Talk:Grand Funk Railroad

Untitled
There needs to be a correction made to the 'GFR line-up' box, but I don't see the edit tab for it. For the years 1981-1983, it shows Craig Frost as in the band - Frost was definitely NOT in the band during these years. Farner and Lance Duncan Ong are officially credited (on the 1981 and 1983 albums) with keyboards for this period. For the years 1981-1983, Frost was a member of The Silver Bullet band.

What goes around comes around
And Terry Knight had it coming.

"I fail to see what the above comment has to do with the article. Considering that the man was murdered, and his murder is completely irrelevant to the subject of the article, it is in extremely bad taste at best. ElfNinosMom 04:18, 28 September 2006 (UTC)"

Flint, Michigan
do we really need to know that it's working class, or auto industrial?

Inncorect Link To A Band
In the article, in the section referring to what happened to the band after the breakup, it was said that "Brewer and Schacher formed Flint with the addition of Billy Ellworthy," but the link to the band Flint is to a different band that never had either Brewer or Schacher.

I'm WAY too new to attempt to correct this myself, so I was wondering if one of you good folk could look into it.

Sugarat99 16:52, 8 August 2006 (UTC)Sugarat99

"I removed the incorrect link.ElfNinosMom 05:58, 28 September 2006 (UTC)"

if this is a power-trio, as stated in the first sentence of the article, why are there 5 members shown in the main photo? either change the photo or remove "power-trio". Kingturtle 14:10, 4 November 2006 (UTC)

If I did this wrong, please forgive me as I am a neophyte. I seem to remember that there was bad blood between Terry Knight and GFR and it resulted in Terry Knight releasing the compilation album "Mark, Don and Mel" without the cooperation of the band. I believe this is why you cannot purchase that album on CD. ReverieHikes 00:18, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Not even a mention of the Simpsons reference?
This band was mentioned extensively in the Simpsons episode Homerpalooza, and doesn't even get a mention in the article - I really don't know if this says more about the band, or the article.--Macca7174 03:59, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Mir san a bayrische band?
I wonder if German Rock group Spider Murphy Gangs song "Mir san a Bayrische Band" (We are a Bavarian Band) refers to "We are an American Band". Comments anyone? 82.145.234.188 19:28, 23 September 2007 (UTC)

I translated the lyrics from "Mir san a bayrische band" with a translator website, and half of what resulted was gibberish. It is about a rock & roll band, and the gibberish could be making some braggadocio claims, the same as We're An American Band, but I simply can't tell definitively. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ron.cole (talk • contribs) 22:22, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

Maybe ''Wir sind ein Bayerische Band? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.189.141.88 (talk) 21:16, 11 March 2017 (UTC)

Spinal tap
Were GFR one of the groups that Spinal Tap were modelled on? I realise the main one is Black Sabbath. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.102.16.140 (talk) 09:33, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Answer -

The bands concept, created by Rob Reiner and the actors who portrayed members of the band in 1979, was really meant to be a parody of rock bands in general, especially Led Zepplin, Rolling Stones, etc. It was more about the rock lifestyle than any one band in particular.

A number of Spinal Tap's songs cover identical subjects to renowned songs by other bands. For example, "Gimme Some Money" is similar to the Beatles' "Money (That's What I Want)" (and its appearance in This Is Spinal Tap is a parody of the Beatles' famous appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show) and "Big Bottom" is similar to Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls." The subtext is that Spinal Tap is so unoriginal they do not just imitate other bands' sounds, but their subject matter as well. "Big Bottom" features three bass guitars.

Derek Small's on-stage incident where he is trapped within a plastic clamshell is a parody of the same incident at a Yes concert where drummer Alan White was trapped in a similar prop and had to be cut free.

"The Drummer's Curse," where every drummer that plays with the band dies in mysterious or inexplicable circumstances is based on the Grateful Dead's 4 dead keyboard players[citation needed] (from alcoholism, a car crash, drug overdose and suicide) and/or the Allman Brothers Band's 3 dead bass players (mortorcycle crash, Agent Orange-induced cancer, and unknown circumstances). However, in a tragic case of life imitating art, the rock band Toto's former drummer Jeff Porcaro died from an allergic reaction to a pesticide he was using in his yard.

Tufnel's use of a violin in some guitar solos is based on Jimmy Page's occasional use of a violin bow in Led Zeppelin gigs.

Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin was asked in an interview by Rolling Stone what scenes in Spinal Tap hit home. He replied: "Getting lost on the way to the stage. That was us, playing in Baltimore. It took twenty-five minutes to do the hundred yards from our Holiday Inn through the kitchen to the arena."

On a concert in the late 80's, the members of Kiss got lost on their way to the stage, just like Spınal Tap did in the film This Is Spinal Tap

Nigel Tufnel is based upon Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, who were both members of The Yardbirds. Nigel's physical appearance resembles Beck, and his name ("Nigel Tufnel") is a convoluted reference to Clapton.

