Graham Central Station

Graham Central Station
Wilton Rabb performing with Graham Central Station (Istanbul Jazz Festival, 2010)
Background information
Origin	Oakland, California, United States
Genres	R&B, funk, soul
Years active	1973–1979, 1998
Labels	Warner Bros., WEA, Star Maker, P-Vine, Rhino
Associated acts	Sly & the Family Stone
Past members	Larry Graham David Vega Hershall Kennedy Willie Sparks Patryce "Chocolate" Banks

Graham Central Station is an American funk band named after founder Larry Graham (formerly of Sly & the Family Stone). The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often colloquially called Grand Central Station.

The band's origins date from when Santana guitarist Neal Schon formed the band Azteca in 1972 along with Larry Graham (bass guitar) and Gregg Errico (drums), both from Sly & the Family Stone, and Pete Sears (keyboards), from Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship. Santana bass guitar player Tom Rutley would move into the bass spot with Azteca. That band, like Santana with heavy Latin influences, would eventually morph into Graham Central Station, while Schon would form Journey. The invention of electric slap bass is attributed by many (including Victor Wooten and Bootsy Collins) to Graham, which influenced many musical genres, such as funk, R&B and disco.

Graham Central Station's biggest hit was "Your Love", which charted at number 9 in 1975. The group also integrated gospel music into their repertoire, and played with the dichotomy between the funk/rock star image and the "sanctified" gospel group image. Some of their recordings feature the Tower of Power horn section.