The Grand Funk Railroad - Playboy After Dark 1969

[jpritch2]

why aren't there any cool shows like this anymore, on tv??

[nevrgreen]

I wonder if Mark hooked up with the bionic woman back then she was lookin quite hot.

[Bluesman9830]

Actually the show wasn't filmed in the Playboy Nanxion at all. It was filmed at the Playboy Penthouse.

[SmilesDenials]

Anthony Kiedis much...

[vitoveio1985]

isso é rock de verdade!!!!

[ROMANLEO26]

yes of course is lindsay wagner

[coketherealthing]

The Bionic women is loving it

[lethrneck4]

listen to that bass!! amazing

[7WarAnglesFly]

Heff and Tony randall he is so straight,

check out the people on the stairs good stuff.

[Alexandernero666]

Is Lindsey Wagner in this video or is it my imagination?

[PackedFunk]

@Alexandernero666

*It is Lindsey.

[notfragile33]

How come they were never on Soul Train? Those people could dance a whole lot better to their stuff than these people can!

[notfragile33]

Who gave Mel a microphone to do some 'fake' background vocals? You don't give Mel a microphone!

[MattHatter]

@wdmounger Oh you must be JOKING! Dude, Mel's bass was one of the fattest bass sounds at the start of the 1970's. I'll never forget when I first heard "Nothing Is The Same" and Mel's bass just knocked me out!

[brapmx]

The mansion sure was full of beautiful women. Cuttie alert @ 6:19

[spearofdestiny1965]

At least there was no "High Priced Prostitution" at the Playboy Mansion in 1969...Dan O'Niallain

[SupernautG]

Wow Tony Randall's comment kind of made your jaw drop - rock at this point (1969) is only 15 years old. Wow. Now rock - in terms of sales and music charts is doing badly - but the music back then was fresh and new and unbeatable.

[Bombeni]

Near the end that spade finally says Fuck this stairs shit I'm getting down wit it.

[Bombeni]

You have to watch this 10 times just to make sure your eyes aren't playing tricks with you.

[kmccorma]

That is Lyndsey Wagner sitting on the stage.

[2141737]

I enjoyed the people on the staircase's dance moves. They have the right idea.

[2141737]

I enjoyed the girl on the stairs' dance moves. She has the right idea.

[kolbpilot]

Funny stuff, singing a song about pounding gals in the back. Sending a message to the Bunnies.

[dbonfa555]

Mark Farner, stop calling me!

[HomerHil23]

Why was the audio dubbed over?!? I never got that with Grand Funk's EARLY videos like the Get Down Video where the audio goes WAY off track during Mark's solo. It makes me mad that they either dubbed the audio or fucked up on the editing!!!

[428SCJ]

CAN YOU DIG IT! BROTHER"S AND SISTER'S!

[TRS125]

Anyone notice Paul Mooney the comedian dancing at about 2:46. He's the black guy doing the spin. This is what he did between trying to become a comedian and writing for Richard Pryor. What a life!

[PackedFunk]

@TRS125

Pretty good part time job.

[MiltonJenkins]

@TRS125 Check out Paul Mooney's great contributions to Dave Chapelle's show.Get the DVDs. He brilliantly balances character, pride, and humor. Check out his outtakes on the DVDs.

[DetroitLives313]

@TRS125  Paul Mooney is an amazingly talented man, a legend! I saw him last year in NYC!

[lethrneck4]

@TRS125

i have the dvd of the playboy after darks i always wondered who the high black guy dancing was..thats PAUL MOONEY?? the angry black guy on chappelle show ASK A BLACK GUY?? get out!

[centrehice]

First time I’ve ever seen a crowd dance like that to a GFR song of that era. Of course, the “crowd” danced to every group on that show. The flamboyant dancers were regulars.

Must’ve bothered the boys to not play LIVE....but hey, they were on Playboy After Dark!

[pretorious700]

LOL, Tony Randall, what a priss.

[PackedFunk]

@pretorious700

He sure is. WTF is he even there for?

[canucklehead1951]

I love GFR. Too bad they had to lip--sync.

[bradyleights]

man they rock.

[guydreamr]

I'll tell you what, that ol' Hef sure could throw a party

[kimburleeboo]

A family bar-b-que in your backyard isn't complete until one of your uncle puts on some Grand Funk Railroad loud enough to slightly annoy neighbors, while holding a beer in his free hand.

