Footstompin’ Music: The Grand Funk Chords

Footstompin’ Music: The Grand Funk Chords is a blog dedicated to the best in classic rock music. Featuring artist interviews, album reviews, and more, this is the ultimate destination for rock fans.

Introduction

Footstompin’ Music: The Grand Funk Chords is a comprehensive guide to the chords used in Grand Funk Railroad’s songs. It includes complete lyrics and guitar chords for over 30 of their greatest hits, including “The Loco-Motion,” “We’re an American Band,” and “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home).”

The Band

Grand Funk Railroad (also known as Grand Funk) is an American rock band that was popular during the 1970s. The band was formed on September 18, 1968, in Flint, Michigan, United States, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar) and Don Brewer (drums), who were both previously members of Terry Knight and The Pack. Bass player Mel Schacher joined soon after. Initially, Knight served as the band’s manager and producer; he was fired in early 1970 after a disastrous show at the Strawberry Fields Music Festival in Canada. Francis Dunn replaced him on keyboards in 1970. The name “Grand Funk Railroad” came from a Michigan winterscape with rusty railroad tracks covered in snow; someone had written “Grand Funk” on a freight car parked near the tracks.

The band’s popularity peaked in 1971 with their album E Pluribus Funk and the hit singles “I’m Your Captain/Closer to Home” and “We’re an American Band”. Both albums reached number one on the Billboard 200 chart. By late 1971, however, Grand Funk began to face competition from newer bands such as Alice Cooper and Stanley Clarke’s Return to Forever. Keyboardist Dunn left the band in 1972; he was replaced by Craig Frost. After releasing another album, Survival, Grand Funk shortened their name to simply Grand Funk and hired jazz trumpeter Danny Nation as a fourth member. They released two more albums – All the Girls in the World Beware!!! and Born to Die – before disbanding in 1976 due to creative differences among the members.

Farner resumed his solo career while Brewer worked as a songwriter for other artists; he also rejoined Terry Knight for several years for live performances of Terry Knight & The Pack songs until 1997 when Farner took legal action against him for trademark infringement over use of the name “The Pack”. Schacher continued playing bass with other bands throughout the 1980s but finally returned to his home town of Flint where he joined Farner’s post-2000 reunion version of Grand Funk Railroad later becoming its touring bassist after original member Dennis Bellinger died of pancreatic cancer in 2002. Bellinger’s replacement Max Carl filled in for him on vocals for one album before former Rare Earth vocalist Kevin Russell became lead singer until his own death from colon cancer 10 years later on October 30, 2011 at which point Carl once again became lead singer until 2016 when Bruce Kulick took over that role following Carl’s departure from Grand Funk Railroad due to creative differences with Farner who remains its only founding member still active today along with Mel Schacher who has been with them since day one 50 years ago making them one of only two hard rock bands whose entire classic lineup is still intact along with ZZ Top who just happens to be another of their close friends and contemporaries having played many shows with them over the years including co-headlining several stadium tours together during the mid-1970s when they were both at the peak of their popularity.

The Music

As the story goes, when Capitol Records released the group’s debut album in early 1969, the company was so sure that Grand Funk would be a colossal flop that they actually destroyed most of the copies. They needn’t have worried: “All Right Now” and “Time Machine” were massive hits (the album eventually went platinum), and despite dismissing the band as ” MUSIC | May 5, 2019
just a bunch of guys who would get up there and wail,” critics were soon forced to eat their words. Under the leadership of singer/guitarist/songwriter Mark Farner and bassist/singer Mel Schacher, with Don Brewer on drums, Grand Funk were one of the most successful rock bands of the early ’70s, selling out stadiums across America and logging 10 Top 40 singles.

The Legacy

The Grand Funk Railroad was one of the most popular rock bands of the 1970s. Their music was a blend of hard rock and blues, and their live shows were legendary. The band was formed by three Michigan-based musicians: guitarist/singer Mark Farner, bassist Mel Schacher, and drummer Don Brewer.

The band’s first album, On Time, was released in 1969. It was a commercial success, reaching the #27 spot on the Billboard 200 chart. The album’s lead single, “I’m Your Captain/Closer to Home”, became a top-10 hit in the US. The band’s follow-up album, Grand Funk (1969), was even more successful, reaching #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album’s lead single, “Locomotion”, was a massive hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The band’s third album, Survival (1971), was another commercial success, reaching #4 on the Billboard 200 chart. The album’s lead single, “We’re an American Band”, became the band’s biggest hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The band continued to release successful albums throughout the 1970s, including Phoenix (1972), We’re an American Band (1973), All The Girls in the World Beware!!! (1974), Born to Die (1975), Good Singin’, Good Playin’ (1976), and Grand Funk Lives (1981).

The band remains active to this day, and continues to tour regularly. They were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.