Formed in 1969, Flint, Michigan-based Grand Funk Railroad became one of the most successful hard rock bands of the 1970s. Guitarist-songwriter Mark Farner and drummer Don Brewer recruited bassist Mel Schacher, and the band, which was named for Michigan’s famous Grand Trunk Railroad, had its debut performance at the Atlanta Pop Festival. They signed with Capitol Records, and though they were largely ignored by radio, their intense touring schedule and simple blues-rock formula sent their first two releases, On Time (1969) and Grand Funk (1970), up the charts. Their third album, 1970’s Closer to Home, went multiplatinum. Grand Funk fired their manager, Terry Knight, in 1972 and spent much of that year in court fighting his lawsuits. Keyboardist Craig Frost joined the group in 1972 for Phoenix, and the next year they shortened their name to Grand Funk for the Todd Rundgren-produced We’re an American Band, which went platinum and yielded the No. 1 single of the same name. They continued to produce hits with their next three albums, Shinin’ On (1974), All the Girls in the World Beware (1974) and Born to Die (1975), and in ’75 they released the Frank Zappa-produced Good Singin’, Good Playin’. Grand Funk broke up in 1976 and reformed in 1981 to release two albums before disbanding again. They reunited in 1997 for the live benefit album Bosnia. A three-disc box set, Thirty Years of Funk: 1969-1999, followed, and the band toured the U.S. in 2001 and 2002.

Reviews

• Live: The 1971 Tour
• E Pluribus Funk/Survival/Phoenix/We're an American Band

Features

• Greatest Songs Ever: “We're an American Band”