[PackedFunk]

@kimburleeboo

Funny you mention that because I'm the uncle that always does that.

Never spill a drop of beer doing it either!

[cinerama62]

Wow! GFR on Playboy After Dark. This blew my mind. Thanks PackedFunk.

[BBQFanNo1]

That Woman looks like Lindsay Wagner.

[PackedFunk]

@BBQFanNo1

Lindsay for sure.

[BaronM]

Is that Linsdey Wagner ... the Bionic woman at 1:08?

[PackedFunk]

@BaronM

Yes it is. She would hang around Hef & mansion.

[titustiti]

@PackedFunk And where is Wonder Woman ???

[PackedFunk]

@titustiti

1:08 minutes.

[titustiti]

@PackedFunk Yes, I saw her. But I said 'where is Wonder Woman', not Super Jaimie. It was a (bad) joke. Sorry for my french humour... ;)

[PackedFunk]

@titustiti

My bad. I like Wonder Woman too. (More Busty!)

[Bombeni]

Oh my gawd. I can't believe you found this, packedfunk. This is almost-------too much. But I can dig it. I loved when macdaddy couldn't fight the feeling anymore and jumps off into the crowd near the end. Classic early 70's Just classic.

[HD80EVO]

Farner & The Boys had to lipsync The Mansion, but not by choice.

[MultiGFR]

hey guys is that lindsay wagner in the video in front of don brewer on stage the bionic woman lol......

[HD80EVO]

@MultiGFR

Yes it is!! She would hang around Hefner back then.

[BaronM]

@MultiGFR

I believe so. It has to be.

[23266334]

why GRR did playback

[efzt]

I thought the singer was Rundgren? I wore this stuff out when I was a kid now I realize I don't know shit. They were from Flint I believe.

[kolbpilot]

Would of loved to see

stumble off the stairs on to the band but,.....

[PackedFunk]

@kolbpilot

You know, I thought the same thing. Fall on his ass would have been pretty cool.

[HD80EVO]

@PackedFunk

Yea I thought the same. Wish that first dude would have fell on his ass off stairs!

[rsmko]

@kolbpilot Would've

[walmufra]

muchos recuerdos, todos cheveres. uuuuuuuuu

[PackedFunk]

I know this, GFRxR was NOT into lip-sync.

Someone else made this unfortunate decision.

It is what it is.

[kolbpilot]

Think Mark got laid that night?

[PackedFunk]

@kolbpilot

My money is on it!

[kolbpilot]

@PackedFunk Hell, it was probably Lindsay. She's right up front.

[thepenkista]

At 1 : 09, you can see Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman-Original ).

[ultrakool]

gotta love those rapid fire, snare-tom fills of brewer. too bad they didn't do this live, felix may have become a new fan of rock. lol

[petticlone]

This is lipsynced- and fingersynced too. Damn.

[stomp919]

Too bad its lip synched.

[jawsband]

I love this band GFR, to me Mark Farner has alot ofsoul in his voice, plus the band also..to bad they are not in the Hall of fame . this is the American Band.. say boycott the hall of fame . not even Rush is in there..sad for OHIO

[Bellyflops2]

ahhhhhhhh Barbi Benton she was hot

[PackedFunk]

@Bellyflops2

Barbie was always one of my favorites!

[captainbeyond51]

Grand Funk is rock-n-roll

[MannyMUC]

The playing is as bad as the taste in this bizarre playboy mansion

[dxearlmarc]

Did I see one of the girls in this video,Lindsay Wagner????

[papatooth1]

how funny would it be if the black dude on the stairs fell off into the band, what a flailing attention whore.

[iamyohan]

the crazy negro hopping around is hilarious!!!!

[guurkaaan]

@iamyohan "Negro"? Are you from the

fuckin '30s?

[iamyohan]

oh im sorry please allow me to correct my speech the replacement is nigger thereuhaveit! fuck off douchbag!!!!

[luridplanet]

Lip-syncing is just a fact of life on cheesy shows like this.

[GarfieldGoose]

This was the greatest TV show ever (PAD). Why is the railroad not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Is it because farner is a born-again Christian?

[GeorgeVreelandHill]

Their music is Hall of Fame good.

Love them.

George Vreeland Hill

[littlequeen64]

Hef is such a dork............

[putoncabron]

the rnr hall of fame sucks dick. bunch of fucking assholes!