Slightly revised from the following Source: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080412124909AABYXIO which references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_Tap — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gmeades (talk • contribs) 18:39, 30 June 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the detailed response. I'm confused, though, what does 1979 refer to? According to the "This is Spinal Tap" wikipedia page, they started in 1978 "Michael McKean and Christopher Guest met while in college in New York City in the late 1960s, and played music together. They worked with Harry Shearer and Rob Reiner on a TV pilot in 1978 for a sketch comedy show called The TV Show, which featured a parody rock band called Spinal Tap." Thanks. FiggazWithAttitude (talk) 15:05, 8 January 2019 (UTC)

'Heavy metal' tag necessary?
While I personally think this is an accurate description of some of their early work (and they were certainly considered part of it during that time), I'm not sure if it's particularly neutral to include this in their genre tags. (Albert Mond (talk) 02:18, 5 March 2010 (UTC))

Incorrect claim by the writer of this article
The writer claims that "In 1970, they sold more albums than any other American band..." However, a quick check at Wikipedia's website "Albums from the Year 1970" (http://tsort.info/music/ay1970.htm) shows three albums released by Grand Funk in 1970, totaling 5 platinum sales combined. If you look at just two other artists, you can see that this is simply not accurate. Simon & Garfunkel, at #1 on this chart, totaled 8 platinum. And, the two albums released by CCR that year totaled 6 platinum. I didn't take the time to check any other entries. But, since the writer gave no reference to this claim, and since Wikipedia's own website Albums from the Year 1970 contradict the claim, one must assume that the writer had no facts for this statement, only subjective conjecture.

What else on this page is also inaccurate? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ron.cole (talk • contribs) 22:14, 1 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I did some research on this - checking Billboard amongst other sites - and have removed this claim as unsubstantiated. Grand Funk is not mentioned among the top 5 artists in sales for the year 1970. Simon and Garfunkel were indeed at number one and Santana was in the top five. Any way you approach it, that puts Grand Funk out of the running. If someone can come up with a source which can be cited to support the claim of top album sales, please feel free to put the info back in.THX1136 (talk) 19:15, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

Mark Farner "Leaving the Band" to continue his solo career.not quite accurate...
The information in the article appears to be inaccurate concerning Mark Farners departure from the reunited band.

in a 2011 interview posted on YouTube, Mark Farner, Tells How His Drummer Sucker Punched Him Out Of Grand Funk Railroad - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJFt-uNfPQQ

I wouldn't want to try to edit the article to reflect this more accurate information, as I'm not sure just how to word it or provide a link to the YouTube interview. I suppose it would have to say something like "According to Mark Farner, his departure from the reunited band in 1998 was a result of his bandmates asking him to sign a contract which they misrepresented, giving them 2/3 and therefore majority share in the corporation, and allowing them to throw him out of the band"

In any case, I'm hoping someone who's more familiar with editing wiki will see this entry and will do the proper updating. Mark Farner is such a good and honest guy, and I really hate to see his departure from the band misrepresented as if it was simply his choice alone to leave the reunited band, as can clearly be seen in the interview.

Thanks... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Gmeades (talk • contribs) 18:05, 30 June 2013 (UTC)

NPOV issue with Critical Acclaim section which I change to "Critical appraisal"` for NPOV reasons.
The "Critical appraisal" section (formally "Critical acclaim") has NPOV issue. First, I change the title of the section because the contents didn't completely support the notion of "Critical acclaim" for the band but rather more about notability, good or bad, plus much critical opinion of the band by music critics in the 70's was bad not acclaim. The new title better allows for critical opinion on the bad that's both good and bad. The fact is this section ignore the reputation they have with music critics of being one of the most disliked bands among critics of the era despite there mass popularity. The fact is that the band overall is very polarizing among rock fans these days, even though were popular at the time. Thus we really should include critical opinion on the band both from the 70's and present, good and bad (were there any positive reviews from music critics during the 70's?). The only statement currently included in the section that reads "You cannot talk about rock in the 1970s without talking about Grand Funk Railroad!" only suggests they were a notable and popular band of the era without really saying anything about whether they were any good or not. Here are some links that can be a starting point for discussing the critical views of GFR in the 70's in the article: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/grand-funk-railroad-is-this-band-terrible-41111/ https://revuewm.com/music/on-tour/item/2809-grand-funk-outlives-its-critics https://ultimateclassicrock.com/grand-funk-railroad-lawsuits/ --Notcharliechaplin (talk) 04:48, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Reasons for "Critical acclaim" section title change to "Legacy".
After looking at a number of classic rock bands wikipedia articles among other long time music bands, I determined that it's most common to discuss their place in music history, critical opinion )past and present", popularity, etc. in a "Legacy" section rather than a "Critical acclaim" section. That tends to be reserved more for article about particular albums that were/are critically acclaimed. And by the way, I do not need to seek consensus for a section title change unless there is evidence that iot is or will be especially controversial. Wikipedia calls this style of editing "Being bold". If there is reasons why any thinks the old title is better then explain your reasoning, rather then simply reverting it due to supposed lack of consensus. This article does not appear to a very actively edited one at this time so I doubt edit will cause much fuss but I welcome anyone to share why the think the old section title was better. If your going to include a section on ""Critical acclaim" then you better be able to quote a number of critics that express eclaim of the band and not have many critics who hated the band 9as you did with GFR back in the 70's. A legacy section allows for both critical acclaim and disdain as well info on how they remained very popular among the general public despite many critics of the time hating them.--Notcharliechaplin (talk) 05:14, 19 April 2020 (UTC)

Mark Farner
R…U…F…ing serious? THE founder, leader, lead vocalist, main songwriter, and glue that held it all together, is not mentioned!!! 2601:3C3:4100:AB10:392B:BD1D:2DCF:5D37 (talk) 05:32, 23 October 2022 (UTC)


 * False. Farner is featured in the article. HammerFilmFan (talk) 13:52, 10 February 2023 (UTC)