Grand Funk Railroad

He was 61. Billie Holiday is interred in Saint Raymond's Cemetery, Bronx, New York. Terry Knight (Richard Terrance Knapp) was murdered in Killeen, Texas on November 1, 2004. She was arrested on her deathbed; in 1959, narcotic addiction was a crime, not an illness. Grand Funk Railroad reunited again in 1997 to record a benefit album called Bosnia. She was swindled out of her earnings and died with only $0.70 in the bank and $750 dollars on her person. After disbanding a second time, Farner launched a solo career as a Christian recording artist, while Brewer and Frost joined Bob Seger's Silver Bullet Band. She had no cabaret card; this kept her from working in New York City clubs for the last 12 years of her life.

The band reunited in 1981 with the addition of Dennis Bellinger and released two failed albums. Her final years were a tragedy. Farner began a solo career, while the rest of the band became Flint after adding Billy Ellworthy. Her performance of Abel Meeropol's anti-lynching song on Commodore, "Strange Fruit", with the lyric "Southern trees bear strange fruit" gave her a place, not just in musical history, but in American history [1] (http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/strangefruit/). After finishing Good Singin', Good Playin' (1976) with producer Frank Zappa, Grand Funk Railroad disbanded. Her performance of "Fine and Mellow" on CBS's The Sound of Jazz program is memorable for her interplay with dear friend Lester Young - both were less than two years from death. After a pop-style album, All the Girls in the World Beware!!!, and a revert to "Grand Funk Railroad", the band's fortunes were at an end. Several of her songs, including her signature song "God Bless the Child", George Gershwin's "I Love You Porgy" (covered exactly by Simone), and the rueful blues "Fine and Mellow" are jazz classics.

This was followed by two huge hit singles, "We're an American Band" (off We're an American Band) and "The Locomotion" (written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin for Little Eva). Her late recordings on Verve are as well remembered as her Commodore and Decca recordings of 20 years before. After recruiting Craig Frost (keyboards), Grand Funk Railroad released Phoenix in 1972, then shorted their name to Grand Funk. They were separated at the time of her death. In 1972, Grand Funk Railroad fired Knight, who sued for breach of contract, resulting in a protracted legal battle. That March 28, Billie married Louis McKay, a mafia "enforcer." McKay, like most of the men in her life, was abusive, but did try to get her off drugs. Knight launched an intense advertising campaign to promote Closer to Home, a multi-platinum, smash hit album that was slammed by virtually all music critics. She finally divorced Monroe in 1957 as she split with Guy.

Even with critical pans and lack of radio airplay (at first), the group's first eight albums, released in three years, were successful. While still married to Monroe, she took up with trumpeter Joe Guy as his common law wife. That record still stands today. She married trombonist Jimmy Monroe on August 25, 1941. A year later, they went on to break The Beatles' record at Shea Stadium, selling out in just 71 hours. Her personal life was as turbulent as the songs she sang. In that same year they had a hit single "Closer To Home," a song that was closer in style to the old Terry Knight & The Pack than it was to GFR. In 1987 U2 released "Angel of Harlem", a tribute to her.

In 1970 they had sold more albums than any other American band. Diana Ross played her in a movie version of her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. After a free performance at the 1969 Atlanta Pop Festival, the band was signed by Capitol Records. Even after her death she influenced such singers as Janis Joplin and Nina Simone. Terry Knight soon became their manager and named the band after the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, a famous rail line in Michigan. This affected her voice as well, and in her later recordings youthful spirit is replaced by overtones of regret, but her impact on other artists was undeniable. Mark Farner (vocals, guitar) and Don Brewer (drums), former members of a local band together, Terry Knight & the Pack, recruited Mel Schacher (bass) from ? & the Mysterians. Holiday's success was marred by this growing dependence on drugs, alcohol, and abusive relationships.

