Sept. 3: Donald Brewer, drummer for Grand Funk Railroad is 62 today.

During the 1970s, Grand Funk Railroad sold more than 25 million records, toured constantly, packed arenas worldwide, and received four RIAA gold albums during 1970. The band's name is a play on words of the Grand Trunk Railroad, a railroad line that ran through the band's home town of Flint, Michigan.

The current Grand Funk Railroad lineup uses the nickname "The American Band," a reference to its 1973 hit "We're an American Band." This song, written by Brewer, was the band's first #1 single.

The group broke up in he mid 1970s and Brewer and former Grand Funk members Mel Schacher and Craig Frost formed a new band named "Flint," releasing one self-titled album before disbanding.

In 1981, Brewer and former Grand Funk guitarist and lead singer Mark 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.

 

 

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In 1996 Brewer, Schacher, and Farner reunited as Grand Funk, and were eventually named one of Pollstar's top-grossing acts of 1998.

In 2000, Brewer and Schacher recruited lead vocalist Max Carl, former Kiss lead guitarist Bruce Kulick, and keyboardist Tim Cashion to continue as Grand Funk Railroad. The band has toured steadily since then.

In 2005, Grand Funk Railroad was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame. The band has had three of its recordings voted Legendary Michigan Songs: "We're an American Band" in 2008, and "Closer To Home/I'm Your Captain" and "Some Kind Of Wonderful" in 2009.

On the TV show, The Simpsons, Homer Simpson has said Grand Funk Railroad is his favorite band.

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