Grand Funk Railroad
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| Grand Funk Railroad | ||
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 Grand Funk Railroad in the mid-70s, Left to Right: Craig Frost, Mel Schacher, Don Brewer, Mark Farner
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| Background information | ||
| Origin |  Flint, Michigan, USA |
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| Genre(s) | Rock Hard rock AOR Funk Rock |
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| Years active | 1969-1976 1981-1983 1996-1999 2000-Present |
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| Label(s) | Capitol, MCA, Full Moon | |
| Website | www.grandfunkrailroad.com | |
| Members | ||
| Don Brewer Mel Schacher Bruce Kulick Max Carl Tim Cashion |
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| Former members | ||
| Mark Farner Craig Frost Dennis Bellinger |
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Grand Funk Railroad is an American power trio band. Not usually well-received by critics, the original Grand Funk Railroad lineup was highly popular during the 1970s, having sold over 25 million records and selling out arenas worldwide and having been awarded four RIAA gold albums in 1970, the most for any American Group that year. They were often cited as "the loudest rock and roll band in the world." The current Grand Funk Railroad lineup uses the nickname "The American Band", from their hit song "We're an American Band".
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[edit] History
The band was formed in 1969 by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar) and Don Brewer (vocals, drums), from Terry Knight and the Pack, and Mel Schacher (bass) from ? & the Mysterians in Flint, Michigan. Former bandmate Terry Knight soon became their manager and named the band after the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a well-known rail line in Michigan. First achieving recognition at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival, the band was signed by Capitol Records. Patterned after Cream, but developing their own populist style, in 1970 they had sold more albums than any other American band and had become a major concert attraction. In that same year they earned their first gold record award for the album "Grand Funk" (aka the Red Album) and a hit single, "Closer To Home", from the album of the same name, which was stylistically close to the old Terry Knight and the Pack. A year later, they broke the attendance record set by The Beatles' at Shea Stadium, selling out in just 71 hours (a record that still stands today).
Despite critical pans and lack of radio airplay, the group's first eight albums, released in three years, were successful. Knight launched an intensive advertising campaign to promote Closer To Home, reportedly paying $100,000 for a huge billboard in New York City's Times Square. That album was certified multi-platinum despite the lack of critical success. In 1972 Grand Funk Railroad fired Knight; Knight sued for breach of contract, resulting in a protracted legal battle.
In 1972 Grand Funk Railroad released its sixth album Phoenix and added a fourth band member Craig Frost (keyboards) and then, as a result of the ongoing legal battle, shortened their name to Grand Funk. This also brought on a stylistic shift from their original raw rock & roll roots to a more pop oriented top 40 style that was panned by their dedicated fan base. Two successful pop hit singles, "We're an American Band" (from We're An American Band) and "The Loco-Motion" (written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin for Little Eva) were followed by another pop-style album, All the Girls in the World Beware!!!, and a name revert back to "Grand Funk Railroad", the band's popularity decreased. After finishing Good Singin', Good Playin' (1976) with Musician Frank Zappa as a producer, Grand Funk Railroad disbanded. Farner began a solo career, while Brewer, Schacher and Frost formed the band "Flint" with the addition of Billy Ellworthy.
Grand Funk Railroad reunited in 1980 without Frost and with Dennis Bellinger replacing Schacher on bass, and released two albums on the Warner Bros. Records label Full Moon. Neither album achieved much success. After disbanding a second time, Farner continued as a solo performer, eventually converting to Christianity and becoming a Christian recording artist, while Brewer joined former Grand Funk bandmate Frost in Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. In 1996, Grand Funk Railroad (including Schacher) reunited once more, playing to 260,000 people in 14 sold out shows during a three month period. In 1997, the band did three sold out Bosnian benefit concerts and released a live two disc benefit CD called Bosnia. In 1999, after three years of touring, Farner left the band to continue his solo career.
In 2000, Brewer and Schacher decided to recruit lead singer Max Carl (of .38 Special fame), former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, and keyboard player Timothy Cashion, and continue as Grand Funk Railroad. Touring steadily since then, Grand Funk Railroad has built a new audience while still drawing fans of the original band.
The newest incarnation of Grand Funk Railroad plays around 30 concerts per year, recently breaking attendance records in Buffalo, New York and Orlando, Florida by drawing over 20,000 fans to both concerts. The band is allegedly writing new material, with plans for an upcoming release to include the 9/11 inspired ballad "Who Took Down The Stars" written by Carl and Kulick.
