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Larry Graham

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Larry Graham
Background information
Birth nameLarry Graham, Jr.
Born (1946-08-14) August 14, 1946 (age 78)
Beaumont, Texas, U.S.
GenresFunk, soul
Occupation(s)Musician, songwriter, producer
Instrument(s)Bass, vocals, Keyboards
Years active1959–present
LabelsEpic, Warner Bros., NPG, RhinoSphinx
Websitewww.larrygraham.com

Larry Graham, Jr. (born August 14, 1946, in Beaumont, Texas) is an African American bass guitar player, both with the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. He is credited with the invention of the slapping technique, which radically expanded the tonal palette of the bass, although he himself refers to the technique as "Thumpin' and Pluckin'."[1]

Biography

Graham played bass in the highly successful and influential funk band Sly & the Family Stone from 1966 to 1972. It is said that he pioneered the art of slap-pop playing on the electric bass, in part to provide percussive and rhythmic elements in addition to the notes of the bass line when his mother's band lacked a drummer; the slap of the thumb being used to emulate a bass drum and the pop of the index or middle finger as a snare drum.[1] This style has become archetypal of modern funk. Slap-pop playing couples a percussive thumb-slapping technique of the lower strings with an aggressive finger-snap of the higher strings, often in rhythmic alternation. The slap and pop technique incorporates a large ratio of muted or "dead" notes to normal notes, which adds to the rhythmic effect.

This "slap" bass style was later used by such artists as Les Claypool (of Primus), Bootsy Collins, Louis Johnson, Mark King, Flea, Tim Commerford (of Rage Against The Machine), Peter Hook, Victor Wooten, Jonas Hellborg, Kim Clarke of Defunkt, Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, John Norwood Fisher, P-Nut, Danny McCormack, Matt Noveskey, Dirk Lance, and Pino Palladino.

After Sly and the Family Stone, Graham formed his own band, Graham Central Station. The name is a pun on Grand Central Station, the train station located in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Graham Central Station had several hits in the 1970s, including "Hair".

In the mid-1970s, Larry Graham worked with Betty Davis, the second ex-wife of jazz legend 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,[2] eventually credited with converting Prince to the faith. In the early 1980s, Graham recorded five solo albums and had several solo hits on the R&B charts. His biggest hit was "One in a Million You", a crossover hit, which reached number nine on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980.

He reformed Graham Central Station in the early 1990s and performed with the band for several years during which they released 2 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 1999, 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 in 1997-2000. He appeared in Prince's 1998 VHS Beautiful Strange and 1999 DVD Rave Un2 the Year 2000.

He has appeared with Prince since then at various international venues.

Larry Graham and Graham Central Station performed internationally with a world tour in 2010 and the "Funk Around The World" international tour in 2011.

Graham is the uncle of Canadian rapper and actor Aubrey Graham (Drake). Graham is the father of Singer/producer/songwriter Darric Graham

Discography

with Graham Central Station

  • Graham Central Station 1974, Warner Bros.
  • Release Yourself 1974, Warner Bros.
  • Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It 1975, Warner Bros.
  • Mirror 1976, Warner Bros.
  • Now Do U Wanta Dance 1977, Warner Bros.
  • My Radio Sure Sounds Good to Me 1978, Warner Bros.
  • Star Walk 1979, Warner Bros.
  • Live In Japan, 1992
  • Live In London, 1996
  • Back By Popular Demand 1998
  • The Best of Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Vol. 1 1996, Warner Bros.

Solo albums

All Warner Bros. releases.
  • 1980: One in a Million You
  • 1981: Just Be My Lady
  • 1982: Sooner or Later
  • 1983: Victory
  • 1985: Fired Up
NPG Records release
  • 1999: GCS2000 (as Graham Central Station)

Singles

Year Title Album U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B UK Singles Chart[3]
1980 "One in a Million You" One in a Million You 9 1
1980 "When We Get Married" One in a Million You 76 9
1981 "Guess Who" Just Be My Lady 69
1981 "Just Be My Lady" Just Be My Lady 67 4
1982 "Don't Stop When You're Hot"/
"Sooner or Later" 		Sooner or Later 102
110 		16
27 		54
1983 "I Never Forget Your Eyes" Victory 34

References

  1. ^ a b Bass Player magazine, Apr 07
  2. ^ Awake! magazine, 22 February 1989, p.15
  3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 233. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.

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