Death was a band from Detroit that recorded great punk music the 1970s, but the fact that we can listen to their music today is an incredible story by itself. African-American brothers Bobby, David, and Dannis Hackney became interested in music after they watched The Beatles play The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, and they formed their first band in 1971. They were originally an R&B group that performed in their parent’s garage. Bobby sang and played bass, Dannis played the drums, and David wrote the songs and played guitar. However, David pushed the band towards rock & roll after attending an Alice Cooper concert. Their sound was so loud that they moved out of the garage and into the house. They called themselves Death because David wanted to write a rock opera portraying it in a positive light.
The group’s first shows were in African-American neighborhoods, and their music was out of step with their audiences who predominantly listened to acts like the Isley Brothers and Earth, Wind & Fire. Despite the setbacks and calls for them to quit, a record label called Groovesville signed the brothers in 1974 while David was 21, Dannis was 19, and Bobby was 17 and still in high school. They began recording an album at United Sound Recording Studios in Detroit, but the band’s name gave them issues. According to the Hackney brothers, record producer Clive Davis funded the recording sessions and told the group that they had to change their name. The trio refused, and in 1976 the album’s production came to a halt after seven songs had been recorded.
The Hackneys self-released 500 copies of “Politicians in My Eyes” with “Keep On Knocking” as the b-side, but the single received little radio play because disco ruled the airwaves and rock & roll was no longer popular. The brothers grew discouraged with Death and moved to Vermont to live with a distant relative. They released two gospel rock albums as The Fourth Movement until David grew homesick and returned to Detroit in 1992. He passed away from lung cancer in 2000.
The two remaining Hackney brothers remained in Vermont and formed the reggae band Lambsbread. Bobby and Dannis each had 5 kids, and they never told their children about Death. In 2008 Bobby’s son Julian was at an underground punk party in San Francisco. He recognized his father’s voice from a “Politicians in My Eyes” single that had been played at the party, and Julian and one of his brothers confronted their father. Bobby confirmed he was on the recording and pulled the master tapes from the recording sessions out of the attic. They were all surprised how great the music sounded almost 30 years later.
The Hackneys gave the recordings to Drag City, an indie label based out of Chicago. In February of 2009 Death’s album …For The Whole World To See was finally released to critical acclaim. Jack White of the White Stripes told the New York Times: “The first time the stereo played ‘Politicians in My Eyes,’ I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. When I was told the history of the band and what year they recorded this music, it just didn’t make sense. Ahead of punk, and ahead of their time.”
In September of 2009, Bobby and Dannis Hackney played three Death shows with a guitarist from Lambsbread. A framed photo of David holding his guitar was on the side of the stage for each show. And more recently the band played at Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest.
Take A Listen: Politicians In My Eyes from Death
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Author: Kenny Hamner (This Site Is Best Viewed)
