Graham Central Station was an American funk band named after founder Larry Graham (formerly of Sly and the Family Stone).[1][5] The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often colloquially called Grand Central Station.

Graham Central Station
Wilton Rabb performing with Graham Central Station (Istanbul Jazz Festival, 2010)
Background information
Origin	Oakland, California, United States
Genres	Funk[1] progressive soul[2]
Years active	1973–1979, 1997–1998, 2012
Labels	Warner Bros., WEA, Star Maker, P-Vine, Rhino
Past members	Larry Graham David Vega Hershall Kennedy Willie Sparks[3] Patryce "Chocolate" Banks[4]

History

Origins

The band's origins[4][6][7] date from when Santana guitarist Neal Schon formed the band Azteca in 1972 along with Larry Graham (bass guitar) and Gregg Errico (drums), both from Sly and the Family Stone, and Pete Sears (keyboards), from Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship. Santana bass guitar player Tom Rutley moved into the bass spot with Azteca. That band, like Santana with heavy Latin influences, eventually morphed into Graham Central Station, while Schon formed Journey. The invention of electric slap bass is attributed by many (including Victor Wooten and Bootsy Collins) to Graham, which influenced many musical genres, such as funk, R&B and disco.[4]

Highlights

In 1974, they released the single "Can You Handle It?". It peaked at number 9 on the R&B charts[1] and number 49 on the Billboard Hot 100. Graham Central Station's biggest hit was "Your Love", which charted at number 1 on the R&B charts in 1975.[1] The same year they issued a cover version of the Detroit Emeralds 1972 hit "Feel the Need in Me".[7] It reached number 18 on the R&B charts and this would be the bands only hit in the UK peaking at number 53.[8] The group also integrated gospel music into their repertoire, and played with the dichotomy between the funk/rock star image and the "sanctified" gospel group image. Some of their recordings feature the Tower of Power horn section.

In 2011, Graham Central Station opened for Prince on Prince's "Welcome 2 America" tour.[9]

Members

Discography

Studio albums

• Graham Central Station (Warner Bros, 1974)
• Release Yourself (Warner Bros, 1974)
• Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It (Warner Bros, 1975) (US: Gold)[12]
• Mirror (Warner Bros, 1976)
• Now Do U Wanta Dance (Warner Bros, 1977)
• My Radio Sure Sounds Good to Me (WEA, 1978)
• Star Walk (Warner Bros, 1979)
• By Popular Demand, (P-Vine, 1997) (Japan only)
• GCS 2000 (NPG, 1998) (produced with Prince)
• Raise Up (Moosicus Records, 2012)

Live albums

• Live in Japan '92' (1992) Star Maker – manufactured by PIA Corporation & Edoya Records Inc. (Tokyo, Japan)
• Live in London (1996) – Funk24 (London, England)
• Can You Handle This? (2003) – Kezar Stadium – 1975, Big Fro Discs (Japan)

Compilation albums

• The Best of Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Vol. 1 (Warner Bros, 1996)
• The Jam: The Larry Graham & Graham Central Station Anthology[7] (Rhino, 2001)
• Greatest Hits (Rhino Flashback, 2003)

Singles

References

External links

• Review of Mirror at Crawdaddy!
• Graham Central Station discography at MusicBrainz
• Gail Muldrow Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2020)