Ken Foote Summer Songs: Grand Funk Railroad & The Loco-Motion

I think a lot of people are familiar with this song going back to 1962, performed by Little Eva which was a #1 hit for her that summer. A song about a dance!

Some twelve years later, a hard-rock band from Flint, MI recorded it and also hit #1 with in the summer of 1974. Grand Funk Railroad consisted of Mark Farner (guitar), Mel Schacher (bass), and Don Brewer (drums). A year earlier they had their first #1 hit with "We're An American Band." These two songs were the only #1 hits they had from 1970-1975. For the first few years of their existence, their songs were primarily heard on FM "underground music" stations like the former 98.7 KNUS-FM in Dallas (now KLUV-FM), rarely on Top 40 AM stations, but by 1973 they became a little more pop rock rather than hard rock.

Their version of "The Loco-Motion" was released in May 1974 and stayed on the charts for fourteen weeks. Written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, produced by Todd Rundgren, running 2:46 on the Capitol Records label, the lyrics go like this:

Everybody's doing a brand-new dance, now
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
I know you'll get to like it if you give it a chance now
(Come on baby, do the loco-motion)
My little baby sister can do it with me
It's easier than learning your a-b-c's
So come on, come on, do the loco-motion with me
You gotta swing your hips, now

Come on, baby
Jump up
Jump back
Well, now, I think you've got the knack
Wow, wow

As a side note, Little Eva (born Eva Narcissus Boyd on June 29, 1943 and passed away on April 10, 2003) was discovered by King and Goffen while she was babysitting their daughter.

Enjoy!