Catch Rock Patriot Mark Farner This Friday!

This Friday, July 11, Detroit-area music fans will have a wonderful opportunity to see two Michigan natives rock the Riverfront Plaza stage with two FREE concerts starring local legends Mark Farner and Mitch Ryder.

To celebrate, we're honoring the veterans of rock in our blogs today and tomorrow, starting with Mark.

For a little history on the Flint native, we did a little digging and came across his MySpace page, which had some great tunes and a lot of great information about the legendary rocker.

Here's a part of the information included on his page that gives us a glance into the history behind the singer (Adapted and rewritten by Rob Whitehurst) .

Yes, it’s the same songwriter. The same guitarist. That same unmistakable voice that powered Grand Funk Railroad to 12 platinum and 15 gold albums.

Mark Farner is a true rock ’n roll legend. He found fame and success at the age of 20 as the leader of one of America’s most successful rock bands, Grand Funk Railroad. With GFR, Mark recorded 17 albums with total sales of more than 25 million records, and toured the world, which isn’t bad for a guy who only had three formal guitar lessons.

As a teenager in a garage band, Mark played the usual dates - school dances, VFW halls, wedding receptions and the like. After leaving high school, Mark entered the professional world, working with The Bossmen, Terry Knight and the Pack, then just the Pack (this time without Terry Knight, but with future Funk drummer Don Brewer).

In 1969, Mel Schacher, who had been a member of ? and the Mysterians, was invited to join Mark and Don, and power trio Grand Funk Railroad (named after the Grand Trunk Railroad in Michigan) was born.

But it wasn’t until the Atlanta International Pop Festival in July 1969 that GFR first caught anyone’s attention. The only unsigned act on the show, Grand Funk Railroad played before 180,000 people in 110-degree heat and the acclaim was instantaneous. Following their Atlanta appearance, the band was signed by Capitol Records and their first album On Time, was recorded and released within four months.

In early 1977, Grand Funk Railroad called it quits, and after taking a year or so off, Mark Farner signed a solo deal with Atlantic Records and issued two critically acclaimed albums: Mark Farner and No Frills.

In 1981, a reunited Grand Funk Railroad recorded a new album, Grand Funk Lives for Full Moon/Warner Bros. Records, and a second album, What’s Funk, shipped in 1982. Mark released 4 contemporary Christian albums from 1983 through 1994. His continuous touring schedule kept him in contact with both his longtime Grand Funk fans, and the new fans that first noticed Mark during his solo years.

In 1995, Mark toured with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band, then toured with The Northwest Airlines All-Stars before reuniting with Don Brewer and Mel Schacher to record their Bosnia album for Capitol-EMI. Grand Funk Railroad toured in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and was named to Pollstar’s Top 100 Tours of 1998. VH-1’s "Behind The Music" on Grand Funk Railroad has been airing since early 1999.

Today, Mark is still traveling the world, both with the All-Starr Band and fronting his own band, N’rG, pleasing GFR fans everywhere and continuing the legend begun with Grand Funk Railroad!

All we know is we can't wait to see him perform "Rock 'N Roll Soul" live on Friday!

- Downtown Detroit Diva

Feel free to email rockinontheriverfront@gmail or check out GMRenCen.com if you have any questions about the show.