A Band Called Death

This Band was Punk, before Punk was Punk

Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was Death. Formed in the early '70s by three teenage brothers from Detroit, Death is credited as being the first black punk band, and the Hackney brothers, David, Bobby, and Dannis, are now considered pioneers in their field. But it wasn’t until recently — when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of Bobby’s attic nearly 30 years after Death’s heyday — that anyone outside a small group of punk enthusiasts had even heard of them.

Cast

Dannis Hackney

Self

Bobby Hackney

Self

David Hackney

Self (archive footage)

Henry Rollins

Self

Elijah Wood

Self

Kid Rock

Self

Alice Cooper

Self

Mick Collins

Self

Mickey Leigh

Self

Robbie Duncan

Self

Questlove

Self

Vernon Reid

Self