Wayne Stanley Kramer (né Kambes; April 30, 1948 – February 2, 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and film and television composer.

Kramer and guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith co-founded the MC5 in 1963, with vocalist Rob Tyner, bassist Michael Davis, and drummer Dennis Thompson joining shortly after.

[1] The MC5 toured the United States extensively and ultimately faced insurmountable challenges both from being banned from the radio and government police agencies for their militant political stance.

Unable to tour or sell records and after a last-ditch effort by Ronan O'Rahilly that included a move to London, England, by 1972, the original group disbanded.

Upon his release from prison in 1979, Kramer began touring as a solo artist leading a succession of working trios, quartets, and larger groups.

[5] He also played with and produced bands on the lower east side of Manhattan such as Marc Johnson and the Wild Alligators, The Cooties, The Rousers, The Terrorists (which included JoJo Hermann on keyboards), The Boyfriends, Fats Deacon and the Dumbwaiters (featuring Bobby "Slacks" Brunswick of Dungaree Dogs NYC), GG Allin, Mark Truth and the Liars, and Viva LaRue and others, as well as working as a freelance studio guitarist.

Kramer with Fred "Sonic" Smith, Michael Davis, and Dennis "Machine Gun" Thompson temporarily reunited in Detroit in 1991 for a memorial and fund-raising concert for the family of lead singer Rob Tyner.

[5] In 1994, Kramer, now residing in Los Angeles, signed to Brett Gurewitz's punk rock label Epitaph Records and began a chapter of his solo career.

[5] He released four records, including 1995's self-produced The Hard Stuff,[5] which features the band Claw Hammer on most songs, along with appearances from members of The Melvins and The Vandals.

MuscleTone and Levi's Clothing partnered to produce a live performance featuring the MC5's surviving members (Fred Smith died in 1994) and guests Ian Astbury (The Cult), Dave Vanian (The Damned) and Lemmy (Motörhead), which they filmed at London's 100 Club for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom.

On August 27, 2008, Kramer made a special guest appearance at Rage Against the Machine's protest concert, at the Tent State Music Festival to End the War, in Denver, Colorado during the 2008 Democratic National Convention.

On November 8, 2008, Kramer made a special guest appearance at progressive-rock band Coheed and Cambria's Neverender event in Hollywood, California.

He was brought out during the encore act to perform with the band to Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released," and added a third guitar part during the solos of Coheed's song "Welcome Home."

Other artists who were scheduled to appear on the concert were Bettye LaVette, Brendan Benson, Amp Fiddler, Mick Collins, Regina Carter, Louis Hayes, Ralphe Armstrong and GayeLynn McKinney.

[8] On March 16, 2012, Kramer made a guest appearance with Danish surf trio The Good The Bad at Roky Erickson's Ice Cream Social showcase at Threadgill's World Headquarters in Austin, Texas, as part of the SXSW Festival.

[10] In May 2018, Kramer announced the MC50 tour to celebrate the 50th anniversary of "Kick Out the Jams", with a line-up including himself, plus Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden, Brendan Canty of Fugazi, and Doug Pinnick of King's X, as well as Don Was.

"[15] Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, who cited Kramer as a major influence, wrote: "His band the MC5 basically invented punk rock music... Wayne came through personal trials of fire with drugs and jail time and emerged a transformed soul who went on to save countless lives through his tireless acts of service.

He co-composed the score for HBO's controversial 2006 documentary Hacking Democracy, which also featured his song "Something Broken in the Promised Land" as its title track.

[18][19] Kramer also composes music for television, including themes for Fox Sports Network's 5-4-3-2-1, Spotlight, In My Own Words and Under the Lights; and E!

He scored for the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down, starring Danny McBride and executive produced by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay and Chris Henchy, which premiered in February 2009.