In spite of near-constant critical denigration (Rolling Stone once called them the world's worst rock band), Grand Funk Railroad managed to keep a career going for several years based on constant touring, a loud, simple take on the blues-rock power trio, and strong working class appeal and managed to reach the top of the charts on several occasions. It is unclear who first introduced Holiday to the drug, but there is consensus from historians and contemporaneous sources that she began intravenous use sometime around 1940. They are sometimes considered as the first great American Hard Rock outfit and the original "American Band", due to their hit song "We're an American Band". However, it was heroin that would be her undoing. Grand Funk Railroad was an American Rock and Roll band in the 1970s, originally from Flint, Michigan. Holiday was a dabbler in recreational drug use for most of her life, smoking marijuana, in some accounts, as early as twelve or thirteen years of age. Official Site (http://www.grandfunkrailroad.com/). Even when she was young and singing trivial pop songs, her unique tone and emotional commitment made her performances special.

Trunk of Funk - (2001). She explained the sense of overpowering drama that featured in her songs, saying, "I've lived songs like that". Classic Masters - (2002). Once before an audience, she was transformed into Lady Day with the white gardenia in her hair. Very Best Grand Funk Railroad Album Ever - (2001). She later worked with such legends as Lester Young, Count Basie, and Artie Shaw, breaking the color barrier along the way by becoming one of the black jazz singers of that era to perform with white musicians. Nevertheless, she was still forced to use the back entrance and forced to wait in a dark room away from the audience before appearing on stage. Rock Champions - (2001). Shortly thereafter, Holiday began performing regularly at numerous clubs on 52nd Street in Manhattan.

Super Best - (1999). The performance, with pianist (and then-lover) Bobby Henderson, did much to solidify her standing as a jazz and blues singer. Thirty Years of Funk : 1969 - 1999 - (1999). On November 23, 1934, she performed at the Apollo Theater to glowing reviews. Collectors - (1993). It was around this time that Holiday had her first successes as a live performer. Heavy Hitters - (1992). Hammond arranged several sessions for her with Benny Goodman; her first-ever recording was "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" (1933).

Capitol Collectors Series - (1991). Around 1932 she was "discovered" by record producer John Hammond at a club called Monette's (there is still some dispute among historians about who was the first to hear and publicise her, although it is generally agreed that Hammond was the first). The Best of Grand Funk - (1990). Settling in Harlem, Holiday began singing informally in numerous clubs. Hits - (1977). In the rare times Billie did see him, she would shake him down for money by threatening to tell his girlfriend of the moment that she was his daughter. Grand Funk Hits - (1976). Clarence Holiday accepted paternity, but was hardly a responsible father.

Mark, Don and Mel : 1969 - 71 - (1972). This stems from a copy of her birth certificate in Baltimore archives that lists the father as a "Frank DeViese." Some historians consider this an anomaly, probably inserted by a hospital or government worker (See Donald Clarke, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon, ISBN 0306811367). Grand Funk / Live Album - (1970). There is controversy regarding her paternity. Thirty Years of Funk : 1969 - 1999 - (1999). This preceded her move to New York with her mother sometime in the early 1930s. Bosnia - (October 1997). A hardened and angry child, she dropped out of school at an early age and, allegedly, began working as a prostitute with her mother.

Caught in the Act - (August 1975). Billie was largely raised by her mother and other relatives. Live Album - (November 1970). Billie Holiday's parents married when she was three, but they soon divorced. What's Funk? - (January 1983). Her mother, Sadie Fagan, was just 13 at the time of her birth; her father Clarence Holiday, a jazz guitarist who would play for Fletcher Henderson, was 15. Grand Funk Lives - (July 1981). According to her autobiography, her house was the first on their street to have electricity.

Good Singin', Good Playin' - (August 1976). She was born in Philadelphia but grew up in the Fells Point section of Baltimore. Born To Die - (January 1976). Much of Billie Holiday's childhood is clouded by conjecture and legend, some of it propagated by herself in her autobiography published in 1950. All the Girls in the World Beware!!! - (December 1974). Born Eleanora Fagan, she had a difficult childhood which affected her life and career. Shinin' On - (March 1974). Billie Holiday (April 7, 1915 - July 17, 1959), also called Lady Day is generally considered one of the greatest jazz singers of all time.

We're An American Band - (July 1973). Donald Clarke, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon. Phoenix - (September 1972). Download sample of "That Ol' Devil Called Love". E Pluribus Funk - (November 1971). Survival - (April 1971).

Closer To Home - (July 1970). Grand Funk (The Red Album) - (December 1969). On Time - (August 1969).