Larry Graham | |
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 Graham in 2011 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Larry Graham Jr. (1946-08-14)August 14, 1946 (age 79) Beaumont, Texas, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1961–present |
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| Website | larrygraham |
Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an Americanbassist andbaritone singer, with thepsychedelic soul/funk bandSly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman ofGraham Central Station.[1] In 1980, he released the single "One in a Million You", which reached the top ten on the USBillboard Hot 100. He is credited with the invention of theslapping 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 theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sly and the Family Stone.[3] He is also the uncle of rapperDrake.
Graham was born August 14, 1946, inBeaumont, Texas, U.S., to parents who were successful musicians.[1][4]
Graham played bass in thefunk bandSly and the Family Stone from 1967 to 1972.[4] The band was the first major American rock group to have aracially integrated, mixed-gender lineup.[5] They had a series of influential tracks during the 1960s that entered theBillboard 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 asStand! (1969), which combined pop sensibility with social commentary.[6]
After many years of tension between Graham and frontmanSly Stone, Larry Graham left Sly and the Family Stone in 1972, after a post-concert brawl broke out between Graham and Sly, and rumors also spread that Larry had hired ahit 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.[7] Unable to continue working with Sly, Graham immediately quit. In 1993, he was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sly and the Family Stone.[3]
After Sly and the Family Stone, Graham formed his own band,Graham Central Station.[4] The name is a pun onGrand Central Station, the train station located inManhattan, New York City. Graham Central Station had R&B hit "Can You Handle It" in 1974.[8]
In the mid-1970s, Larry Graham worked withBetty Davis, the second ex-wife of jazz musicianMiles Davis. Betty Davis' band included members of theTower of Power horns and thePointer Sisters, and she recorded three albums to critical acclaim but limited commercial success.
In 1975, Graham became one ofJehovah's Witnesses.[9] Eventually, he was credited with introducingPrince 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 theBillboard Hot 100 chart in 1980.[4]
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 StationGCS 2000. It was a collaboration between Larry Graham andPrince. 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 VHSBeautiful Strange and 1999 DVDRave Un2 the Year 2000. He has since appeared with Prince at various international venues.Graham and Graham Central Station performed internationally with a world tour in 2010 and the "Funk Around the World" international tour in 2011.
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He appeared as a special guest with Zigaboo Modeliste, R.Kelly, Billy Idle at My Morning Jacket memberJim James' "Rock N' Soul Dance Party Superjam" at the 2013Bonnaroo Music Festival.[10]
In 2020, he was ranked number 7 on Rolling Stone's list of"50 Greatest Bassists of All Time."
Graham is the half-brother of Dennis Graham, and the uncle of Canadian rapper and actorDrake.[11]
Graham pioneered theslapping 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 abass drum and the pop of the index or middle finger asnare 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 asBootsy Collins (Parliament-Funkadelic),Prince,Les Claypool (Primus),Bernard Edwards (Chic),Louis Johnson,[12]Mark King,Keni Burke,Victor Wooten, Kim Clarke ofDefunkt,Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers),Marcus Miller, andStanley Clarke.
| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [13] | US R&B [14] | ||
| 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. | |||
| Year | Single | Album | Peak chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [15] | US R&B [16] | US Dance [17] | US A/C [18] | UK [19] | |||
| 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. | |||||||
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| Year | Single | Album | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| US [15] | |||
| 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 |
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