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By Ginny McCabe
Special to ASSIST News Service

CINCINNATI, OH (ANS) -- Mark Farner is one of those life-long musicians who found fame and success at when he was only 20 years old. As the leader of one of America's biggest bands of the 1970's, Grand Funk Railroad, he has seen the world and had the opportunity to touch millions of people. (Pictured: Mark when he was Grand Funk Railroad ).

His band recorded 17 albums with total sales of more than 25 million records, who also had 12 platinum and 15 during their career history.

He started playing in bands and played at high school dances, VFW halls and wedding receptions. But it wasn’t long after high school that he became an overnight success. In 1969, music became his profession, and he started the original Grand Funk Railroad with his teenage friends, Mel Schacher and Don Brewer.

Grand Funk Railroad has released many successful albums including “Grand Funk Railroad,” "Survival,” “Live Album,” “Closer To Home,” “E Pluribus Funk,” “Phoenix,” “Good Singin,” “Good Playin,” “Caught In The Act,” and “All The Girls In The World Beware,” among others.

In 1977, Grand Funk Railroad disbanded, and after taking about a year off, Farner signed a solo deal with Atlantic Records and released two critically acclaimed albums, "Mark Farner" and "No Frills".

Most recently, since 1999, he has been touring with his band, Nr'G. In addition to the project they are working on now, they have previously released two CD’s, "Red, White, and Blue" and "Live Nr'g.” (Pictured: More recent picture of Mark Farner performing).

Vocally, Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, Howard Tate have heavily influenced his style, and his guitar playing has been influenced by Jimi Hendrix, early Eric Clapton and early Jeff Beck.

“Rick Derringer, is another great guitar player who actually inspired me to take my playing to the next level. He inspired my to play a different lick, to go further with it, and he taught me to make music my own expression. I am very thankful to those people for the influence they had on me musically,” Farner said.

Farner is largely a self-taught player, who plays by ear and by what he feels. His skill has come from years of practice and as a result of his natural ability for music. “I’ve been fortunate to have written and played songs that people like, and because of that, I’ve earned a certain respect and popularity,” he said. “People buy my records because they like what I have to say in my songs.”

Personally, he said one of his favorite songs he has written is “I’m Your Captain” from his “Closer to Home” album. “The song “I’m Your Captain” was an answer to prayer, where I was just writing the words at 3 a.m. in the morning. I didn’t know when I said my ‘now I lay me down to sleep’ that night that God would give me that song that would reach and touch the hearts of people that He wanted to touch,” said Farner.

Farner became a believer as a child, but he said he didn’t understand everything he believed in at first. “My dad died when I was nine years old. I heard about Jesus Christ in my house, but it was not in a reverent way…In the home that I was raised in, the church was my great-grandmother, we had to go on Easter and that was it. There was no other kind of church influence, and when my dad died, I prayed with Billy Graham in front of my television,” he explained. “And when Billy Graham said if there is anybody hurting out there, get down on your knees in front of the television set, I was there praying along with him. I prayed to Jesus then and asked him into my heart, and that is when I made a commitment to Him.”

Later in life, he came to understand more fully how much God loved and cared for him. “Back in the early 1980’s, my wife Lesia and I were both searching for something, and we were really seeking God at the same time,” Farner said. “Since that time, God has done a lot of things to show Himself to me and he has been at work in my life in a number of ways. The Spirit is always working and me, and I believe that is something that cannot be refuted or taken from me.”

Because faith is a central part of his life, he believes in living Christian life, and that is evident in his lifestyle. “Even early on, I realized how much of an influence bands like the Beatles had on the whole world, and that people were hanging on every word that they said. I decided that I better be responsible with whatever it was I was going to say,” Farner said. “I let my heart be my guide, and I still do that today. I just look forward to loving and meeting people, and signing their albums and eight-tracks, or whatever they want to have autographed. That’s a small thing to do, and I want people to know that I’m the man I say I am and that I live what I believe.”

Farner has been busy finishing up the recording for a new album and he is also getting ready to release a live DVD. “I am working on a DVD of some live shows we did last summer, and we are in the final stages of completing that project,” said Farner. “I’m also working on a new album, which is 11 songs right now, but I want to put a few more songs on it, because I’ve written a couple other nice songs that I would like to include.”

As far as touring, Farner was a part of a Tsunami Relief Benefit concert in Orlando, Florida (on February 5, 2004) at Universal and played for over 40,000 people there. “That was a fun event to be a part of, with names like Rick Derringer, Michael Bolton, Twisted Sister, Dickey Betts, Eddie Money, and others. People who came to the show were from all walks of life, and with the enthusiasm of 40,000 people, it was great,” said Farner. “At that show, we also played some of the songs that will be on my upcoming record.”

Farner also recently played some shows with the Classic Rock All Stars with Peter Rivera of Rare Earth (original lead singer, drummer), Jerry Corbetta from the group Sugarloaf (original lead singer, keyboards) and Mike Pinera (original singer, guitarist) for Blue Image and (guitarist, singer) of Iron Butterfly and Alice Cooper and Dennis Noda, formally of Cannibal and the Headhunters. He also said his band is in the process of lining up a future tour.

Even after more than 35 years in the music business, Farner said he loves to perform and the opportunity to make people happy with his music. “At the end of the day, I like to see the smiles on the faces of fans and the people I meet,” he said. “When I am up on stage, I can really to feel the energy of the audience. That is very fulfilling, and it is a great feeling.”