Larry Graham

Early life

Graham was born August 14, 1946, in Beaumont, Texas, U.S., to parents who were successful musicians.

Career

Sly and the Family Stone

Graham played bass in the funk band Sly and the Family Stone from 1967 to 1972. The band was the first major American rock group to have a racially integrated, mixed-gender lineup. They had a series of influential tracks during the 1960s that entered the Billboard Hot 100 such as "Dance to the Music" (1968), "Everyday People" (1968), and "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" (1969), as well as critically acclaimed albums such as Stand! (1969), which combined pop sensibility with social commentary.

After many years of tension between Graham and frontman Sly Stone, Larry Graham left Sly and the Family Stone in 1972, after a post-concert brawl broke out between Graham and Sly, and rumors also spread that Larry had hired a hit man to kill Sly. Graham and his wife climbed out of a hotel window to escape, and Pat Rizzo gave them a ride to safety. Unable to continue working with Sly, Graham immediately quit. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Sly and the Family Stone.

1970s

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 Manhattan, New York City. Graham Central Station had R&B hit "Can You Handle It" in 1974.

In the mid-1970s, Larry Graham worked with Betty Davis, the second ex-wife of jazz musician 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, he was credited with introducing Prince to the faith. In the early 1980s, Graham recorded five solo albums and had several solo hits on the R&B chart. His biggest hit was "One in a Million You", a crossover hit that reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1980.

1990s–present

He reformed Graham Central Station in the early 1990s and performed with the band for several years during which they released two 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 1998, 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 from 1997 to 2000. He appeared in Prince's 1998 VHS Beautiful Strange and 1999 DVD Rave Un2 the Year 2000. He has since appeared with Prince at various international venues. Graham and Graham Central Station performed internationally with a world tour in 2010 and the "Funk Around the World" international tour in 2011.

He appeared as a special guest with Zigaboo Modeliste, R.Kelly, Billy Idle at My Morning Jacket member Jim James' "Rock N' Soul Dance Party Superjam" at the 2013 Bonnaroo Music Festival.

In 2020, he was ranked number 7 on Rolling Stone's list of "50 Greatest Bassists of All Time."

Personal life

Graham is the half-brother of Dennis Graham, and the uncle of Canadian rapper and actor Drake.

Slap bass technique

Graham pioneered the slapping technique on the electric bass (he refers to it as "thumpin' and pluckin'"), in part to provide percussive and rhythmic elements to the bass line when his mother decided to no longer have a drummer in her band. This style couples a percussive thumb-slapping of the lower strings with an aggressive finger-snap of the higher strings, the slap of the thumb used to emulate a bass drum and the pop of the index or middle finger a snare drum. The slap-and-pop technique also uses a lot of muted or "dead" notes, which adds to the rhythmic effect. Radically expanding the tonal palette of the bass, the style has become the archetype of modern funk.

The slapping style was later used by such artists as Bootsy Collins (Parliament-Funkadelic), Prince, Les Claypool (Primus), Bernard Edwards (Chic), Louis Johnson, Mark King, Keni Burke, Victor Wooten, Kim Clarke of Defunkt, Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Marcus Miller, and Stanley Clarke.

Discography

Solo albums

Singles

With Sly and the Family Stone

Main article: Sly and the Family Stone discography

• A Whole New Thing (1967)
• Dance to the Music (1968)
• Life (1968)
• Stand! (1969)
• There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)

With Graham Central Station

Albums

Studio

• Graham Central Station (Warner Bros., 1974)
• Release Yourself (Warner Bros., 1974)
• Ain't No 'Bout-A-Doubt It (Warner Bros., 1975)
• Mirror (Warner Bros., 1976)
• Now Do U Wanta Dance (Warner Bros., 1977)
• My Radio Sure Sounds Good to Me (Warner Bros., 1978)
• Star Walk (Warner Bros., 1979)
• Back by Popular Demand (1997)
• GCS 2000 (1998)
• Raise Up (2012) Live
• Live in Japan (1992)
• Live in London (1996) Compilation
• The Best of Larry Graham and Graham Central Station, Vol. 1 (Warner Bros., 1996)

Singles

With [[Prince (musician)|Prince]]

• Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999)
• Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic (2001)
• The Rainbow Children (2001)

With [[Gov't Mule]]

• The Deep End, Volume 1

References

References

1. (1997). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Virgin Books]].
2. (April 2007). "Larry Graham: Trunk of the Funk Tree".
3. "Sly and the family Stone {{!}} Rock & Roll Hall of Fame".
4. (1993). "[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music". [[Guinness Publishing]].
5. "Sly & the Family Stone Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More".
6. "Sly & the Family Stone − Stand! Album Reviews, Songs & More {{!}} AllMusic".
7. Selvin, Joel (1998), pp. 150–154
8. "Graham Central Station US singles chart history". allmusic.com.
9. ''[[Awake!]]'' magazine, [https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/101989125 February 22, 1989, p. 15.]
10. [https://www.jambase.com/article/jim-james-john-oates-billy-idol-r-kelly-and-more-team-for-bonnaroo-superjam Jim James John Oates・・・] jambase.com Retrieved 26 September 2025
11. A.J. Miller. (June 17, 2011). "Larry Graham Talks about his family ties to Drake with Lenny Green".
12. "George Johnson".
13. "Larry Graham – Billboard 200".
14. "Larry Graham – TOP R&B/HIP-HOP ALBUMS".
15. "Larry Graham – Billboard Hot 100".
16. "Larry Graham – Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs".
17. "Larry Graham – Dance Club Songs".
18. "Larry Graham – Dance Club Songs".
19. Roberts, David. (2006). "British Hit Singles & Albums". Guinness World Records Limited.
20. (September 26, 1997). "Larry Graham & Graham Central Station − By Popular Demand".