Jump to content

Larry Graham

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Larry Graham, Jr.)
For the Australian politician, see Larry Graham (politician). For the American college basketball coach, see Larry Graham (basketball).

Larry Graham
Graham in 2011
Graham in 2011
Background information
Birth nameLarry Graham Jr.
Born (1946-08-14) August 14, 1946 (age 78)
Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
GenresFunk, soul, R&B
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, bass guitar
Years active1961–present
LabelsEpic, Warner Bros., NPG, Rhino, Sphinx
Websitelarrygraham.com

Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bassist and baritone singer, with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station.[1] In 1980, he released the single "One in a Million You", which reached the top ten on the US Billboard Hot 100. He is credited with the invention of the slapping technique on the electric bass guitar, which radically expanded the tonal palette of the bass, although he himself refers to the technique as "thumpin' and pluckin'".[2]

In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sly and the Family Stone.[3] He is also the uncle of rapper Drake.

Early life

[edit]

Graham was born August 14, 1946, in Beaumont, Texas, U.S., to parents who were successful musicians.[1][4]

Career

[edit]

Sly and the Family Stone

[edit]

Graham played bass in the funk band Sly and the Family Stone from 1967 to 1972.[4] The band was the first major American rock group to have a racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup.[5] They had a series of influential tracks during the 1960s that entered the Billboard Hot 100 such as "Dance to the Music" (1968), "Everyday People" (1968), and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1969), as well as critically acclaimed albums such as Stand! (1969), which combined pop sensibility with social commentary.[6]

After many years of tension between Graham and frontman Sly Stone, Larry Graham left Sly and the Family Stone in 1972, after a post-concert brawl broke out between Graham and Sly, and rumours also spread that Larry had hired a hit man to kill Sly.[7] Graham and his wife climbed out of a hotel window to escape, and Pat Rizzo gave them a ride to safety.[8] Unable to continue working with Sly, Graham immediately quit. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sly and the Family Stone.[3]

1970s

[edit]

After Sly and the Family Stone, Graham formed his own band, Graham Central Station.[4] The name is a pun on Grand Central Station, the train station located in Manhattan, New York City. Graham Central Station had several hits in the 1970s, as well as the album track "Hair"[citation needed].

In the mid-1970s, Larry Graham worked with Betty Davis, the second ex-wife of jazz musician Miles Davis. Betty Davis' band included members of the Tower of Power horns and the Pointer Sisters, and she recorded three albums to critical acclaim but limited commercial success.

In 1975, Graham became one of Jehovah's Witnesses.[9] Eventually, he was credited with introducing Prince to the faith. In the early 1980s, Graham recorded five solo albums and had several solo hits on the R&B chart.[4] His biggest hit was "One in a Million You", a crossover hit that reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980.[4]

1990s–present

[edit]

He reformed Graham Central Station in the early 1990s and performed with the band for several years during which they released two live albums. One was recorded in Japan in 1992, and the other, recorded in London in 1996, had only 1000 copies printed and was exclusively sold at concerts.

In 1998, he recorded a solo album under the name Graham Central Station GCS 2000. It was a collaboration between Larry Graham and Prince. While Graham wrote all the songs, except one co-written by Prince, the album was co-arranged and co-produced by Prince, and most of the instruments and vocals were recorded by both Graham and Prince. Graham also played bass on tours with Prince from 1997 to 2000. He appeared in Prince's 1998 VHS Beautiful Strange and 1999 DVD Rave Un2 the Year 2000. He has since appeared with Prince at various international venues.

