Mark Fredrick Farner (born September 29, 1948) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lead guitarist for the hard rock band

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succ ...

, and later as a contemporary Christian musician.

Early life and career

Farner began his career in music by playing in Terry Knight and The Pack (1965–1966), The Bossmen (1966–1967), The Pack (aka The Fabulous Pack) (1967–1968), before forming

with

Don Brewer Donald George Brewer (born September 3, 1948) is an American drummer and singer. He is the longest serving and only remaining original member of rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Early life Brewer was born in Flint, Michigan, on September 3, 19 ...

(drums) and

Mel Schacher Melvin George Schacher (born April 8, 1951) is an American musician who is the bassist of the hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad. Early career Schacher was born in Owosso, Michigan, and was raised in Flint, Michigan. He became interested in ...

(bass guitar) in 1969. Craig Frost (keyboards) joined the band in 1972. Farner has

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

ancestry from his maternal side.

With Grand Funk Railroad

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)". He also wrote the 1975 hit " Bad Time", the last of the band's four singles to make the top 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

Post-Grand Funk Railroad

After Grand Funk initially disbanded in 1976, Farner released his self-titled debut 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 with bassist Dennis Bellinger and recorded two albums, '' Grand Funk Lives'' and '' What's Funk?'' Farner went solo again with 1988's ''Just Another Injustice'' on

Frontline Records Frontline Records was a Christian rock record label, founded in 1986 by James Kempner in Santa Ana, California. The label focused primarily on modern rock, rap, dance-pop and hip-hop. The label closed in the early 1990s, and then resurfaced in 2 ...

. His third Frontline release was 1991's ''Some Kind of Wonderful'', which featured a revamped Jesus version of the Grand Funk classic of the same name. Farner became a

born again Christian Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sep ...

in the late 1980s and 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. From 1994 to 1995, Farner toured with Ringo Starr's Allstars, which also featured

Randy Bachman Randolph Charles Bachman (; born September 27, 1943) is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a num ...

, John Entwistle,

Felix Cavaliere Felix Cavaliere (born November 29, 1942) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and keyboard player for the Young Rascals. Although he was a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters, known for ...

, Billy Preston, and Starr's son,

Zak Starkey Zak Richard Starkey (born 13 September 1965) is an English rock drummer who has performed and recorded with English rock band the Who since 1996. He is also the third drummer to have appeared with English rock band Oasis. In 2020, Starkey toure ...

. 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, Mark Farner's American Band, which plays a mixture of Grand Funk songs and Farner's solo offerings. Farner had a pacemaker installed October 22, 2012, having struggled with heart troubles for the previous eight years. Mark Farner was voted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2015. He had previously been inducted as a member of both Grand Funk Railroad and Terry Knight & The Pack.

Other interests

Farner was honored with the Lakota Sioux Elders Honor Mark in 1999. During the concert in

Hankinson, North Dakota Hankinson is a city in Richland County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 921 at the 2020 census. Hankinson was founded in 1886. It is part of the Wahpeton, ND– MN Micropolitan Statistical Area. History A post office has been ...

, 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 A quilt is a multi-layered textile, traditionally composed of two or more layers of fabric or fiber. Commonly three layers are used with a filler material. These layers traditionally include a woven cloth top, a layer of padding, batting or w ...

. He has also been honored with the Cherokee Medal of Honor by the

Honor Society. An authorized biography of Farner, entitled ''From Grand Funk to Grace'', was published in 2001.

In popular culture

Mark Farner is mentioned by Homer Simpson in ''The Simpsons'' episode, "Homerpalooza", in season 7, episode 24 of the series. As Homer drives his children and their friends to school, Grand Funk is on the car radio. The children do not like it and ask him to change the station when he responds, "you kids don't know Grand Funk? The wild, shirtless lyrics of Mark Farner. The bong-rattling bass of Mel Schacher. The competent drum work of Don Brewer?" Mark Farner was mentioned in episode 9 of season 8 of the HBO comedy series '' Curb Your Enthusiasm'' in September 2011.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''Mark Farner'', 1977 * ''No Frills'', 1978 * ''Just Another Injustice'', 1988 * ''Wake Up...'', 1989 * ''Some Kind of Wonderful'', 1991 * ''For the People'', 2006

With Grand Funk Railroad

*'' On Time'' (1969) *'' Grand Funk'' (1969) *'' Closer to Home'' (1970) *'' Live Album'' (1970) *''

Survival Survival, or the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypotheti ...

'' (1971) *'' E Pluribus Funk'' (1971) *''

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

'' (1972) *'' We're an American Band'' (1973) *'' Shinin' On'' (1974) *'' All the Girls in the World Beware!!!'' (1974) *'' Caught in the Act'' (1975) *'' Born to Die'' (1976) *'' Good Singin', Good Playin''' (1976) *'' Grand Funk Lives'' (1981) *'' What's Funk?'' (1983) *''Bosnia'' (1996)

Other albums

* ''Closer to Home'', 1992 (best-of) * ''Heirlooms: The Complete Atlantic Sessions'', 2000 (re-release of Farner's two first studio albums) * ''Red White and Blue Forever'', 2002 (mini-album) * ''Live!! N'rG'', 2003 * ''Mark Farner the Rock Patriot'', March 9, 2003, Live Extended Versions

References

External links

*
2008 Mark Farner interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farner, Mark 1948 births Living people American people of Cherokee descent American performers of Christian music American rock guitarists American male guitarists American rock singers American male singer-songwriters American rock songwriters Grand Funk Railroad members Lead guitarists Musicians from Flint, Michigan Singer-songwriters from Michigan Guitarists from Michigan 20th-century American guitarists Terry Knight and the Pack members 20th-century American male musicians Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band members