Famous bassist dies in Chico

Michael Davis, bass player for legendary ’60s Detroit proto-punk band The MC5 and a recent resident of Chico, died of liver failure Feb. 17 at Enloe Medical Center. He was 68. Davis (pictured circa 1970) moved to Chico in June 2011 with plans to finish the BFA degree he was pursuing in 1963, when he dropped out of art school at Wayne State University to join The MC5. He was a student at Butte College and planned to transfer to Chico State.

After The MC5 folded in 1972, Davis’ musical career continued in Destroy All Monsters and other bands. In the last decade, he participated in a series of MC5 reunions and also worked as a producer and visual artist. With his wife, Angela, Davis founded a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting music education called The Music Is Revolution Foundation in 2006.

According to the Associated Press, Davis’s death followed a month-long hospitalization at Enloe. He is survived by his wife and four children.