Graham performing in 2013

Graham and Graham Central Station performed internationally with a world tour in 2010 and the "Funk Around the World" international tour in 2011. He appeared with Andre Beeka as a special guest at Jim James' "Rock N' Soul Dance Party Superjam" at the 2013 Bonnaroo Music Festival.[citation needed]

Personal life

[edit]

Graham is the half-brother of Dennis Graham, and the uncle of Canadian rapper and actor Drake.[10]

Slap bass technique

[edit]

Graham pioneered the slapping technique on the electric bass (he refers to it as "thumpin' and pluckin'"[2]), in part to provide percussive and rhythmic elements to the bass line when his mother decided to no longer have a drummer in her band. This style couples a percussive thumb-slapping of the lower strings with an aggressive finger-snap of the higher strings, the slap of the thumb used to emulate a bass drum and the pop of the index or middle finger a snare drum.[2] The slap-and-pop technique also uses a lot of muted or "dead" notes, which adds to the rhythmic effect. Radically expanding the tonal palette of the bass, the style has become the archetype of modern funk.

The slapping style was later used by such artists as Bootsy Collins (P-Funk), Les Claypool (Primus), Bernard Edwards (Chic), Louis Johnson,[11] Mark King, Keni Burke, Victor Wooten, Kim Clarke of Defunkt, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Marcus Miller, and Stanley Clarke.

Discography

[edit]

Solo albums

[edit]
Year Album Peak chart positions
US
[12] 		US R&B
[13]
1980 One in a Million You 26 2
1981 Just Be My Lady 46 8
1982 Sooner or Later 142 15
1983 Victory 173 52
1985 Fired Up — —
2019 Chillin' — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Album Peak chart positions
US
[14] 		US R&B
[15] 		US Dance
[16] 		US A/C
[17] 		UK
[18]
1980 "One in a Million You" One in a Million You 9 1 — 37 —
"When We Get Married" 76 9 — — —
1981 "Guess Who" Just Be My Lady — 69 — — —
"Just Be My Lady" 67 4 — — —
1982 "Don't Stop When You're Hot"/
"Sooner or Later" 		Sooner or Later 102
110 		16
27 		17 — 54
1983 "I Never Forget Your Eyes" Victory — 34 — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

With Sly and the Family Stone

[edit]
Main article: Sly and the Family Stone discography

With Graham Central Station

[edit]

Albums

[edit]

Studio

Live

  • Live in Japan (1992)
  • Live in London (1996)

Compilation

  • The Best of Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Vol. 1 (Warner Bros., 1996)

Singles

[edit]
Year Single Album Peak chart positions
US
[14]
1974 "Can You Handle It?" Graham Central Station 49
1975 "Your Love" Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It 38
"It's Alright" 92
1976 "The Jam" 63

With Prince

[edit]

With Gov't Mule

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Colin Larkin, ed. (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Concise ed.). Virgin Books. p. 539. ISBN 1-85227-745-9.
  2. ^ a b c "Larry Graham: Trunk of the Funk Tree". Bass Player. April 2007. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007.
  3. ^ a b "Sly and the family Stone | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame". www.rockhall.com. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 105. ISBN 0-85112-733-9.
  5. ^ "Sly & the Family Stone Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  6. ^ Sly & the Family Stone - Stand! Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic, retrieved January 6, 2024
  7. ^ Selvin, Joel (1998), pp. 150–154
  8. ^ Selvin, Joel (1998), pp. 150–154
  9. ^ Awake! magazine, February 22, 1989, p. 15.
  10. ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: A.J. Miller (June 17, 2011). "Larry Graham Talks about his family ties to Drake with Lenny Green" – via YouTube.
  11. ^ "George Johnson". Andresmusictalk.wordpress.com. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  12. ^ "Larry Graham – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  13. ^ "Larry Graham – TOP R&B/HIP-HOP ALBUMS". Billboard. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Larry Graham – Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  15. ^ "Larry Graham – Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard.
  16. ^ "Larry Graham – Dance Club Songs". Billboard.
  17. ^ "Larry Graham – Dance Club Songs". Billboard.
  18. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 233. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  19. ^ Larry Graham & Graham Central Station - By Popular Demand, September 26, 1997, retrieved April 29, 2023
[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Larry Graham.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Graham&oldid=1246287521"