[PackedFunk]

aka Jann Wenner

[HD80EVO]

@putoncabron

AKA Jan Wenner!

[tonlo92]

I just checked out the article, and recommend it to every GFR fan. I agree with every word.

[PackedFunk]

The Huffington Post just wrote an article about Grand Funk being blackballed by The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Go to their site & search:

How lame is The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame?

[PackedFunk]

Playboy was like American Band Stand.

Not set-up for live performances. Lip-sync only.

[stomp919]

@PackedFunk Check out Deep Purples Hush at the Playboy mansion. Its not lip synched. Grand Funk always kicks ass!

[pawnee55]

Great song. Whose idea was it to lip synch? Stupid.

[talpajam]

Rare shots of Farners' Veleno aluminum bodied guitar too. These (recorded) tracks have this guitar on them a real singular tone with his West amps. Great singer, simple tunes..a real opiate back then. Critically panned, but like most I had their LPs...the Red Album is a killer. The cover is iconic.

[Lmcdan1313]

Mark didn't use the Veleno until 1974; this is the Messenger he used from 1969 till 1971.

[spotandedgar]

NO WAY! You're right it's the same fuckin' one!

[tonlo92]

this is 1969, one year later they became the biggest selling act of 1970 & 1971.

[margix]

what a voice!!!!!!!

MARK FARNER is one of the best singer EVER!!!!

[robodoll]

P.A.D. was regular viewing for me growing up...many great bands played the show - nothing like it these days...too bad.

[elevatorsfan]

We're these songs ever done "live" by the band?

[GalaxyRover1020]

Hef was with Barbi Benton babe supreme back then

[PackedFunk]

Lyndsey Wagner

[hiwatcarl60]

Meg Ryan was born in 61 !!!! How can she be here at the age of 8 years old. This girl might look like her, but I don't think children were allowed at the mansion, specially if she was 8 or 9 years old ?????

[jeffreyrbuse]

Meg Ryan up front @ the beginning-check it out!

[SignalLost730]

Who was that self-absorbent dickhead in the beginning saying he accurately predicted rock would never last? He couldn't be more wrong

[pbl1]

he, don't fuck with Tony Randall. Besides, he was being sarcastic

[Yonnyjohn]

Hey, don't be dissing Tony Randall, dude. I don't think he really takes anything he said seriously, which makes him both funny and cool. My brother had an opportunity to be working on-set with Randall one time - it was an _Odd_Couple_ reunion TV movie. My 'bro said that between shots Jack Klugman would sit quietly in the corner reading, while Tony Randall regaled the entire crew and cast with the absolutely filthiest and funniest jokes known to mankind. Tony mayn't be quite as cool as GFR, but..

[toweringmatt]

he was kidding that was the joke. called a dry sense of humor

[tenbarsteam]

I've heard that drugs were freely available in those days. You can't tell like!

[tonlo92]

such a nice voice. The dancing is so out of place.

[Bekki54]

This is what WE call rock!!! At it's finest!

Mark, You're such a hottie!

[UnknownHinsn]

Check out my man on the stairs at 2:06!

LOL

[MattHatter]

2:06, He looks like one of those skinny Jim Henson muppetts that would pop-dance against an entirely dark background! LOL!

[PackedFunk]

It would be funny if that muppett fell down stairs.

The muppett look. Sign of the times.

[EvilGorm]

The dancing is hilarious! Hefner, Barbie Benton, Lindsay Wagner. I swear Roy Clark is in there too. Tony Randall may not have liked rock n roll then, but 7 years later he taped an intro for Monty Python & the Holy Grail on HBO and compared the soundtrack to music from Led Zeppelin(???). Sounds weird, but he was a weird guy. BTW, both tracks were from GFR's ass-kicking and grossly underrated second (red) album. .I had forgotten how good it was.

[mtfune]

I forgot how much of a good jam "Please don't worry" is. What a great intro and chorus riff!! It provokes LOTS of GOOD energy!!!

[Torpedo8]

Lindsay Wagner at 1:07

[frankenstein909]

Wow! How freaking wonderful!!! Thanks so much for posting this! I love these songs, and love the guitar tone! I've just been looking at GRF clips for 2 weeks now, after losing track of them since the 70s. I really liked them then, but guess I didn't fully appreciate how fantastic they really were. It really is a treat to find this today! If only I can find a new clip everyday I'd be in heaven. Love seeing them all, but especially the facial expressions of Mark. Bet they had fun there!

