Don Brewer
Encyclopedia
Don Brewer is the drummer
and co-lead singer for American
rock band
Grand Funk Railroad
.
, Michigan
on September 3, 1948 and is a graduate of Swartz Creek High School.
as well as bassist Herm Jackson, guitarist Curt Johnson, and keyboardist Bobby Caldwell and formed the band Terry Knight and the Pack
. In 1967, Brewer met new guitarist Mark Farner
after Johnson left the band.
along with fellow bandmate Mark Farner
and recruited Mel Schacher
, the bassist for the hit band ? and the Mysterians, and formed Grand Funk Railroad
. They hired Terry Knight
as their manager. In 1973, Grand Funk released the album "We're An American Band," featuring the hit song "We're An American Band
". This track, written and sung by Brewer, was the band's first #1 single. Still popular, the song has since been recorded by other artists. In addition to playing drums for Grand Funk, Brewer also provided lead vocals for a number of songs. This is evidenced by the first and third verses of the song "Some Kind Of Wonderful
". Brewer was the baritone
lead singer for the group, in contrast to the tenor vocals of Mark Farner
.
In 1977, following the initial breakup of Grand Funk, Brewer and former Grand Funk bandmates Mel Schacher
and Craig Frost
formed a new band named "Flint". Flint released one self-titled album before disbanding. In 1981, Brewer and Farner resurrected Grand Funk for an album that cracked the Billboard albums chart. Two years later, they split again and Brewer joined Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band
. He also continued in other musical endeavors, including producing for the band The Godz. In 1996 Brewer, Schacher, and Farner reunited as Grand Funk, and were eventually named one of Pollstar's top-grossing acts of 1998. Farner decided to leave the band at the end of 1998 to resume his solo career. In 2000, Brewer and Schacher added vocalist Max Carl
, former KISS
guitarist Bruce Kulick
and keyboardist Tim Cashion
to the line-up.
. In 2000, Don performed as a guest clinician at Modern Drummer
Magazine's annual Drum Festival event, where he was honored as one of the most influential drummers in the history of rock. In 2006 Brewer rejoined the Silver Bullet Band for their 2006-07 tour, it was his first appearance with the band since he played for them on their 1983 tour. He is also playing with them on Seger's 2011 tour.
with his wife Sunny Quinn, who is a 23-year radio veteran from South Florida. They met while Brewer was on tour with Bob Seger
as the drummer for the Silver Bullet Band. At the time, Sunny was married to the bass
player for Michael Bolton
who was touring with them.
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
and co-lead singer for American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
.
Early life
Brewer was born in FlintFlint
Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks and limestones. Inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white, or brown in colour, and...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
on September 3, 1948 and is a graduate of Swartz Creek High School.
Early career
Brewer joined his first band, called The Red Devils, at the age of 12. After leaving "The Red Devils", Brewer joined another band named the "Jazzmasters" for whom he played drums and sang vocals. In 1964, Brewer joined former DJ Terry KnightTerry Knight
Terry Knight , born Richard Terrance Knapp, was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality, who enjoyed some success in radio, modest success as a singer, but phenomenal success as the original manager-producer for Grand Funk Railroad and the...
as well as bassist Herm Jackson, guitarist Curt Johnson, and keyboardist Bobby Caldwell and formed the band Terry Knight and the Pack
Terry Knight and the Pack
Terry Knight and the Pack was, between 1965 and 1967, an American rock band from Flint, Michigan. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label throughout its short recording career.-Career:...
. In 1967, Brewer met new guitarist Mark Farner
Mark Farner
Mark Fredrick Farner is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad, and later as a Contemporary Christian Musician.-Early life and career:...
after Johnson left the band.
Grand Funk Railroad
In 1968 Brewer left Terry Knight and the PackTerry Knight and the Pack
Terry Knight and the Pack was, between 1965 and 1967, an American rock band from Flint, Michigan. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label throughout its short recording career.-Career:...
along with fellow bandmate Mark Farner
Mark Farner
Mark Fredrick Farner is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad, and later as a Contemporary Christian Musician.-Early life and career:...
and recruited Mel Schacher
Mel Schacher
Mel Schacher is best known as the bassist for rock band Grand Funk Railroad.- Early career :Schacher was born in Flint, Michigan. He became interested in music at the age of seven playing with his father's banjo. By age twelve he had moved to playing guitar and then bass...
, the bassist for the hit band ? and the Mysterians, and formed Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad
Grand Funk Railroad is an American rock band that was highly popular during the 1970s. Grand Funk Railroad toured constantly to packed arenas worldwide. A popular take on the band during its heyday was that, although the critics hated them, audiences loved them...
