Mark Farner
Encyclopedia
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 Music
ian.
and The Pack (1965–1966), The Bossmen (1966), The Pack (aka The Fabulous Pack) (1967–1968), before forming Grand Funk Railroad
with Don Brewer
(drums) and Mel Schacher
(bass guitar
) in 1969. Craig Frost
(keyboards) joined the band in 1973. Farner has Cherokee
ancestry deriving from his maternal side.
".
Grand Funk's "We're An American Band
" reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 on Mark's 25th birthday on September 29, 1973.
and What's Funk?
. Farner went solo again with 1988's Just Another Injustice on Frontline Records
. His third Frontline release was 1991's Some Kind of Wonderful, which featured a revamped version of the Grand Funk classic of the same name
. Farner enjoyed success with the John Beland composition "Isn't it Amazing", which earned him a Dove Award nomination and reached No. 2 on the Contemporary Christian music
charts.
In the 1990s, Farner formed Lismark Communications with former Freedom Reader editor Steve Lisuk. Soon after, Farner began reissuing his solo albums on his own record label
, LisMark Records.
Farner toured with Ringo Starr
's Allstars from 1994 to 1995, which also featured Randy Bachman
, John Entwistle
, Felix Cavaliere
, Billy Preston
, and Starr's son, Zak Starkey
.
In the late 1990s, Farner reunited with Grand Funk, but left after three years to resume his solo career. He currently tours with his band, N′rG, which plays a mixture of Grand Funk songs and Farner's solo offerings.
Elders Honor Mark in 1999. During the concert in Hankinson, North Dakota
, a special presentation was held honoring Mark's Native
ancestry and his contributions. Members of the Lakota Nation presented him with a hand-made ceremonial quilt
. He has also been honored with the Cherokee Medal of Honor by the Cherokee
Honor Society.
An authorized biography of Farner, entitled From Grand Funk to Grace, was published in 2001.
in September 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for 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...
, and later as a Contemporary Christian Music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
ian.
Early life and career
Farner began his career in music by playing in 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...
and The Pack (1965–1966), The Bossmen (1966), The Pack (aka The Fabulous Pack) (1967–1968), before forming 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...
with Don Brewer
Don Brewer
Don Brewer is the drummer and co-lead singer for American rock band Grand Funk Railroad.- Early life :Brewer was born in Flint, Michigan on September 3, 1948 and is a graduate of Swartz Creek High School....
(drums) and 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...
(bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
) in 1969. 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....
(keyboards) joined the band in 1973. Farner has Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
ancestry deriving from his maternal side.
With Grand Funk
Farner was the guitarist and lead singer for Grand Funk Railroad as well as the songwriter for most of their material. His best known composition is the 1970 epic "I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)
"I'm Your Captain " is an epic 1970 song written by American musician Mark Farner and recorded by Grand Funk Railroad as the closing track to their album Closer to Home. Ten minutes in duration, it is the band's longest studio recording. One of the group's best-known songs, it is composed as two...
".
Grand Funk's "We're An American Band
We're an American Band (song)
"We're an American Band" is a 1973 song by the band Grand Funk Railroad. It was the group's first number one single. Written by Don Brewer and produced by Todd Rundgren, the huge chart success of this single broadened Grand Funk's appeal to a much wider audience...
" reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 on Mark's 25th birthday on September 29, 1973.
Post-Grand Funk
After Grand Funk initially disbanded in 1976, Farner released his first self titled solo album in 1977, and his second, No Frills, in 1978 (both Atlantic Records). In 1981, Farner and Don Brewer launched a new Grand Funk line-up and recorded two albums, Grand Funk LivesGrand Funk Lives
Grand Funk Lives is a 1981 album by Grand Funk Railroad. It was their first album since disbanding in 1976. Although known as a reunion album, it did not feature bassist Mel Schacher or keyboard player Craig Frost.-Track listing:...
and What's Funk?
What's Funk?
