We're An American Band (Poison Single)
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"We're an American Band" is a song by American
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
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 1973 from the band's seventh album of the same name, which became the band's first number one single, released July 2, 1973. Written by
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 ...
and produced by
Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...
, its huge chart success broadened Grand Funk's appeal. It was sung by drummer Don Brewer who began doing more lead vocals for the band and helped with their transition to making top 40 hits. It is the 99th song on
VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
's list of the 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs.


Lyrics

Brewer's lyrics are somewhat autobiographical, detailing the band's recent tour and their energetic live performances. In the song, Brewer mentions playing poker with blues great Freddie King, traveling through
Little Rock, Arkansas (The Little Rock, The "Little Rock") , government_type = council-manager government, Council-manager , leader_title = List of mayors of Little Rock, Arkansas, Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_ ...
, as well as stopping to party with four groupies who snuck into their hotel in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. The lyrics also mention "sweet sweet Connie", in reference to the legendary Arkansas
groupie The term groupie is a slang word that refers to a fan of a particular musical group who follows the band around while they are on tour or who attends as many of their public appearances as possible, with the hope of meeting them. The term is usu ...
Connie Hamzy "Sweet" Connie Hamzy Parente (January 9, 1955 – August 21, 2021), also called "Sweet Sweet" Connie or Connie Flowers, was an American woman who was known as a groupie who claimed to have had sex with numerous rock musicians. Hamzy also receive ...
. According to rock critic/writer
Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...
in his book, ''The Heart of Rock and Soul'', Grand Funk was touring with the British group
Humble Pie Humble Pie are an English rock band formed by guitarist and singer Steve Marriott in Moreton, Essex, in 1969. They are known as one of the first supergroups of the late 1960s and found success in the early 1970s with songs such as " Black Cof ...
in early 1973. After one performance, the two groups were drinking in a bar when they began arguing over the merits of British versus American rock. Grand Funk drummer
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 ...
stood up and after bragging about American rock heroes such as
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...
,
Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
,
Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...
, and
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
, proudly announced, "We're an American band!" Thus inspired, he wrote the song the next morning; by late 1973, it was the top-selling song in the world. Brewer says "it never happened". "We were good friends with the guys in Humble Pie and even asked guitarist Peter Frampton to join our band". Don says the song was written during the terrible period when their former manager Terry Knight was suing them and trying to keep them from touring as Grand Funk. The band desperately needed a hit record and Brewer came up with the song. A video was also made, showing the band playing the song as well as engaging in activities such as basketball, dirtbike riding, and watersports. The original single was released on gold transparent vinyl.


Reception

''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' said that the "group comes through with powerful, chunky rhythms and meaningful lyrics."


