LARRY GRAHAM

Graham played bass in the highly successful and influential funk band Sly & 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), Bootsy Collins, Louis Johnson, Mark King, 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 Station, the train station located in the Manhattan borough of 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 one of Jehovah's Witnesses, eventually credited with converting 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 theBillboard 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. 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.

Background information

Birth name

Larry Graham, Jr.

Born

August 14, 1946 (age 65) Beaumont, Texas, U.S.

Genres

Funk, soul

Occupations

Musician, songwriter, producer

Instruments

Bass, vocals, Keyboards

Years active

1959present

Labels

Epic, Warner Bros., NPG,RhinoSphinx

Associated acts

Sly & the Family Stone, Prince,Graham Central Station, Drake

Website

www.larrygraham.com

Notable instruments

Fender Jazz Bass

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 Aubrey Graham (Drake). Graham is the father of Singer/producer/songwriter Darric Graham