Grand Funk Railroad
Biography
One of the 1970s' most successful hard rock bands in spite of critical pans and somewhat reluctant radio airplay (at first), Grand Funk Railroad built a devoted fan base with constant touring, a loud, simple take on the blues-rock power trio sound, and strong working-class appeal. The band was formed by Flint, MI, guitarist/songwriter Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer, both former members of a local band called Terry Knight & the Pack. They recruited former ? & the Mysterians bassist Mel Schacher in 1968, and Knight retired from performing to become their manager, naming the group after Michigan's well-known Grand Trunk Railroad.
They performed for free at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival, and their energetic, if not technically proficient, show led Capitol Records to sign them at once. While radio shied away from Grand Funk Railroad, the group's strong work ethic and commitment to touring produced a series of big-selling albums over the next few years; five of their eight releases from 1969 to 1972 went platinum, and the others all went gold. Meanwhile, Knight promoted the band aggressively, going so far as to rent a Times Square billboard to advertise Closer to Home, which turned out to be the band's first multi-platinum album in spite of a backlash from the rock press.
Selected Discography
Good Singin' Good Playin'
1976
Caught In The Act
1975
E Pluribus Funk
1971
Closer To Home
1970
On Time
1969
Man what memoreos Grand Funk brings back.15 years young,I'm your captain man wht an all time greatest tunes ever but on vynal. So many fantastic memories from that era'''.Real rockers coming out seems from every where. The god ole USA England,Germ a n y so on and so on. Thanks pandora for the flash backs on great sex,rockandr o l l drugs And one of the great bands from the USA.Thanks pandora.peac e to all. popsritch
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I love this song. And the album was awesome to. I think they cleared away alot of other groups Pink Floyd, ELO. And were a leader to other groups too.
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hey performed for free at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival, and their energetic, if not technically proficient, show led Capitol Records to sign them at once. While radio shied away from Grand Funk Railroad, the group's strong work ethic and commitment to touring produced a series of big-selling albums over the next few years; five of their eight releases from 1969 to 1972 went platinum, and the others all went gold. Meanwhile, Knight promoted the band aggressively , going so far as to rent a Times |
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true what is said about 3-men groups. Them & James Gang. Plus from the USA! My fave is the cover they did of Gimme Shelter, & Sin's a Good Man's Brother, definitley rocks.
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I have "Mark, Don & Mel" as well, but I don't see the double disc Grand Funk Live, which was the best thing they ever did.
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The best band from the states at the time,loved it when I heard that they got kicked off the Led Zep tour cause the fans were coming to see them instead.
LONG LIVE GFR!!! |
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I don't see the album "MARK, DON, MEL". It is a live performance. I still have the album here at home. It is the album that inspired me to play guitar.
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In '68 I saw this awful little film "Mondo Daytona" which really wasn't about music but had a segment featuring the unknown group 'Grand Funk'. I was quite impressed by the group, if not the film. My thoughts were that they compared to Cream and Hendrix in that lead, bass & drums could turn out a lot of great music.
A couple years later they finally had a top-ten hit and became quite well known. My friends didn't believe they were ever in an earlier bad film. Thank you internet for verifying. |
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phoenix is the best. pandora should play the whole record in a single run.
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Thanks to Pandora we all can enjoy listening to the best rocken ever. My thanks goes to all the guy's at Pandora.
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I love Grand Funk and would love to see them live!
I grew up with these guys! |
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where is the red album grand funk live everybidy had that album a must in any rock collection i like their older songs the best.
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GRAND FUNK RAILROAD STARTED OUT WITH A BANG AND ENDED UP A WIMPER... "WE'RE AN AMERICAN BAND" NEVER LIKED THAT SONG. DON'T SELL OUT! KEEP ROCK & ROLL UNDERGROUND AND TRUE TO IT'S ROOTS.
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I am glad to find a place like this where you can get the good music that you can not find like them .
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tickets $5.75 and gas was .25 / gallon - the best album was surival - that got me into the best trio rock band - they kicked solid as* - and they jammed too - which bands today don't know what that means - early 70's was the time.
jpr |
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My first rock concert....G r a n d Funk and the Shinin' On tour in Omaha, Nebraska in 1974. Tickets were only $5.75....ama z i n g !
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I love the way they do gimme shelter. Never had the opportunity to see them live.
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I saw them a while back & they were incredible!! ! Love this group, I will always be a fan!!!!
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Mark Don and Mel and Just about all the original bands did Without all this new high tech the best music Man just go back to '69 and do Survival album 30 yrs. later I think that something went wrong right after Phoenix,I will always be thankful '70 and 71' In fact I was very happy to finally put my 4 track and my 8 track tapes to rest and went digital and their tunes just became loud and clear and and People let's stop the war back in the Nam Days and the war still hasn't stop Peace
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I saw these guys when they re-united in '97, what a show, I saw them two more times over the next couple years, I was able to meet Mark and Don before and after the shows, pic's, autographs, lol, Don even signed my guitar pickguard. My point, these guys are pure class, Rock legends, and yet will stop and chat with ya, Im a fan for life.
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i got e pluribus funk on vinyl and were an american band on clear/gold vinyl with original stickers enclosed from a book store for $8 bucks each, what a find
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It is crazy how many good rock bands come from around Detroit, I never knew they did too.
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Out of all the albums listed, where is their 2nd release the RED one called "GRAND FUNK"? Ya gotta ad that one !!!!
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I was able to catch this band live twice. The first time was in the early 70's where I believe they played along with Foghat and Brownsville Station. I also just seen them not more then 4 years ago at the Iowa State Fair. I remember standing there listening to them and reflecting back to the day when rock really lived in the USA. They are certainly a great and true old rock n' roll band that will somehow live on forever...
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Bring me back to the days I'd stand in line to get a ticket to hear them play. Makes me feel like a kid again!
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Hey, what about the Album "Grand Funk Live". It's not listed above! As high schoolers in the early seventies,we played that record constantly! Loved it! I will always remember the simple but exciting opening words: Mark says Alright!
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