. They hired Terry Knight
Terry Knight
Terry Knight , born Richard Terrance Knapp, was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality, who enjoyed some success in radio, modest success as a singer, but phenomenal success as the original manager-producer for Grand Funk Railroad and the...
as their manager. In 1973, Grand Funk released the album "We're An American Band," featuring the hit song "We're An American Band
We're an American Band
We're An American Band is the seventh studio album by American hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad, credited as Grand Funk. The album was released by Capitol Records on July 15, 1973 and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America a little over a month after its release. Two...
". This track, written and sung by Brewer, was the band's first #1 single. Still popular, the song has since been recorded by other artists. In addition to playing drums for Grand Funk, Brewer also provided lead vocals for a number of songs. This is evidenced by the first and third verses of the song "Some Kind Of Wonderful
Some Kind of Wonderful (Soul Brothers Six song)
"Some Kind of Wonderful" is a song written by John Ellison. It was first recorded in 1967 by the American group Soul Brothers Six, peaking at number ninety-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
". Brewer was the baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
lead singer for the group, in contrast to the tenor vocals of Mark Farner
Mark Farner
Mark Fredrick Farner is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for Grand Funk Railroad, and later as a Contemporary Christian Musician.-Early life and career:...
.
In 1977, following the initial breakup of Grand Funk, Brewer and former Grand Funk bandmates Mel Schacher
Mel Schacher
Mel Schacher is best known as the bassist for rock band Grand Funk Railroad.- Early career :Schacher was born in Flint, Michigan. He became interested in music at the age of seven playing with his father's banjo. By age twelve he had moved to playing guitar and then bass...
and Craig Frost
Craig Frost
Craig Frost is the keyboardist for Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. However, he is best known as keyboardist for 1970s hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad....
formed a new band named "Flint". Flint released one self-titled album before disbanding. In 1981, Brewer and Farner resurrected Grand Funk for an album that cracked the Billboard albums chart. Two years later, they split again and Brewer joined Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
. He also continued in other musical endeavors, including producing for the band The Godz. In 1996 Brewer, Schacher, and Farner reunited as Grand Funk, and were eventually named one of Pollstar's top-grossing acts of 1998. Farner decided to leave the band at the end of 1998 to resume his solo career. In 2000, Brewer and Schacher added vocalist Max Carl
Max Carl
Max Carl Gronenthal is an American rock singer, keyboardist, guitarist and songwriter. He is the current lead singer of the classic rock band Grand Funk Railroad...
, former KISS
KISS (band)
Kiss is an American rock band formed in New York City in January 1973. Well-known for its members' face paint and flamboyant stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s on the basis of their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting,...
guitarist Bruce Kulick
Bruce Kulick
Bruce Howard Kulick is an American guitarist, musician and a member of the band Grand Funk Railroad. Previously, Kulick had been a longtime member of the band Kiss....
and keyboardist Tim Cashion
Tim Cashion
Tim Cashion is the current keyboardist for the classic-rock band Grand Funk Railroad. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina.His father played acoustic guitar and wrote country songs, and recorded 78rpm singles, played with his friends in a local band. His mother was the pianist at the local...
to the line-up.
Other drumming
Brewer was featured in Classic Rock Drum Solos, performing a solo from when he and Grand Funk Railroad filled up Shea StadiumShea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
. In 2000, Don performed as a guest clinician at Modern Drummer
Modern Drummer
Modern Drummer is a monthly publication targeting the interests of on drummers and percussionists. The magazine features interviews, equipment reviews, and columns offering advice on technique, as well as information for the general public...
Magazine's annual Drum Festival event, where he was honored as one of the most influential drummers in the history of rock. In 2006 Brewer rejoined the Silver Bullet Band for their 2006-07 tour, it was his first appearance with the band since he played for them on their 1983 tour. He is also playing with them on Seger's 2011 tour.
Personal life
Brewer resides in Jupiter, FloridaJupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
with his wife Sunny Quinn, who is a 23-year radio veteran from South Florida. They met while Brewer was on tour with Bob Seger
Bob Seger
Robert Clark "Bob" Seger is an American rock and roll singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist.As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s...
as the drummer for the Silver Bullet Band. At the time, Sunny was married to the bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player for Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton
Michael Bolton is an American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the hard rock and heavy metal genres from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, both on his early solo albums and those recorded as the frontman of the band Blackjack...
who was touring with them.