Co-Founding Member of Grand Funk Railroad Blames “Politics” for Band’s Exclusion from Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Mark Farner, Don Brewer, and Mel Schacher formed Grand Funk Railroad in 4969. Later that year, they released their debut album, On Time. Over the years, the band has released six Platinum albums and seven Gold albums. They ruled the early 1970s with songs like “We’re an American Band,” “Some Kind of Wonderful,” “Walk Like a Man,” “Bad Time,” and many more. The band has been eligible for nomination to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 1994, 25 years after the release of their first album. However, more than three decades later, they still haven’t received their flowers from the Rock Hall.

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Recently, Farner appeared on Rock Camp: The Podcast to talk about his life, time with Grand Funk, and solo career. During the conversation, he revealed why he believes his band hasn’t been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

[RELATED: Behind the Song: “We’re An American Band,” by Grand Funk Railroad]

Mark Farner on Why Grand Funk Railroad Isn’t in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Mark Farner began his solo career after Grand Funk Railroad disbanded in 1976. However, he reunited with former bandmates to record more Grand Funk material over the years and officially exited the band for the last time in 1998. The band arguably wouldn’t have been as big as they were without him. He was their vocalist and wrote many of their songs, including “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)” and “Bad Time.”

“Well, I think it’s much like the U.S. government. There is no one there representing the will of the people,” he said when asked why Grand Funk isn’t in the Rock Hall. “The collective will of the rockers is not represented at the Rock Hall. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a bunch of just these music politics, but it’s politics,” he explained.

“People say, ‘Why ain’t Grand Funk in the Rock Hall?’ I say, because Grand Funk does not have that brown ring around our lips. We don’t bow to that god,” Farner said. “That’s what it is. It’s just totally political. It’s bullsh*t.”

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