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Subsequent versions

*The band Americade covered it for their 1982 album release ''American Metal'' and the corresponding video won "Best New Video" (one of six nominated summer rock videos) on MTV (July 3 and 4, 1983---announced by Lindsay Buckingham and VJ Alan Hunter). *The German band
Spider Murphy Gang The Spider Murphy Gang is a German band from Munich best known for their greatest hit "Skandal im Sperrbezirk", which is a famous song of the Neue Deutsche Welle. It was founded in 1977 by bank clerk Günther Sigl, together with Gerhard Gmell ( ...
published a musically identical German (Bavarian) version as a single in 1983. The song was also featured on their 1983 album ''Live!'' as well as on their ''Greatest Hits'' (1986). *Electronic rocker
Nash the Slash James Jeffrey "Jeff" Plewman (March 26, 1948 – May 10, 2014), better known by his stage name Nash the Slash, was a Canadian musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he was known primarily for playing the electric violin and mandolin, as well as the h ...
recorded it as the implied title track of his 1984 album, ''American Band-ages'', which consisted of cover versions of classic rock songs—also issued it as a single. It begins with a 1950s jazz-pop arrangement of the theme song from ''
American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pro ...
'' with a pop vocal group singing the chorus lyrics of "We're an American Band" to that tune, before it abruptly turns into a full electronic rock version of the Grand Funk song. Since Nash plays all the instruments on his records, the lyrics are changed to: "''I'm'' an American band, I come into your town, I'm gonna burn it down." (Nash was Canadian.) *
Autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Inter ...
covered it in November 1985 and had it added to their second album ''
That's the Stuff ''That's the Stuff'' is the second studio album by the American glam metal band Autograph, released in 1985 by RCA Records. The album featured the singles "That's the Stuff" and "Blondes in Black Cars." A different version of the album was reiss ...
'' in early 1986, replacing track No. 6 in the original October 1985 release. The "Up all night with
Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mos ...
, I got to tell you poker's his thing" portion early in the song is replaced by "Up all night, sleep all day, I got to tell you that's how we play" for unknown reasons, possibly because of King's death ten years earlier. *The band Blotto recorded a live version of the song with the lyrics altered to fit their own circumstances (including a reference to their home town of
Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
) which appeared on their 2000 CD ''Then More Than Ever.'' *The band Dain Bramage, which featured
Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...
, covered the song on their second demo tape in 1986. *The hardcore punk band
Verbal Abuse Verbal abuse (also known as verbal aggression, verbal attack, verbal violence, verbal assault, psychic aggression, or psychic violence) is a type of psychological/mental abuse that involves the use of oral, gestured, and written language direct ...
covered it on their ''Just an American Band'' LP in 1983. *
Accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
-based rock band
Those Darn Accordions Those Darn Accordions, commonly abbreviated as TDA, are an American accordion band from San Francisco, California, originally formed in 1989 by Linda "Big Lou" Seekins. Boasting several accordionists whose numbers have fluctuated over the years ...
parodied A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
it on their album ''
Squeeze This! ''Squeeze This!'' is the second studio album by American accordion band Those Darn Accordions, released in 1994 on Flying Fish Records. This was the only TDA album to be released on Flying Fish, as the rest of the band's discography was released by ...
'' (1994) as "We're an Accordion Band", substituting many of the lyrics with references to famous accordion players such as
Myron Floren Myron Floren (November 5, 1919 – July 23, 2005) was an American musician best known as the accordionist on ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' between 1950 and 1980. Floren came to prominence primarily from his regular appearances on the weekly televis ...
and Flaco "The King" Jiménez. They replace "We'll help you party it down" with "We'll help you
polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...
down". *
Jackyl Jackyl is an American rock band formed in 1991. Their sound has also been described as heavy metal and southern metal. Their self-titled debut album has sold more than a million copies in the United States with hit singles like "Down on Me" ...
covered it for their 1998 compilation release ''Choice Cuts'', utilizing Jesse Dupree's unique vocal style. *
Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock (also known as Bobby Shazam), is an American singer, songwriter and rapper. His style alternates between rock, hip hop, country, and metal. A self-taught musician, ...
covered it during the
MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honour the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category) ...
in 2000, substituting "We'll help you party it down" with "We'll take your
panties Panties (in American English; also called pants, undies, or knickers in British English) are a form of women's underwear. Panties can be form-fitting or loose. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genita ...
down". *
Poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
(who also recorded for Capitol) covered it and released it as a single with a music video for their '' The Best of Poison: 20 Years of Rock'' (2006) compilation which peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200. It was slightly changed, replacing the line "And we proceeded to tear that hotel down" with the line "And Poison tore that hotel down". It was also on the Poison cover album ''
Poison'd ''Poison'd!'' is the seventh and most recent studio album by American glam metal band Poison, released June 5, 2007. The 14-track album features recordings of Poison's favorite rock classics. Nine new tracks and five previously released covers ...
'' (2007). *Singers
Aly & AJ Aly & AJ are an American pop rock duo that consists of sisters Alyson (Aly) and Amanda Joy Michalka (AJ) and signed a recording contract with Hollywood Records in 2004. Their debut album, ''Into the Rush'', debuted at number 36 on the US ''Bil ...
have covered it for ''
Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1 ''Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1'' is the debut studio album by record producer Randy Jackson. The album was released on March 11, 2008. Jackson himself did not sing on the songs on ''Music Club'', but he did produce them all. Sales and char ...
'' (2008). *The country trio
Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousi ...
used this song to close out their
Farmers Insurance Farmers Insurance Group (informally Farmers) is an American insurer group of vehicles, homes and small businesses and also provides other insurance and financial services products. Farmers Insurance has more than 48,000 exclusive and independen ...
presents Changed Tour 2012-2013 every night with the help of their opening acts
Little Big Town Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group from Homewood, Alabama. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its founding: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman (née Roads), Phillip Sweet, and Jimi Westbro ...
,
Eli Young Band Eli Young Band is an American country music band composed of members who met while students at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas: Mike Eli (lead vocals, guitar), James Young (guitar), Jon Jones (bass guitar), and Chris Thompson (drum ...
,
Edens Edge Edens Edge was an American country music band founded by Hannah Blaylock (lead vocals), Dean Berner (vocals, guitar, Dobro), and Cherrill Green (vocals, mandolin, banjo, guitar). The band was signed to Big Machine Records which released their sel ...
,
The Band Perry The Band Perry are an American band composed of siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Reid Perry (bass guitar, background vocals), and Neil Perry (mandolin, bouzouki, background vocals). They signed to Republic Nashville in August 2009 ...
, and
Kristen Kelly Kristen Kelly is an American country music singer from Lorena, Texas. While signed to Arista Nashville she released her debut single, "Ex-Old Man". The song was the first from her self titled ep, produced by Tony Brown and Paul Overstreet. “E ...
. *
Rob Zombie Rob Zombie (born Robert Bartleh Cummings; January 12, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and voice actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live shows have be ...
covered it for his 2013 album, ''
Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor ''Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor'' is the fifth solo studio album by American musician Rob Zombie. The album was released on April 23, 2013, four days after the release of Zombie's film '' The Lords of Salem''. The tracklisting was confirmed o ...
''. In this version, the reference to Freddie King is changed to refer to
Slayer Slayer was an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California. The band was formed in 1981 by guitarists Kerry King and Jeff Hanneman, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style ...
guitarist
Kerry King Kerry Ray King (born June 3, 1964) is an American musician, best known for being the co-lead guitarist and songwriter of thrash metal band Slayer. He co-founded the band with Jeff Hanneman in 1981 and remained a member for nearly four decades. ...
. *The
Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the release ...
and
Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a dedicated fan base. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon ...
cover it as part of their live repertoire. *
Greensky Bluegrass Greensky Bluegrass is a five-piece American bluegrass jam band founded in Kalamazoo, Michigan in mid-2000. The band has evolved over the years, growing from 3 to 5 members, adding electric effects, and touring with a full light show. Partly becau ...
has covered the song on occasion in live performances.


Certifications


References


External links


"We're an American Band" by Grand Funk Songfacts
{{Authority control 1973 songs 1973 singles 2006 singles Grand Funk Railroad songs Song recordings produced by Todd Rundgren Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Capitol Records singles