Music like Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
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Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in Flint, Michigan, in 1969. The band achieved peak popularity during the 1970s with the hit songs "We're an American Band", "I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)", "Some Kind of Wonderful", "The Loco-Motion" and "Inside Looking Out" (cover of the Animals).
Known for their 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 band's name is a play on words of the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a line that runs through the band's hometown of Flint, Michigan.
Grand Funk Railroad was formed as a trio in 1969 by Mark Farner (guitar, keyboards, harmonica, vocals) and Don Brewer (drums, vocals) from Terry Knight and the Pack, and Mel Schacher (bass) from Question Mark & the Mysterians. Knight soon became the band's manager and also named the band as a play on words for the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a well-known rail line in Michigan. First achieving recognition at the 1969 Atlanta International Pop Festival, the band was signed by Capitol Records. 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 own popular style. In August 1969 the band released its first album titled On Time, which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold record in 1970.