Graham Central Station is a funk band named after founder Larry Graham (formerly of Sly & the Family Stone). The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often colloquially called Grand Central Station.
The band's origins date from when Santana guitarist Neal Schon formed the band Azteca along with Larry Graham (bass guitar) and Gregg Errico (drums), both from Sly & the Family Stone, and Pete Sears (keyboards), from Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship. Santana bass guitar player Tom Rutley would move into the bass spot with Azteca. That band, like Santana with heavy Latin influences, would eventually morph into Graham Central Station, while Schon would form Journey. The invention of electric slap bass is attributed by many (including Victor Wooten) to Graham, which influenced many musical genres, such as funk, R&B and disco.
Graham Central Station's biggest hit was "Your Love", which charted at number 9 in 1975. 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.
Read more about Graham Central Station: Members
Famous quotes containing the words graham, central and/or station:
“Billy, in one of his nice new sashes,
Fell in the fire and was burnt to ashes;”
—Harry Graham (1874–1936)
“The Federal Constitution has stood the test of more than a hundred years in supplying the powers that have been needed to make the Central Government as strong as it ought to be, and with this movement toward uniform legislation and agreements between the States I do not see why the Constitution may not serve our people always.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“How soon country people forget. When they fall in love with a city it is forever, and it is like forever. As though there never was a time when they didn’t love it. The minute they arrive at the train station or get off the ferry and glimpse the wide streets and the wasteful lamps lighting them, they know they are born for it. There, in a city, they are not so much new as themselves: their stronger, riskier selves.”
—Toni Morrison (b. 1931)