[ThatWhalingBand]

Tony Randall was with a girl 50 years his jr. before he passed on, so we all know he appreciated "rock n' roll" on that level....Felix Unger, Hef, and G.Funk....AWESOME!!!!!!!

[girlomanypassions]

GROOVY!

[papatooth1]

god our parents cant dance worth shit

[monstrosity226]

maybe not, but we sure had better music than what your gen is putting out.

[papatooth1]

i agree with you about the music, most current pop music is terrible.

[davemooreblues]

Most?

[PeterCRissKISSgod]

im sure they all got lied that night by the bunnys!

GRAND FUNK FOREVER!

[xXxXFoolehCoolehXxXx]

Oh man the singer is damn cute. I love GFR! All my favorite bands from back then have played on playboy. xD

[fugepoo]

you wouldnt still be saying that if you saw him today

[RITH5150]

like you are going to keep your looks forever ain't gonna happen

[ashley19smom]

Yes he is yummy!

[mrbag60]

Man to think those guys were probably 19 or 20 when this were made and with all those hot playmates checking them out and vice versa their musta been some serious sexual tension going on. Whew. Also, nice to see Barbie Benton (Hef's then Girlfriend) and the bionic woman Lindsey Wagner before she became famous.

[PeterCRissKISSgod]

Mark-19

Mel-19

Don-18

[muddystrats]

great vdo! i was not even born yet! :)

[mrmott44]

Don Draper

[luvpalin1]

wow barbu benton & lindsey wagner in the audience !

[selfhelp69]

Straight pimpin'

[DonTerhune1200cc]

rhythmn guitar+lead guitar playing at the same time w/ 1 guitar player = "not live". never the less, enjoyed the music & vid. thanx 4 posting it.

[unknownkingdom]

Some of those hippy girls are HOT! Dang.

[Yonnyjohn]

Hippies? This is as straight as it got, if you added sex. This was 'the Establishment", the complete opposite of hippies.

[tuxguys]

This is astonishing... everybody in this footage looks as though they are locked into 1969; Tony Randall looks like he participated in this interview THIS MORNING. From his movies in the '50's until the one he appeared in a few years ago sort of satirizing the ones he made in the '50s's, until he died, he never, ever changed, and he was never any more or less in style at any time than he was at any other time. I bet he was born looking and talking that way.

[PackedFunk]

Everyone don't forget to sign the petition above. Just click the blue link.

[upchuck69]

Wow, this is good shit!!!! I didn't know Hugh Hefner had his own show back then. But then again, I had just been toilet trained in 1969.

P.S. Lindsay Wagner was such a hottie.

[bekki53]

i DON'T KNOW ABOUT LINSAY. BUT....THE LONG HAIRED GUY SINGING, IS REALLY A HOTTIE. AND SO TALENTED. ADDS UP TO = MARK FARNER!!!!

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

is this on dvd? I would love to see GRAND FUNK RAILROAD live on tv/video doing "Paranoid"

0:53 what is happening to Hugh Hefner face, and was he about to say "Grand funk Wagner'?

[mistersquirrelhead]

@TEMPmichaelhansen  I think he was going to say Grand Funk "Wag-on Train" (Train/Railroad) which was a western television show and a hit for almost a decade (1957-1965)

[En0ErUP]

they should have played inside looking out,,and played it live ,that would have blown everyone away,,hef is as cool as grand funk

[Beamshipcaptain]

By the way, this was live, its obvious they went directly into the sound-board for everything. Back in the late 1960s TV and recording tech was getting really good, and Hef could afford the best! Remember the MIDNIGHT SPECIAL, and DON KIRSCHNER'S ROCK CONCERT from 1971-76, I loved, and the sound quality  and mix-down of the live-performances was incredible.

[dweller26]

It's not live, the guitars aren't plugged in and the drums aren't mic'd. If they were really playing the girl sat infront of the bass drum clapping would be deafened and mark farner missed a bit of lead/solo he was supposed to mime, came in too late, gave up and went back to playing chords while the lead kept going.

[daveniner]

Also, they have Mel doing the back up harmonies, when it was Don who sang back up.