[edit] Trivia
- Grand Funk Railroad is Homer Simpson's favorite band. He says so in the episode Homerpalooza in which he joins the traveling music festival[1]. School bus driver Otto is also a fan. Executive producer Bill Oakley has also said they are his favorite band.[1]
- Grand Funk Railroad's Single: 'Some kind of Wonderful' is used in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
- In the Provenance episode of Season 1 of Supernatural the song 'Bad Time' is played on Impala's radio when Dean stays back in the Impala so Sam and Sarah get time to talk to each other.
[edit] Personnel
| 1969-1972 |
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| 1972-1976 | |
| 1981-1983 |
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| 1996-1999 |
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| 2000-present |
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[edit] Current members
- Don Brewer - drums, vocals
- Mel Schacher - bass
- Max Carl - vocals
- Bruce Kulick - guitar
- Timothy Cashion - keyboard
[edit] Former members
- Mark Farner - guitar, vocals
- Craig Frost - keyboards
- Dennis Bellinger - bass
- Howard Eddy Jr. (touring member) - keyboards
[edit] Discography
[edit] Studio albums
- On Time - (August 1969)
- Grand Funk (The Red Album) - (December 1969)
- Closer to Home - (July 1970)
- Survival - (April 1971)
- E Pluribus Funk - (November 1971)
- Phoenix - (September 1972)
- We're an American Band - (July 1973)
- Shinin' On - (March 1974)
- All the Girls in the World Beware!!! - (December 1974)
- Born To Die - (January 1976)
- Good Singin', Good Playin' - (August 1976)
- Grand Funk Lives - (July 1981)
- What's Funk? - (January 1983)
- Monumental Funk -(1974)
[edit] Live albums
- Live Album - (November 1970)
- Caught in the Act - (August 1975)
- Bosnia - (October 1997)
- Thirty Years of Funk: 1969-1999 - (1999)
- Live: The 1971 Tour - (June 2002)
[edit] Compilations
- Grand Funk / Live Album - (1970)
- Mark, Don and Mel: 1969-71 - (1972)
- Grand Funk Hits - (1976)
- Hits - (1977)
- The Best of Grand Funk - (1990)
- Capitol Collectors Series - (1991)
- Heavy Hitters - (1992)
- Collectors - (1993)
- Thirty Years of Funk: 1969-1999 - (1999)
- Super Best - (1999)
- Rock Champions - (2001)
- Very Best Grand Funk Railroad Album Ever - (2001)
- Classic Masters - (2002)
- Trunk of Funk - (2001)
- Greatest Hits (CD/DVD) - (2006)
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | |||
| 1969 | "Time Machine" | #47 | On Time |
| 1969 | "Mr. Limousine Driver" | #97 | Grand Funk |
| 1970 | "Heartbreaker" | #72 | On Time |
| 1970 | "Nothing is the Same" | - | Closer To Home |
| 1970 | "I'm Your Captain" | #22 | Closer To Home |
| 1970 | "Mean Mistreater" | #47 | Live Album |
| 1971 | "Inside Looking Out" | #40 | Grand Funk (aka Red Album) |
| 1971 | "Feelin' Alright" | #54 | Survival |
| 1971 | "Gimme Shelter" | #61 | Survival |
| 1971 | "People, Let's Stop the War" | - | E Pluribus Funk |
| 1972 | "Footstompin' Music" | #29 | E Pluribus Funk |
| 1972 | "Upsetter" | #73 | E Pluribus Funk |
| 1972 | "Rock & Roll Soul" | #29 | Phoenix |
| 1973 | "We're An American Band" | #1 | We're An American Band |
| 1973 | "Walk Like a Man" | #19 | We're An American Band |
| 1974 | "The Loco-Motion" | #1 | Shinin' On |
| 1974 | "Shinin' On" | #11 | Shinin' On |
| 1974 | "Some Kind of Wonderful" | #3 | All the Girls in the World Beware!!! |
| 1975 | "Bad Time" | #4 | All the Girls in the World Beware!!! |
| 1975 | "Take Me" | #53 | Born To Die |
| 1976 | "Sally" | #69 | Born to Die |
| 1976 | "Can You Do It" | #45 | Good Singin', Good Playin' |
| 1977 | "Just Couldn't Wait" | - | Good Singin', Good Playin' |
| 1981 | "Y.O.U." | - | Grand Funk Lives |
| 1982 | "Stick in the Middle" | - | Grand Funk Lives |
[edit] References
- ^ The Simpsons: The Complete Seventh Season. DVD commentary for episode 3F21, "Homerpalooza".
