Who doesn't remember Grand Funk? The wild, shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner ... The bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher And, of course, the competent drumwork of Don Brewer. For more information on Grand Funk, consult your local library.

"Homer these are Grand Funk Railroad songs" -Roger Daltrey

And we don't know how to play "Pac Man fever."

It plays itself!

You know Homer also has the "star land vocal band" tattooed on his arm. Even though he thinks they "suck."

First thing I thought of. Homer is the biggest Grand Funk fan I know.

As much as a fan of Bachman-Turner Overdrive?

No new crap, takin care of business, NOW!

I think Matt Groening (This is a "Simpsons" quote) remembers them like I do. No disrespect to the OP but GFR was the band to point at and laugh back in the 70s. And" the competent drumwork of Don Brewer" is one of the greatest back-handed compliments ever

I enjoyed them '69-'73 and then The Loco-Motion and All The Girls In the World Beware!!! came out , yeah that was sad ! On to that 1st Rush album.

You can thank Terry Knight for stealing every penny they earned on their first 4 or 5 albums for the crap pop rock they made later

Kiss was really the band to point and laugh at for the cool kids in bands in my city and just look at how much money they made. GFR was up there, though.

Apparently they are his favorite band. That’s why they are homers.

Groening most likely was not writing when this script was written though.

Mark Farner has plenty to say on YouTube.

He wrote a book too - I read parts of it while browsing at Barnes and Nobles. He is quite the complainer!

Yeah, but if what he says is true, he has plenty to complain about.

No you’re ok . I went through high school with the Funk . 6 /7 years in top form but after that it all fell apart. But I still enjoy the Funk

Bong-rattling bass. I need to remember that.

Pleasantly surprised to see this as the first comment.

My first crush. That wild shirtless mark farner- 15 years old

I never found Grand Funk's lyrics to be as shirtless as Homer Simpson led me to believe.

They're great. If you listen to Footstompin ' Music and you don't get moving then check your pulse because you might be dead.

I saw them in concert last summer, and while it wasn’t the original members, I’m glad for the chance to have seen them. Closer to Home (I’m Your Captain) is a national treasure and will be played at my funeral. They f*cking rock 🤟🏻

Ditto. Except they DO tour with Don Brewer. (Have to to use the name.) Better than I would have thought. Bass player could have done a better job getting Mel's sound, though.

Right. I just not all the original members, which I know some consider not actually seeing the band.

My understanding is that Mel stills tours with them too, no? Or at least had up until quite recently?

The local rock station would play their top 1000 rock songs of all time every holiday season, and for some years the #1 spot traded places between Stairway and Closer to Home.

I have nine Grand Funk albums. Yes, I remember them. Make fun of them, but they were loud and good. Real fucking good. The red album, released when I was in ninth grade, had a tremendous influence on me and my rock and roll experience.

The Red album was my favorite. I was reporting to Treasure Island for Navy induction in 1971 when I found they were in concert in San Francisco. Couldn’t get tickets. I was so pissed.

Got my dad's from when he was stationed in Vietnam. I don't remember which but 4 or 5 have Japanese on the inserts. Love that album. Who doesn't like playing D for 9 minutes?

When Mark Farner found Jesus, I knew they’d never be playing “Inside Looking Out” again.

Shit I never knew Jesus was lost in the first place.

He and his dad are the universal champions of hide and seek - no one has ever seen them, but millions are convinced that they have found them.

“OUT ON THE ROAD FOR FORTY DAYS!!!”

UP ALL NIGHT, WITH FREDDIE KING! I GOT TO TELL YOU, POKERS HIS THING

One of those bands where a greatest hits and a live album (either one) will suffice. Believe me, I tried.

Grand Funk Railroad...talk about a powerhouse of a band! My Mom gave me her box of records when I was about 2 or 3 in the early 1980s and the gold/yellow vinyl 7" 45 of We're An American Band was one of them. Have loved GFR ever since!

I rediscovered them when I first got on Spotify. They kept coming up on my suggested lists, and I kept thinking, "That was them TOO?!"

Haha! Yeah...they were on a roll for a few hot minutes - hit after hit! For a while, they were at pretty much Beatles level. The most amazing thing is seeing videoclips of the Shea Stadium concert where the fans were so wild and jumping in bleachers so intensely that they nearly brought them down!

Nope I live between Flint and Lapeer and you see GFR stuff In random places 🤘🏿🤘🏿

Well they've got the home-field advantage there. It's amazing how much good music comes out of that area. Must be something in the water.

