Of all the pioneers of hard rock, perhaps no band walk the tightrope between heavy riffage and pop irresistibility as well as Grand Funk Railroad. Formed in Flint, Michigan in 1968, the power trio dropped their debut album, On Time, that same year, but the rock ‘n’ roll train really started picking up steam a few months later with Grand Funk; its lean, wild, and bluesy tunes earned the band their first of four Gold records in 1970. In the 14 years between their debut and their final studio album, 1983’s What’s Funk?, Grand Funk Railroad worked at an astounding clip, pumping out stadium-rocking jams that would become all-time classics, like 1970’s soaring “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home),” 1973’s raucous, country-tinted “We’re an American Band,” and 1974’s gospel-indebted celebration of love “Some Kind of Wonderful.” During this creative peak, they toured extensively, famously selling out New York’s Shea Stadium in 1971 faster than The Beatles did in 1965. They headed out again in 2019 on the “Celebrating 50 Years of Funk” tour, proving they are, indeed, an eternally road-ready American band.