One of the finest, most distinctive American punk bands of the late 1970s/early '80s, the Dead Kennedys combined righteous political anger with a biting sense of satire. Wildman Jello Biafra's high-pitched yelp and East Bay Ray's twangy, surf-influenced guitar riffs were the San Francisco group's trademarks. The band broke up in the mid-'80s, around the time that they became targets of a high-profile censorship case involving the cover of their FRANKENCHRIST album. In 2000, they were in court again, squabbling over the rights to their albums, and a reunion ensued (from which Biafra was conspicuously absent, replaced by Dr. Know singer Brandon Cruz).