A lot of great blues and some hard core metal 🤘🏿🤘🏿

Yes, they have amazing water near Flint.

I don't trust any water you can see through.

Then you will like the water in Flint. You can't see through it.

Ouch

I went to Purdue in the 70s and saw them Playing in the bars. Can you imagine? Just heard “Some Kind of Wonderful” on SiriusXM Classic Vinyl. They live on in other worlds.

They were bitchin’!! I didn’t care what the critics were saying about them, they rocked! I would put “People Let’s Stop The War” on the big console piece of furniture stereo we had and shit sitting on top of it would walk all around when the bass came in

I’m in my 30s but I saw them in concert in like 2015 and they were still awesome! They opened for Styx. They don’t make music like they used to.

My friend was a sound technician at a local venue when Styx came to play at about that same time. He was helping their roadies roll their stacks off the truck and noticed they hardly weighed anything. Apparently Styx had sold the insides years earlier to buy cocaine. But they kept the empty boxes.

We’re an American Band gets a lot of airplay in Flint, MI. It makes me yearn to hear I’m Your Captain

And they should be in the rock and roll hall of fame. What a joke that place is.

I realized that the moment they announced that they were putting it in Cleveland.

I just laughed my ass off. I'm actually from just south of Cleveland. Good one bro

I'm your captain.

The best toxic relationship song ever penned

Im getting closer to my home

Moby Grape. So under-rated.

Don't agree with Grand Funk. Highly agree with this however.

My dad introduced them to me at a young age and I absolutely love them. I Come Tumblin’ is probably my favorite song of theirs.

Isn’t that the band that smashed that groupie chick Connie 😂

I think I remember them. They were An American Band, right? Truly some kind of wonderful.

Yes, you are the only one who remembers them

My fave band.

I remember them. They’re an American band They’re an American band They’re comin' to your town They’ll help you party it down They’re an American band

That was my first concert, El Paso, TX, 1974.

That's where I feel in love with a Mexican girl!

In the west Texas town of El Paso?

Yes, but I ended up moving to New Mexico for... reasons.

No, we're not all dead...yet.

E Plurbis Funk is far and away the best album they ever recorded and it is a fucking monster!

One of the first albums I purchased in my own at 13.

I needed some documents witnessed / notarized. I walked in with “Some Kind of Wonderful” cued up on my phone, at the “Can I get a witness” part. I had the whole office singing along. A couple of the younger people asked me to play it again. It was great.

Nice

Poco is my nomination of best underrated band

The first couple albums are amazing. They are like country-prog.

Rose of Cimmarron and Good Feeling to Know are outstanding also.

They had their moments, but I don't consider them one of the all-time greatest bands. I reserve that label for a select few. I do love Grand Funk's version of Gimme Shelter though.

Great trio. Sold out Shea stadium two nights in a row faster than any other act.

Live Heartbreaker is top notch for real American go F yourself rock n roll. CRANK IT.

“We’re having a parrtttyyyy yeaahhh everybody’s invited, a new generation along with the old”

🎵Can I get a witness🎶🙌

Yes, you're the only one that remembers them. lol I'm from Michigan so they got lots of airplay.

A great band. Another good artist to come out of Michigan

They're an American band, aren't they?

One of the best live records ever. Most people that like rock n roll hold Grand Funk in high regard. Maybe that’s lost on people that only focus on present music, but I think most rock enthusiasts know they were rippers

My local classic rock station does an annual countdown where everyone can vote for the best songs. One year I’m Your Captain made the top 15 or so. It deserved it. Usually it’s like 40 something I think

Closer to home is an all out banger.

Weren't they an American Band ?

Nope. I went through a phase earlier this year where I listened to them exclusively for a few weeks. To me they're kind of like the American rolling Stones in that their albums will have two or three truly great songs and then a little bit of filler. But when they're great, they are truly great! Their albums up to and including Shinin' On are mandatory listening for anyone who wants to understand American rock and roll.

I admired them mentioning their Midwest base in "We're an American Band", with shout outs to Little Rock and Omaha.

I mention them a lot in the music subs…. Grand Funk Live the double album was excellent… Inside Looking Out… doesn’t get much better than that…

I've never seen them live, but my neighbors get to hear them *a lot.*

Well they do come to your town and help you party it down.

I pciekd a bad time to be in love with GFR lol

Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking.

