Musical Snobbery at it’s finest

Happy 60th Birthday Don Brewer….

What was it about Grand Funk that got music critics all in a lather? Never was sure about this. The group had that middle of the country hard rock/bar band sound. Mixed with the occasional classic song, extensive touring, and agressive marketing, they made good. The first I heard of them was I’m your captain/Closer to Home”, which was played a lot on KSHE-FM. (One day, I’ll write a blog on KSHE…the only station that mattered in St. Louis at the time….I’ve NEVER heard a station that good since). I loved the sound and loved the song. There would be other songs, “Feelin’ Alright”, and “Rock and Roll Soul”, that caught my attention.

In 1973, GF released, “We’re An American Band” with the help of Todd Rundgren. The title track with Don singing lead) reached No. 1 in the charts. Three big hits came over the following two years, “The Loco-Motion”, “Some Kind of Wonderful”, and “Bad Time”. Shortly thereafter they fell off the charts, broke up, came back together for two albums in the early 80’s and disbanded again, with Brewer becoming the drummer for The Silver Bullet Band.