''Born to Die'' is the tenth studio album by American

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

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 succes ...

, released in January 1976. The album's title is considered to be one of the group's more somber, straying away from the upbeat and cocky attitude that was so prevalent on previous albums, such as ''

All the Girls in the World Beware!!! ''All the Girls in the World Beware!!!'' is the ninth studio album by American hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad. The album was released by Capitol Records in December 1974 and was the group's second album released that year. The first single fr ...

'' (1974), and focusing on darker musical and lyrical content concerning death, politics, and personal relationships. The title track was written by Farner in memory of his cousin who had died in a motorcycle accident.Billy James An American Band: The Story of Grand Funk Railroad 1999 - Page 128 "Concerning the title track Farner said, '"Born To Die' was written for my cousin who passed away in a motorcycle accident. It was early the next morning after his death and I had the piano there. I just felt the song coming to me and I wrote it. The more upbeat pop single, "Sally", released on 3 April, was written by Mark Farner for his then love interest, the actress/singer

Sally Kellerman Sally Clare Kellerman (June 2, 1937 – February 24, 2022) was an American actress and singer whose acting career spanned 60 years. Her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in Robert Altman's film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970) earned her an Oscar no ...

Track listing

Personnel

Mark Farner 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, and later as a contemporary Christian musician. Early ...

– guitar, vocals *

Craig Frost Craig Frost (born April 20, 1948 in Flint, Michigan) is the keyboardist for Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band. He is also known as keyboardist for 1970s hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad. He plays organ, synthesizers, and piano. Frost expan ...

– keyboards, background vocals *

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 *

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, percussion, vocals *

Jimmy Hall Jimmy Hall (born April 26, 1949) is the American lead singer and harmonica player for the Southern rock group, Wet Willie. Hall was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and reared in Mobile, Alabama. He first gained notoriety in 1970 as the lead vocal ...

– saxophone, harmonica * Donna Hall – background vocals

Charts

Singles

References

External links

* Grand Funk Railroad chart historyat Billboard.com {{Authority control 1976 albums Grand Funk Railroad albums Albums produced by Jimmy Ienner Capitol Records albums