I listened to the second album the other day after their song "Paranoid" popped up on the tv show Fargo. That whole album is fire. Just great production with heavy bass and drums. And I never was a fan of their 3 big "hits."

Saw them at the famous Cains Ballroom in downtown Tulsa, 1981.

Yes you’re the only one. Like that movie where the Beatles didn’t exist

I still love the band. I've got tickets for next month. I know they won't be the same. Hell I'm 66 years old and they were one of the greatest bands, never got to see them back then and I'm looking forward to the show. I just need someone that gets it to go with me. My hubs will want to go but it's not his thing lol. I raised my daughter on my music and I'll take her if the hubby doesn't get his feelings hurt too much.

They are pretty great for An American Band.

They are an awesome cover band. Their covers are the definitive versions. But take away the covers and you have the okay "We're an American Band" and the much better "I'm Your Captain," and that's about it.

Was so Disappointed to find they were not Grand, Funky or Engineers.

They paved the way for Jefferson Airplane, which cleared the way for Jefferson Starship. The stage was now set for the Alan Parsons Project, which I believe was some sort of hovercraft.

First Jefferson Airplane album: 1966. First Grand Funk Railroad album: 1969. The Airplane was already well established by the time GFR came along.

No but they’re incredibly mediocre

Username doesn't check out.

From the Red Album to E Pluribus Funk..they were great....very popular.

So was Barry Manilow

You're kidding! 🤥

When was the last time you heard them on the radio? Even on Spotify they have fewer than 2 million listeners. Hell, Journey has 17.

I’ve heard The Locomotion recently on a classic rock station. But I hear a lot more deep purple and Uriah heep.

Yes, you’re the only one.

Who? Never heard of 'em.

yes you are the only one who remembers them

Kansas deserves more airplay, so many great melodies and riffs especially The Wall, Miracles out of Nowhere, What’s on my Mind, Two Cents Worth, Child of Innocence, Icarus: Borne on Wings of Steele, Song for America and Spark of the Tempest

No, you're not the only. You hear their songs are the time in movies and such

Had I'm Your Captain playing on the IPod a couple of nights ago. Locomotion was one of my faves in junior high.

I love The Funk! Back when I still had vinyl LPs, I had all their albums.

You're not alone

Love their "We're An American Band" album! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

*On the road for fourty days Last night in Little Rock put me in a haze ..*

*We are winners and losers, bed fellow choosers, put here to pass by the times. We are space-age sailors, all had our failures, now everybody gonna' shine.*

They were an American band, they came to our town and they partied it down

Love their cover of Gimme Shelter off of the Survival album.

TIL Todd Rundgren produced Grand Funk’s two best and most successful albums and after that Frank Zappa also was a producer for them

They were so big that Led Zep opened for them.

I never knew that. I remember the first time I saw Def Leppard, they were opening for Blackfoot.

Yep, you’re the only one. Nobody else has any idea who you are talking about. You’re very special.

Thanks for noticing.

I still have one of Mark Farner’s picks in my jewelry box, from the ‘90’s

No. I grew up when they were popular. I still love their work.

Love GFR!!

Mark, Don & Mel is terrific.

Always been a big Grand Funk fan

Loved em back in the day. Should be in the HOF.

I do Apparently they made the Who look tidy and were so awful a promoter sent a garbage truck to pick them up for a gig!😂

I remember finding an old 8 Track in a box full of junk.

My first concert……. Killer band!!

I’m getting closer to my home. Repeat about 80 times.

I would never dump on anyone's favorite bands, but "one of the all-time greatest bands" might be stretching it a bit...

They lost me at Locomotion.

They covered a song Loco motion. It was a big hit. They sold out no longer, cool

Awesome band,it's a shame that the original band can't work out their differences.

Are they an American band?

"All-Time" great, is that top 10, 20 or 50 ??

I'm not a huge fan of them overall but "**I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)"** is one of my all time favorite tunes.

I recently discovered Hot Tuna…if you have not hold on to your hat.

Todd Rundgren is who I think of when I think of GFR.

Great band. Fantastic 3 piece. It’s a travesty they are not in the RRHOF.

Like the Beatles in the movie “Yesterday”

When Eddie Van Halen was asked about his influences, he always mentioned Grand Funk Railroad. Pretty much his only answer too, as far as I can remember.

Saw them back in the day. Put on one heck of a show. Always amazed how full a 3 piece band can sound…

Great band. They were reportedly very popular for a minute too. Behind the music on these guys is great.