[Beamshipcaptain]

Very groovy. I was only 8 years old when this happened 40-years ago. So nostalgic. Definitely beats the music and vibe of today. People had more LOVE going on, we landed on the Moon (!) and to live was still relatively inexpensive. Maybe new administration will take us back to the days before Nixon screwed up our economy, cutback the space-program, and instigated for-profit healthcare. Peace, love, and rock and roll. That is what life is all about!

[Torpedo8]

When, praytell, was all healthcare free?

[Beamshipcaptain]

It was substantiall lower cost in the 1960s. In 1970, Nixon instituted for-profit healthcare, and de-funded NASA. Two typically dunderheaded decisions that cost the American People billions, and set us back 30-years in progress.

[robertlaberge]

At 1:06 isn't it Lindsay Wagner

(Jame Sommers aka the bionic woman)?

[PackedFunk]

It is. Before she was famoius.

[robertlaberge]

I've read that she's had jazz and ballet lessons which would explain her presence on the show as a dancer. Lovely actress for sure.

[MattHatter]

6:43 to 7:05, absolutely NOBODY is dancing correctly to that section of the song!

[MattHatter]

Oh com'on Tony...you mean you can't get into this Grand Funk bag baby?

[347ez]

GFR possibly the most underrated band in rock history,still not in the rock n roll hall of fame,why is that?

[happykilojoule]

I wonder if GFR and James Gang ever shared a bill.

[FLAVIN77]

wow, great video, great songs,

great grand "red album" funk ,

thanks man!!

[GreenyMcFleetwood]

This is Bona fide badass

[fattdaddy3755]

I wonder what was really going through Mark Farners head during this "shindig." Looks like the crowd was enjoying the electric kool-aid huh! Like...way far far out man!

[semprini20]

At last: Hugh Hefner, Tony Randall and Grand Funk Railroad in the same room! What strange and wonderous alchemy:-P

[tomitstube]

I'm guessing GFR had a real good night. Two great tunes from the Red album. Would have prefered live, but lip synching was pretty standard fair for TV back then. Oh Well.

[northernlimit]

This wasn't lipsynched

[tomitstube]

There are several ways to know this wasn't live...

1) The most obvious is no amps. And I'm pretty sure wireless tech wasn't around instrumentally in '69.

2) If you know the Red album like I know the red album, this is dead on the recording.

3) Heff talking over the music, it's way to clean for the day and age.

4) The fade out of Mr. Limousine Driver.

5) It says so in the info.

[andymaster12]

yea i guess your right, but its wierd cause others performers on playboy after dark have played live, like canned heat for instance. why would a smaller band not play live?

[tomitstube]

I don't know why they wouldn't go live. Could have been a logistics/travel type of thing. There wasn't a stigma attached to doing this back then. Still pretty cool ole Heff did this in 69, it caught some pretty cool acts early in their careers.

[August242008]

Yes, That's LINDSEY WAGNER in this video several years before playing "JAMIE SUMMERS" in THE BIONIC WOMAN (c. 1976)

[nad1yahoo]

you're right!! yet another thing to love about this vid. hef, tony randall, lindsay rockin out to 2 obscurities from GFR, and the band getting completely obscured in trippy dancers. Actual performance by the band would have been better but still this gets 5 stars of awesomeness

[amsterdandi]

Right F ing On! Whoa those stair dancers gots the funk...

[HomerHil23]

WOW this is a VERY VERY RARE clip of Grand Funk Railroad! Cudo's for putting it on the internet ofr ALL the WORLD to SEE!! LONG LIVE G.F.R.

[PackedFunk]

The New York Daily News' Nationwide Readers' Poll for 1971.

Tens of thousands of votes were cast from every state in the nation. Whe the final score was tallied, Grand Funk Railroad had garnered a whopping 75% of the total vote as "Best Rock Group In The U.S." Left to split up the remaining 25% were: 2 Creedence Clearwater, 3. Jackson Five, 4. Led Zeppelin, 5. Three Dog Night, 6. The Who, 7. Sly, 8. Santana, 9.Chicago, and 10.Ten Years After!

[010lats]

This is one of the coolest videos I've ever seen What could b better than GFR and Playmates?

[pawnee55]

Dig the horny dude in the tuxedo behind the band, clutching that poor blonde and grinding his hips into her posterior! And those groovy dancers swinging on down the stairs. Too bad the band is lip-synching ... they could rip it up live like no one.

[fkngrvnmj]

Mark looks like one of the dudes in the movie "The Warriors"