Let’s talk about Death. Not the end of life. Not metal band with the same name, but the Proto-Punk band called Death.

I was born in the 1980’s so I didn’t witness the cultural impact that the Beatles had when they preformed on Ed Sullivan in the 1960s. I am not a huge Beatles fan by any means (My husband is the Beatles Fanatic in our household), but I acknowledge that I will forever be in their debt. Much of the music that I adore would not exist, if it wasn’t for the “Fab Four.”

According to legend (and the people who edited the Wikipedia article about Death) Bobby, Dannis, and David Hackney watched that history altering moment when the Beatles preformed on Ed Sullivan in 1964.

The Fates smiled on them, and the universe decided that Punk Rock should be a thing because the next day, David found a guitar in an alley. Just waiting for him. He and his brothers would form a band called…Rock Fire Funk Express. That is the best name ever, and I am a little sad that they changed it.

The reason why they changed their name is understandable. David convinced his brothers to change their name to Death after their father died.

This band was only active for 1971-1977. Then they disappeared into obscurity after recording only 7 songs. Most people would never hear of them, and that was almost the end of their story.

Then there was a miracle.

If it wasn’t for the movie, A Band Called Death, most people would have never known that they even existed.

Even their children didn’t know they existed. According to a 2013 WIRED article, one of Bobby Hackney’s sons happened to stumble across one of the 7 tracks Death recorded in the 1970s. He recognized his father’s voice and was blown away. His dad was a Punk Rocker.

What makes this story so weird is that the decedents of Death had their own band, Rough Francis (more on them in a different post).

I can’t give away many more details than that without spoiling the film, but the bottom line is this:

Death was a Punk band in int very early 70s. They almost faded into obscurity with out any acknowledgement that they were (one of) the FIRST (proto) Punk Bands, and they deserve to be prominently feature in the Pantheon of Pioneer Punk Rockers.

That is all I have for today. Remember: The most punk rock thing you can be is unapologetically YOU!