Porch Notes
Flint's Grand Funk Railroad Sold Out Shea Stadium Faster Than the Beatles
History and culture
Here’s a Michigan music fact tailor-made for a porch debate: in 1971, a hard-rock trio from Flint sold out New York’s Shea Stadium faster than the Beatles did.
The band was Grand Funk Railroad, formed in Flint in 1969 by guitarist-singer Mark Farner, drummer Don Brewer, and bassist Mel Schacher. Their manager named them after the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, the rail line that runs through their hometown. Their sound was loud, bluesy, no-frills hard rock — and audiences couldn’t get enough of it, even though music critics famously couldn’t stand it. They proudly called themselves “the people’s band.”
Their popularity exploded fast. They played to crowds of tens of thousands, once spent $100,000 on a Times Square billboard to promote an album, and in 1970 reportedly outsold every other American band. Then came the headline moment: Grand Funk’s July 9, 1971, concert at Shea Stadium sold out all 55,000 seats in just 72 hours. The Beatles, back in 1965, had taken weeks to sell the same stadium. That speed record stood until Shea was torn down in 2008.
Bigger hits actually came afterward — “We’re an American Band,” “The Loco-Motion,” “Some Kind of Wonderful” — songs you still hear today. Grand Funk’s blue-collar roar wasn’t built for critics; it was built for crowds. And it all started in Flint.
Where to see it
Flint, Michigan, their hometown. Versions of the band still tour, and their hits remain classic-rock-radio staples — but there's no better "where" than the city whose railroad gave them their name.