Mark Farner

Mark Farner
Mark Farner performing at the Fall Fest in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, 2009.
Background information
Born	September 29, 1948 (1948-09-29) (age 63) Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Rock, hard rock, CCM
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, Harmonica, Bass guitar
Years active	1965–present
Labels	Capitol MCA Atlantic Warner Lismark
Associated acts	Grand Funk Railroad, Terry Knight and the Pack, N'rG, Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band
Website	http://www.markfarner.com

Mark Fredrick Farner (born September 29, 1948 in Flint, Michigan) 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 Musician.

Early life and career

Farner began his career in music by playing in Terry Knight 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.^{[citation needed]} Craig Frost (keyboards) joined the band in 1973. Farner has Cherokee ancestry deriving from his maternal side.^[1]

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)".^[2]

Grand Funk's "We're An American Band" reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 on Mark's 25th birthday on September 29, 1973.^{[citation needed]}

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).^{[citation needed]} In 1981, Farner and Don Brewer launched a new Grand Funk line-up and recorded two albums, Grand Funk Lives and What's Funk?.^{[citation needed]} Farner went solo again with 1988's Just Another Injustice on Frontline Records.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^{[citation needed]}

Other interests

Farner was honored with the Lakota Sioux 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.^[3] He has also been honored with the Cherokee Medal of Honor by the Cherokee Honor Society.^[4]

An authorized biography of Farner, entitled From Grand Funk to Grace, was published in 2001.^[5]

In popular culture

Mark Farner was mentioned in episode 9 of season 8 of the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm 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

References

1. ^ Smith, Noel Lyn. "Grand Funk's frontman to rock Jackson arena". navajotimes.com. http://www.navajotimes.com/entertainment/2009/1009/100109grandfunk.php. Retrieved 2010-04-11. 
2. ^ Grand Funk Railroad. VH1 Behind the Music. March 7, 1999. 
3. ^ "Lakota Sioux Elders Honor Mark, Ceremonial Quilt Presented". Mark Farners Official Website. August 28, 1999. http://www.markfarner.com/awards.php. Retrieved February 6, 2011. 
4. ^ Mark Farner's Official Website::
5. ^ Engelhardt, Kristofer (2001). From Grand Funk to Grace: Authorized Biography of Mark Farner. Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc.. ISBN 9781896522746. 

External links

• Official Site
• 2008 Mark Farner Interview

• Video Clips

Persondata
Name	Farner, Mark
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	September 29, 1948
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death