-Track listing:# "Rock & Roll American Style" – 4:29# "Nowhere to Run" – 2:39# "Innocent" – 3:05# "Still Waitin'" – 4:05# "Borderline" – 2:56# "El Salvador" – 4:11# "It's a Man's World" – 4:54# "I'm So True" – 4:10# "Don't Lie to Me" – 4:18...
. Farner went solo again with 1988's Just Another Injustice on Frontline Records
Frontline Records (1980s)
Frontline Records was a Christian record label founded in 1986 by James Kempner. The label focused primarily on modern rock, rap, and hip-hop...
. His third Frontline release was 1991's Some Kind of Wonderful, which featured a revamped version of the Grand Funk classic of the same name
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...
. Farner enjoyed success with the John Beland composition "Isn't it Amazing", which earned him a Dove Award nomination and reached No. 2 on the Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
charts.
In the 1990s, Farner formed Lismark Communications with former Freedom Reader editor Steve Lisuk. Soon after, Farner began reissuing his solo albums on his own record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, LisMark Records.
Farner toured with Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
's Allstars from 1994 to 1995, which also featured Randy Bachman
Randy Bachman
Randolph Charles "Randy" Bachman, OC, OM is a Canadian musician best known as lead guitarist, songwriter and a founding member for both the 1960s–70s rock band The Guess Who, and the 1970s rock band Bachman–Turner Overdrive...
, John Entwistle
John Entwistle
John Alec Entwistle was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer, horn player, and film and record producer who was best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players...
, Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere is an American songwriter, singer, music producer, and musician.Although he was a member of Joey Dee and His Starlighters best known for their hit "Peppermint Twist", he is best known for his association with The Young Rascals during the 1960s. The other members of The Rascals...
, Billy Preston
Billy Preston
William Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
, and Starr's son, Zak Starkey
Zak Starkey
Zak Starkey is an English rock drummer. He is the son of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Starr's first wife Maureen Starkey Tigrett. He is also well known for his unofficial membership in the English rock band The Who, with whom he has performed and recorded since 1996. He is also the third...
.
In the late 1990s, Farner reunited with Grand Funk, but left after three years to resume his solo career. He currently tours with his band, N′rG, which plays a mixture of Grand Funk songs and Farner's solo offerings.
Other interests
Farner was honored with the Lakota SiouxSioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
Elders Honor Mark in 1999. During the concert in Hankinson, North Dakota
Hankinson, North Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,058 people, 454 households, and 261 families residing in the city. The population density was 756.5 people per square mile . There were 524 housing units at an average density of 374.7 per square mile...
, a special presentation was held honoring Mark's Native
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
ancestry and his contributions. Members of the Lakota Nation presented him with a hand-made ceremonial quilt
Quilt
A quilt is a type of bed cover, traditionally composed of three layers of fiber: a woven cloth top, a layer of batting or wadding and a woven back, combined using the technique of quilting. “Quilting” refers to the technique of joining at least two fabric layers by stitches or ties...
. He has also been honored with the Cherokee Medal of Honor by the Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
Honor Society.
An authorized biography of Farner, entitled From Grand Funk to Grace, was published in 2001.
In popular culture
Mark Farner was mentioned in episode 9 of season 8 of the HBO comedy series Curb Your EnthusiasmCurb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is an American comedy television series produced and broadcast by HBO, which premiered on October 15, 2000. As of 2011, it has completed 80 episodes over eight seasons. The series was created by Seinfeld co-creator Larry David, who stars as a fictionalized version of himself...
in September 2011.
Discography
- Mark Farner, 1977
- Monumental Funk, 1977 (with Don Brewer)
- No Frills, 1978
- Just Another Injustice, 1988
- Wake Up, 1989
- Some Kind of Wonderful, 1991
- Closer to Home, 1992
- Heirlooms, 2000
- Red White and Blue Forever, 2002
- Live!! N'rG, 2003
- For the People, 2006