The story of one of America's most successful bands, Grand Funk Railroad - or Grand Funk for short - is probably well known to every rock fan. What may not be so well known, however, is what happened after the trio split up. Let's let mastermind Mark Farner tell the story himself:
"It was during our reunion (1998). Don (Brewer) came to me and suggested that we form a company where each of the three of us owns a third of the name Grand Funk Railroad. That way we can each tour under the name ourselves. OK, I said, why not?! At the time I didn't think anything of it because I considered Don a friend. Unfortunately, I didn't read the fine print. It said that with a two-thirds majority you can exclude a shareholder. And that's exactly what happened. Don (Brewer) and Mel (Schacher) kicked me out of the company. Now the two of them tour as Grand Funk and play my songs and I have to perform under 'Mark Farner'."
With a handful of albums and about twice as many singles, Grand Funk played their way to the top of American hard rock bands in the early 1970s. With the exception of " The Loco-Motion ," no single managed to chart in Germany. In this country, people preferred to stick with Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath when it came to the harder sounds. It's a shame! Because their rock, interspersed with blues and funk elements, and above all the driving bass, certainly helped to expand the musical spectrum of European fans. If you want to be convinced, listen to the Stones' song " Gimme Shelter " in the Grand Funk version . But please play it LOUD!
One of Mark Farner's best and most successful compositions comes from the band's third studio album, entitled " Closer To Home ". The song is about a ship's captain who is confronted with a mutiny among his crew. We recommend the ten-minute original video here. If you prefer it live, you can find various versions on YouTube, both by Grand Funk and by Mark Farner solo.