Born to Die is the tenth studio album by American hard rock band Grand Funk Railroad, released in January 1976.
The album's title is considered to be one of the group's more somber, straying away from the upbeat and cocky attitude that was so prevalent on previous albums, such as All the Girls in the World Beware!!! (1974), and focusing on darker musical and lyrical content concerning death, politics, and personal relationships. The title track was written by Farner in memory of his cousin who had died in a motorcycle accident.Billy James An American Band: The Story of Grand Funk Railroad 1999 - Page 128 "Concerning the title track Farner said, '"Born To Die' was written for my cousin who passed away in a motorcycle accident. It was early the next morning after his death and I had the piano there. I just felt the song coming to me and I wrote it. The more upbeat pop single, "Sally", released on 3 April, was written by Mark Farner for his then love interest, the actress/singer Sally Kellerman.
Track listing
Personnel Mark Farner – guitar, vocals Craig Frost – keyboards, background vocals Mel Schacher – bass Don Brewer – drums, percussion, vocals Jimmy Hall – saxophone, harmonica Donna Hall – background vocals
2002 Remaster David K. Tedds – produced & compiled for reissue by Kevin Flaherty – supervising A&R producer Steve Genewick – bonus track mix engineer Evren Göknar – mastering engineer Kenny Nemes – project manager Michelle Azzopardi – creative direction Neil Kellerhouse – art direction, design Steve Roeser – liner notes Brendan Gormley – editorial supervision Bryan Kelley – production Shannon Ward – production
Charts Chart (1976)PeakpositionCanadian Albums (RPM)Grand Funk Railroad, Born to Die Canadian Chart Position Retrieved March 25, 201531US Billboard 20047 Singles YearSingleChartPosition1976"Take Me"Billboard Hot 10053Grand Funk Railroad, "Take Me" Chart Position Retrieved March 25, 2015Canada58"Sally"Billboard Hot 10069Grand Funk Railroad, "Sally" Chart Position Retrieved March 25, 2015Canada35
References
External links [ Grand Funk Railroad chart history] at Billboard.com