Grand Funk Railroad rocking 45 years later

As a teen in a rock band, Don Brewer wasn't usually thinking more than six months down the road when he founded Grand Funk Railroad in 1969.

"You think, 'Maybe we'll do this for a few years' ... You focus on trying to write the next hit," he said. "When you're 20, you look at 40 like it's the end of the world."

It turns out it's not. His band turned 45 this year, and Brewer as welcomed the unthinkable.

"Never dreamed it," the Flint, Michigan, native said, referring to the band's original expectations. "I've been doing what I've wanted to do since I was 13 years old. It's a lot of work, but it's just not work."

As part of a tour celebrating a milestone anniversary, Grand Funk Railroad, the American Band, is coming to Cape Girardeau "to help party it down" just like it always said it would. On Thursday night, it will take the stage at the SEMO District Fair, bringing the arena rock that has endeared the band to generations of fans and playing the hits.

"We're a classic-rock band, and we're proud of it," he said. "We've got three generations of people who know the words to 'Some Kind of Wonderful.'"

Brewer remembers the early years and ad hoc gigs in rodeo pits when he didn't realize he and Grand Funk were on the ground level of a budding chapter in rock history.

"When we started out, we were one of the first kinds of arena bands," he said. "It was all about people; trying to get people excited and keep it simple. Crank it up and rock it out."

If ever there was a band suited to that formula, it's Grand Funk Railroad. Its classic-rock approach spawned hits such as "Some Kind of Wonderful," "I'm Your Captain (Closer to Home)" and "We're An American Band," and fans can expect to hear their favorites.

"It's a Grand Funk Railroad staples show," Brewer said. "We play foot-stompin' music."

He said it's always been about giving fans what they want: a good time.

"People ask me, 'Don't you ever get tired of singing "The Loco-Motion"?' and I say no," he said. "I see the faces of the people who come out, and they're excited. How could I get tired of that?"

The show will be on the Grandstand at the fairgrounds and will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 and are available in person at the fair, online at the fair's website or by phone at 334-9250.

Over 45 years of rocking, Brewer has boiled down a message to fans into a warning as simple as a Grand Funk refrain:

"When they come to see Grand Funk, be ready to smile and be ready to sweat."

tgraef@semissourian.com

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Cape Girardeau, MO 63701