Is there ever a bad time to be in love? According to 70s hitmakers Grand Funk (aka Grand Funk Railroad), there is. Penned by Grand Funk's lead singer Mark Farmer, the catchy pop rock tune "Bad Time" hit #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1975. It was autobiographical for Farmer because it was based on tumultuous times he was having with his first wife Cheryl. As he was quoted as saying in An American Band: The Story of Grand Funk Railroad by Billy James, "I was getting a divorce. My wife was in the kitchen throwing pans around while I was writing 'Bad Time.' It was quite emotional."
While the lyrics tell us that he's in a bad relationship, the upbeat rhythm lets us know that he's hopeful and glad it's almost over. There were a lot of songs about love in the 70s, not all of them ballads. "Bad Time" is a perfect concoction of earnest pop and euphoric rock where the stressful story is tinged with optimism. One of the best aspects of music is that it can be inspirational and the 70s certainly didn't have a shortage of feel-good songs.
You can learn more about Grand Funk here:
About the Curator - Sonya Alexander
After graduating from UCLA, Sonya trained to be a talent agent. After realizing she belonged on the creative end, she started freelance writing, covering film festivals for Los Angeles local papers. She's written about film, video games, global affairs, wildlife conservation and, most recently, music. She specializes in classic rock, classic soul, blues, classic country, classical and world music and is tri-coastal, residing in Los Angeles, New York and New Orleans.
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