Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969 by Mark Farner, Don Brewer and Mel Schacher. The band achieved peak popularity and success during the 1970s with hit songs such as "We're an American Band", "I'm Your Captain ", "Some Kind of Wonderful", "Walk Like a Man", "The Loco-Motion", "Bad Time" and "Inside Looking Out". Grand Funk released six platinum and seven gold-certified albums between their recording debut in 1969 and their first disbandment in 1976.
Known for a crowd-pleasing arena rock style, the band toured extensively and played to packed arenas worldwide, and was well-regarded by audiences despite a relative lack of critical praise. The original trio reunited at various times later into the band's career; after Farner's final departure in 1998, Brewer and Schacher have continued touring as Grand Funk Railroad.
History
Formation (1969)
Grand Funk Railroad was formed as a trio in 1969 by Mark Farner and Don Brewer from Terry Knight and the Pack and Mel Schacher from Question Mark & the Mysterians. Terry Knight, after being approached by Brewer, soon became the band's manager and also named the band originally "Grand Trunk Railroad" as a play on words for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a well-known rail line in Michigan. The railroad objected to using their name, and the band was forced to change the name to Grand Funk Railroad.Mark Farner talks of the circumstances leading up to the formation of Grand Funk Railroad:
The band first achieved recognition at the 1969 Atlanta International Pop Festival after their local promoter, Jeep Holland, got them the slot for no monetary compensation, and after opening the first day, the band went down so well that they were invited to appear on all three days. This exposure proved to be invaluable, and the band was signed by Capitol Records, where their manager, Terry Knight, was working as an A&R person. After a raucous, well-received set on the first day of the festival, Grand Funk was asked back to play at the 1970 Atlanta International Pop Festival II the following year. Patterned after hard-rock power trios such as Cream, the band, with Terry Knight's marketing savvy, developed its popular style.
In August 1969 the band released its first album, titled On Time, which sold over 1,000,000 copies and was awarded a gold record in 1970. The album topped the American album charts.
In February 1970 a second album, Grand Funk, was awarded gold status less than 2 months after its release. Despite critical pans and little airplay, the group's first eight albums were quite successful.
Early 1970s
The hit single "I'm Your Captain ", from the album Closer to Home, released in June 1970, was considered stylistically representative of Terry Knight and the Pack's recordings. In the spring of 1970, Knight launched an intensive advertising campaign to promote the album Closer to Home. That album was certified multiplatinum despite a lack of critical approval. The band spent $100,000 on a New York City Times Square billboard to advertise Closer to Home.By 1971, Grand Funk equaled the Beatles' Shea Stadium attendance record but sold out the venue in just 72 hours, whereas the Beatles concert took a few weeks to sell out. Following Closer to Home, the double disc Live Album was also released later in 1970 and was another gold disc recipient. Survival and E Pluribus Funk were both released in 1971. E Pluribus Funk celebrated the Shea Stadium show with an embossed depiction of the stadium on the album cover's reverse.
By late 1971, the band was concerned with Knight's managerial style and fiscal responsibility. This growing dissatisfaction led Grand Funk Railroad to fire Knight in March 1972. Knight sued for breach of contract, which resulted in a protracted legal battle. Knight even showed up to repossess the band's gear before a benefit gig for the drug rehab Phoenix House at Madison Square Garden on December 23, 1972. But the band's new lawyer, John Eastman, was able to convince Knight to wait until after the show, to avoid a potential riot of fans. The show went ahead and was taped for the ABC show In Concert. In VH1's Behind the Music Grand Funk Railroad episode, Knight stated that the original contract would have run out in about three months and that the wise decision for the band would have been to wait out the time. However, at that moment, the band members felt they had no choice but to continue and fight for the rights to their careers and name. The legal battle with Knight lasted 2 years and ended when the band settled out of court. Knight became the clear winner with the copyrights and publisher's royalties to every Grand Funk recording made from March 1969 through March 1972, not to mention an enormous payoff in cash and oil wells. Farner, Brewer, and Schacher were given the rights to the name Grand Funk Railroad.