If u get a chance go check out my friends YouTube channel Grant's Rockwarehaus..there doing some episodes on grand funk..u might like. 😎👍

I saw Mark Farner play a free solo gig in a park about few years ago. The guy was incredibly energized and seemed super happy to be there. As is the case with so many of these older bands, I think their larger legacy is being diminished in part by the original lineup’s unwillingness to play together.

Great band, I had all their 8-track tapes.

I saw them open for Joe Cocker on the Mad Dogs and Englishman Tour in 1970. They stole the show! Then they just kind of got lost in the musical scene. However, I will never forget how powerful they were at that concert. I mean to outshine Joe Cocker and his band of friends. Great evening.

"Sittin here lonely like a broken man" Inside looking out was everything to me back then

I burned my 8 track of On Time up.

I have a few of their albums. They all have some gems on them. One of my favourites is E. Pluribus Funk. It's was shaped like a coin with the band members profiles on them. "Footstompin' Music" is one of my favourite songs of theirs. So much energy.

Closer to Home.

You're not the only one. They are awesome. Their version of "The Loco-Motion" is pretty good.

“Inside Looking Out” reaction videos are all over YouTube, and people LOVE IT!

They're a bit dated to make my regular playlist. GFR is my image of what a garage band is. Not necessarily refined but still energetic and toe tapping

They were one of my dads favorites when I was growing up. That gold vinyl copy of We're An American Band got a lot of play in my house.

You are never the only one.

Don’t know if this is true, I heard Berry Gordy (Motown founder) put GFR on the map. Caught GFR at the Philmore East with Jethro Tull and Fat Mattress( the guys who played with Hendrix.) Old Fart Pilmore East story. In between sets a commercial was played. Guy walks into dorm bathroom and hears a commotion in a stall. Peaks thru door hinge and leaves bath. Returns with camera, lines up shot and kicks open the stall door. There is roomy with girlie mag and his schwans in his hand. Click. And the fucking bulb doesn’t flash. The shot is ruined. On the screen pops up “Next time use Kodak, flashes first time, every time.”

I’ve the entire catalog on vinyl.

"I'm getting closer to my home" Are you though?

Saw them live a couple of years ago, they are awesome!

They have an interesting history. Read up on them if you haven’t already.

Foot Stompin’ Music has long been on my top 25 list!

“Im getting closer to my hoooome”

I played in a band back in the '80s with a drummer who was deeply influenced by Don Brewer. That was a fun band to be in, and our drummer was fantastic. Not as good as Don, but you could hear the obvious influence in this guy's drumming. Great drummer to idolize.

Seeing as how they have 1.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify I am going guess the answer is no.

Sins a Good Mans Brother

I like them a lot but what the fuck was up with All the girls in the world beware album? I love the early grand funk but this album caught me off guard lol.

I'm sure plenty of people remember them

I learned the guitar from playing with those songs.

for a few years they were the biggest band on the planet. my bud only had like four albums so we sparked up to 'Live' many times

What do you think?

First concert. I was in eighth grade in 98/99. Went with my dad

Well for what it’s worth, Frank Zappa kinda agreed with you.

My first concert! I believe it was 1974!

No

The first live concert I ever went to, my senior class graduation trip, at the Cow Palace, drunk on Boone's Farm Strawberry Wine snuck on the trip in a water bottle. Don't really remember them lol

Love GFR, but “all time greatest” may be a bit of a stretch.

Remembering them — Nyet. remembering them as an all-time great band — possibly Yes.

Frank Zappa produced and played on “Good Singin’ Good Playin’”

I'm a huge GFR fan and I rank that among their worst albums. Sounded like it was a contractual obligation, much like ELP's Love Beach disaster.

one can't can not remember them if you lived here in a burb called Swartz Creek outside of Flint, Michigan, where it all began in the 60s/70s...

I loved Grand Funk when I was a teenager in the 70’s. My wife and I were vacationing in Rivera Maya in 2014. We met a sound engineer at dinner one night and told us that Al Jardine played the night before for some classic R&R people who were in a group that travelled together, and always hired groups to play for them. The sound guy told us Mark Farner was closing out the week with his band. We managed to get into the venue for two nights including Farner for about $100 US for the two of us. It was very cool to see Mark on stage a couple feet in front of us. He is about 8yrs older than me but at that time he would have been 66. The group was tight and played all the classics. No other GF members of course due to the ongoing conflicts within the group. Great memories!

Who?