionary/) • [15](https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonics-rendezvous-band-mw0000485042) The band's only studio release was a self-distributed single of Smith's song "City Slang," pressed with the same song on both sides, a stereo mix on the A-side and a mono mix on the B-side.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) The Guardian's account of the MC5 documentary *A True Testimonial* describes the group's music as some of the heaviest guitar music ever made, and notes that after the band's end Smith "fell back into regular guy mode."
Smith also formed a group called Ascension, consisting of Smith on guitar, Thompson on drums, Davis on piano, and bassist John Hefty.[12](https://www.artistcamp.com/store/mc-5/black-to-comm/766126718525/promo_flyer.pdf)
## Work with Patti Smith
By 1979 Fred Smith was in a relationship with the poet and singer Patti Smith, and her song "Frederick," described as a love song set to a classic rock melody, dates from that period.[13](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/patti-smith-albums-ranked) He played a major role in writing, playing on, and recording her 1988 comeback album *Dream of Life*.[3](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/mc5)
The couple had a son, Jackson, and a daughter, Jesse; at his death he was survived by his wife, both children, his parents, and two sisters, all of Detroit except Patti.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-13-me-62193-story.html)
## Death and legacy
Smith died of heart failure in Detroit on November 4, 1994, at 44.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-13-me-62193-story.html) A Metro Times profile marking the tenth anniversary of his death describes his legacy as firebrand guitarist for the MC5 and Sonic's Rendezvous Band and his key role on *Dream of Life* as remaining secure, and notes the tribute concert his son Jackson, also a guitarist, organized.[14](https://www.metrotimes.com/music-2/smith-on-smith-2180200/)
Sources disagree on some basic dates. The Los Angeles Times obituary reported his death at 44, which fits the 1949 birth year, while a Metro Times piece gives his age as 45; WorldCat gives his date of death as November 9, 1994, while the Los Angeles Times and Metro Times both give November 4.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-13-me-62193-story.html) • [14](https://www.metrotimes.com/music-2/smith-on-smith-2180200/) • [4](https://entities.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJx8Hk7H77G3mKQqwByPQq.html) AllMusic gives his birth date as 1949, and WorldCat as September 14, 1949.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292) • [4](https://entities.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJx8Hk7H77G3mKQqwByPQq.html)
## References
1. [Fred "Sonic" Smith Biography, AllMusic (Mark Deming)](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p126292)
2. [Obituary: Fred (Sonic) Smith, 44; Guitarist for Band MC5, Los Angeles Times, November 13, 1994](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-13-me-62193-story.html)
3. [MC5, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/mc5)
4. [Fred Smith, WorldCat Entities](https://entities.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJx8Hk7H77G3mKQqwByPQq.html)
5. [MC5 Biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mc5-p4864/biography)
6. [Fred "Sonic" Smith Biography: Life, Career & Legacy, 313 Legends](https://rebuilddetroit.com/313-legends/fred-sonic-smith-detroits-reluctant-rock-revolutionary/)
7. [Anti-establishment the MC5 ironically get into the establishment with Rock & Roll Hall of Fame invite, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/6df741e7b641e25a198b16a4162f0986)
8. [Wayne Kramer, co-founder of revolutionary rock band the MC5, dead at 75, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/90d2858255bf18ae7758ccb9e453a3ca)
9. [Wayne Kramer, influential MC5 guitarist, dies at 75, Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/news/wayne-kramer-mc5-obituary)
10. [Wayne Kramer & Fred "Sonic" Smith, Guitar Player, February 2021](https://pocketmags.com/us/guitar-player-magazine/february-2021/articles/wayne-kramer-fred-sonic-smith)
11. [MC5's "Back in the USA" @ 50, TIDAL Magazine (David Fricke)](https://tidal.com/magazine/article/mc5s-back-in-the-usa/1-70559)
12. [MC5: Black to Comm promo flyer, Artistcamp](https://www.artistcamp.com/store/mc-5/black-to-comm/766126718525/promo_flyer.pdf)
13. [Every Patti Smith album ranked, LouderSound](https://www.loudersound.com/music/albums/patti-smith-albums-ranked)
14. [Smith on Smith, Metro Times](https://www.metrotimes.com/music-2/smith-on-smith-2180200/)
15. [Sonics Rendezvous Band Mw0000485042, allmusic.com](https://www.allmusic.com/album/sonics-rendezvous-band-mw0000485042)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Rock, metal, and popular-band musicians › Punk rock › First-wave punk pioneers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license