Shinin' On

Album: Shinin' On (1974)
Charted: 11
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Songfacts®:

  • Grand Funk drummer Don Brewer wrote "Shinin' On" and sang lead. Says Brewer: "It came from me wanting to express myself as far as we are all winners and losers, bedfellow choosers, but we all have to shine on, keep on moving forward."
  • From 1970-1972, Grand Funk didn't have any big hits but nonetheless were wildly popular, with a collection of Gold albums and a huge live following. In 1973 they became hitmakers as well with their album We're An American Band, which was produced by Todd Rundgren and spawned a #1 hit with "the title track. Rundgren returned for the Shinin' On album, which gave them another #1 with their cover of "The Loco-Motion". "Shinin' On" was the next single, and also a big hit.

    "It was the first record we had done at our own studio in Michigan," Don Brewer said. "We'd been working on building this place for a couple of years and we finally got the thing done and recorded that album there. We mixed it in New York, but we recorded the whole thing there. It was a fun project. There were some little tensions starting to arise at that point, but all in all, it was good fun." (Quotes from a Don Brewer Songfacts interview.)

Comments: 3

  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn July 7th 1974, "Shinin' On" by Grand Funk entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #63; and on August 18th, 1974 it peaked at #11 (for 1 week) and also spent 11 weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #13 on the Canadian RPM Top Singles chart...
    The week that "Shinin' On" entered the Top 100 their preceding charted record, "The Loco-Motion", was at #60 (ten weeks earlier on April 28th, 1974, "The Loco-Motion" had peaked at #1 for two weeks).
  • Tosh from New Alex, PaFWIW;
    Back in the 70's saw a piggyback rail car goin' down the highway.
    On the side was the name "Grand Trunk Western".
    Duh, I thought, that must be what inspired the name for the band.
  • Jim from Somewhere, PaThe band (from what I heard back in the 70's), Took they'er name from the MI's, "Grand Trunk Railroad"
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