Death is an American musical group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1971 by brothers Bobby (bass, vocals), David (March 19, 1952 – October 9, 2000) (guitar), and Dannis Hackney (drums, percussion).

[6] In 1964, the three young Hackney brothers (David, Bobby and Dannis) watched the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show with their father.

[8] Forming in 1971 and originally calling themselves Rock Fire Funk Express, guitarist David convinced his brothers to change the band's name to Death in 1973 after their father died in an accident.

[4][10] On February 18, 1975, Death recorded seven songs written by David and Bobby at Detroit's United Sound Studios with engineer Jim Vitti.

[13] Once the news of the discovery and the story of Death began to spread, it eventually reached Drag City Records, who contacted the Hackneys about the possible release of the album, who provided the label with the original master tape: In 2009, Drag City released all seven Death songs from their 1975 United Sound sessions on CD and LP under the title ...For the Whole World to See.

A March 2009 article in The New York Times by Mike Rubin,[14] covering one of Rough Francis' live shows and the history of Death introduced the band to an even wider audience.

[15] During a 2010 performance at the Boomslang Festival in Lexington, Kentucky, the band announced that Drag City would release a new album with demos and rough cuts that predate the 1975 sessions.