In 1972 Grand Funk Railroad added former Fabulous Pack bandmate Craig Frost on keyboards full-time. Originally, the band had attempted to attract Peter Frampton, late of Humble Pie; however, he was not available due to signing a solo record deal with A&M Records. The addition of Frost, however, was a stylistic shift from Grand Funk's original garage-band-based rock and roll roots to a more rhythm & blues/pop rock-oriented style. With the new lineup, Grand Funk released Phoenix, its sixth album of original music, in September 1972.
The band's road manager Andy Caviliere and his wife, director/promoter/photographer Lynn Goldsmith, took over as managers from Terry Knight and Goldsmith was able to secure veteran musician Todd Rundgren as a producer. With the band's name shortened to Grand Funk, its two most successful albums and two number-one hit singles resulted: the Don Brewer-penned "We're an American Band" and "The Loco-Motion". "We're an American Band" became Grand Funk's first number-one hit on Farner's 25th birthday, followed by Brewer's number-19 hit "Walk Like a Man". "The Loco-Motion" in 1974 was Grand Funk's second chart-topping single, followed by Brewer's number-11 hit "Shinin' On". The band continued touring the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
Mid-1970s
In 1974 Grand Funk engaged Jimmy Ienner as producer and reverted to using their full name: Grand Funk Railroad. The cover of All the Girls in the World Beware!!! depicted the band members' heads superimposed on the bodies of bodybuilders Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu. This album spawned the band's last two top-10 hits, "Some Kind of Wonderful" and "Bad Time" in late 1974/early 1975.Although they were highly successful in the mid-1970s, tensions mounted within the band due to personal issues, burn-out, and disputes over musical direction. Despite these issues, Grand Funk forged ahead. Needing 2 more albums to complete their record deal with Capitol, Grand Funk embarked on a major tour and decided to record a double live album, Caught in the Act.
The double album should have fulfilled the contract with Capitol; however, because it contained previously released material, Capitol requested an additional album to complete Grand Funk's contractual obligation. While pressures between the band members still existed, they agreed to move forward and complete one more album for Capitol to avoid legalities similar to those they endured with Terry Knight in 1972. The band recorded Born to Die, but its lower sales and lack of hit singles disappointed the group. They began to drift apart, and rumours of a breakup were circulating.
However, Grand Funk found new life from interest by Frank Zappa in producing the band. Signing with MCA Records, the resulting album Good Singin', Good Playin', although it netted them some of their best critical reviews ever, yielded little success. After this, a disillusioned Grand Funk Railroad disbanded in earnest in late 1976. Farner recalled what happened then: "Things were disenfranchised within the band. I don't want to speculate about what was going on in Brewer's life—his first wife died, and that was rough—but one day he walked into the studio and said, 'I've had it. I need to find something to do with my life that's more stable.' He was done. He walked out and slammed the door. It was him, not me. Everybody thinks I broke the band up, but it was him."
First disbanding, 1976–1981; new lineup in the early 1980s
Following the breakup, Farner began a solo career and signed with Atlantic Records, which resulted in two albums: Mark Farner and No Frills. Brewer, Schacher and Frost remained together and formed the band Flint. Flint released one 1978 album on Columbia Records; a second record was finished but never released.In 1981 Grand Funk Railroad reunited after being approached by their former manager Andy Cavaliere. The reunion took place without Frost and with Dennis Bellinger replacing Schacher on bass. Schacher begged off saying he had developed a fear of flying but later admitted that he had no longer wanted to be involved with Cavaliere.
The new lineup released two albums on Irving Azoff's Full Moon label, distributed by Warner Bros. Records. These releases included Grand Funk Lives and What's Funk?. Neither album achieved much in the way of critical acclaim or sales; but the single "Queen Bee" was included in the film Heavy Metal and its soundtrack album.
The band toured in 1981 and 1982 with Rick Baker joining them on the road to play keyboards. But the dismal sales of Grand Funk Lives and the death of manager Caviliere in 1982 caused the group to disband a second time in early 1983, shortly after What's Funk? was released.