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Biography
BLP refimprove|date=May 2012Infobox musical artist| image = Larry Graham.jpg| name = Larry Graham| caption =| image_size =| background = solo_singer| birth_name = Larry Graham, Jr.| alias =| birth_date = birth date and age|1946|8|14|birth_place = Beaumont, Texas , United States|U.S. | death_date =| instrument = Bass guitar|Bass , singing|vocals , Keyboard instrument|Keyboards | genre = Funk music|Funk , Soul music|soul | occupation = Musician , songwriter , Record producer|producer | years_active = 1959–present| label = Epic Records|Epic , Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros. , NPG Records|NPG , Rhino Entertainment|Rhino Sphinx| associated_acts = Sly and the Family Stone , Prince (musician)|Prince , Graham Central Station , Drake (entertainer)|Drake | website = http://www.larrygraham.com www.larrygraham.com| notable_instruments = Fender Jazz Bass Larry Graham, Jr. (born August 14, 1946, Beaumont, Texas ) is an United States|American bass guitar player, both with the popular and influential psychedelic soul / funk band Sly and 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'." http://www.bassplayer.com/article/larry-graham-trunk/apr-07/26994 Bass Player magazine, Apr 07
Biography
Graham played bass in the highly successful and influential funk band Sly and 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 . 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 (band)|Primus ), Bootsy Collins , Louis Johnson (bassist)|Louis Johnson , Mark King (musician)|Mark King , Flea (musician)|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 Terminal|Grand Central Station , the train station located in the Manhattan borough of New York, New York|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 Jehovah's Witness . Awake! magazine, 22 February 1989, p.15 Eventually he was credited with converting Prince (musician)|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| 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 (musician)|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 Drake (entertainer)|Aubrey Graham (Drake). Graham is the father of Singer/producer/songwriter Darric Graham
My Radio Sure Sounds Good to Me (Warner Bros., 1978)
Star Walk (Warner Bros., 1979)
Live in Japan (1992)
Live in London (1996)
Back by Popular Demand (1998)
The Best of Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Vol. 1 (Warner Bros., 1996)
Solo albums
;All Warner Bros. Records|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 cite book
1980
" One in a Million You "
One in a Million You
9
1
align="center"
1980
"When We Get Married"
One in a Million You
76
9
align="center"
1981
"Guess Who"
Just Be My Lady
align="center"
69
align="center"
1981
"Just Be My Lady"
Just Be My Lady
67
4
align="center"
1982
" Sooner or Later (Larry Graham song)>Sooner or Later "
Sooner or Later
102 110
16 27
54
1983
"I Never Forget Your Eyes"
Victory
align="center"
34
align="center"
References
Reflist
External links
http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,437589,00.html? artist=Larry+Graham A bio from the Ultimate Band List
http://citypages.com/databank/20/972/article7783.asp "Release Yourself: From Sly Stone's roughhouse to the Artist's clubhouse, groundbreaking bassist Larry Graham finds new power in Minnesota" City Pages, July 21, 1999
Sly & the Family Stone Persondata | NAME =Graham, Larry | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = | SHORT DESCRIPTION = | DATE OF BIRTH =1946-08-14 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Beaumont, Texas , United States|U.S. | DATE OF DEATH = | PLACE OF DEATH = DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Larry Category:1946 births Category:Living people Category:African American singers Category:African American rock musicians Category:American baritones Category:American bass guitarists Category:American funk bass guitarists Category:American funk singers Category:American male singers Category:American singers Category:Songwriters from Texas Category:American funk musicians Category:American Jehovah's Witnesses Category:People from Beaumont, Texas Category:Sly and the Family Stone members Category:Musicians from Texas
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