‘All The Girls In The World Beware!!!’: Grand Funk Muscle In
It was the band’s second album of 1974, their ninth studio release and their 11th chart LP in just over five years.
The incredible momentum of Grand Funk showed no signs of stopping as they reached the end of 1974 with their second album of the year, their ninth studio release and their 11th LP to chart in just over five years. The album in question, with plenty of exclamation marks in the title and even more muscles rippling on the cover, was All The Girls In The World Beware!!! It entered the Billboard chart on December 21, 1974.
It was the band’s second studio album in the space of nine months, and is part of a sequence in which all of their first 11 long players to make the bestsellers are now certified at least gold in America, three platinum and two multi-platinum. Where the March 1974 release Shinin’ On had been produced by Todd Rundgren, All The Girls was helmed by Jimmy Ienner and introduced by another of Grand Funk’s big covers.
Shinin’ On was driven by the band’s No.1 remake of Little Eva’s “The Loco-motion,” and now came their rocking interpretation of “Some Kind Of Wonderful.” Rather than the often-covered Gerry Goffin/Carole King song, associated among others with the Drifters from their R&B Top 10 version, this was the number written by John Ellison, who recorded it with his group Soul Brothers Six in 1967.
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That recording only reached No.91 on the US singles chart, and a cover the next year by the Fantastic Johnny C peaked at No.87. Grand Funk saw the chance to seize the big hit, and their reading of “Wonderful” duly reached No.3. That was followed by a Mark Farner original, “Bad Time,” which became the second single from Girls and another big 45, reaching No.4.
The album featured five other songs written or co-written by Farner, and a cover of Howard Tate’s 1960s R&B tune written by Jerry Ragovoy and Mort Schuman, “Look At Granny Run Run.” The string arrangements on the LP were by Tony Camillo, who had co-produced and arranged Gladys Knight and the Pips’ Grammy-winning “Midnight Train To Georgia.” Camillo would have some chart glory of his own in 1975 when the dance single “Dynomite,” credited to Tony Camillo’s Bazuka and released on A&M, hit the US Top 10.
Buy or stream All The Girls In The World Beware!!!
