| Net Worth: | $14 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Musician |
| Date of Birth: | September 3, 1948 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.91 m |
About Don Brewer
At the age of twelve, Brewer formed his very first band, which he called “The Red Devils.” After leaving the band Brewer went on to join a new group known as “The Jazzmasters,” in which he played the drums and sang. In 1964, Brewer became a member of the band Terry Knight and the Pack, which was also comprised of Herm Jackson on bass, Curt Johnson on guitar, Bobby Caldwell on keyboards, and Terry Knight on turntables. Brewer was a former disc jockey. With the song “I (Who Have Nothing)” which he released in 1966, he achieved his first top 40 hit.
In 1968, Brewer parted ways with Terry Knight and the Pack along with bandmate Mark Farner. They went on to establish Grand Funk Railroad, for which Brewer recruited Mel Schacher, the bassist for the successful band and the Mysterians, as a member. They decided to go with Terry Knight for their manager position. In 1969, Grand Funk Railroad released their debut studio album titled “On Time,” which went on to sell more than one million copies.
Brewer is a graduate of Swartz Creek High School. He was born on September 3, 1948, in Flint, Michigan, and is the son of Clara Eileen (née Waterman) and Donald A. Brewer. Brewer attended Swartz Creek High School. We’re an American Band was the title track of Grand Funk’s album that was released in 1973 and featured the band’s version of the title song.
This song was the band’s first hit to reach number one and was written and sung by Brewer. The song has subsequently gained widespread popularity and has been covered by a variety of musicians. Brewer contributed lead vocals to a number of Grand Funk songs in addition to playing drums for the band, notably the first and third verses of “Some Kind of Wonderful” (1974). In contrast to Mark Farner’s tenor vocals, Brewer was the group’s baritone lead singer. Mark Farner was the group’s tenor lead singer. The year 1974 saw the publication of the album “Monumental Funk” by Mark Farner and Brewer, which was issued by the label Qualico.
After the first dissolution of Grand Funk in 1977, Brewer, along with former Grand Funk members Mel Schacher and Craig Frost, came together to establish a new band that they called Flint. Before breaking up in 1978, Flint recorded a single album under their own name. In addition, he maintained his work in various musical pursuits, including the production of the self-titled debut album The Godz for the Columbus, Ohio-based band The Godz in the year 1978.
On Frank Zappa’s song “Let Me Take You to the Beach” which appeared on the 1978 album Studio Tan, Brewer played the bongo. Studio Tan was published that year.
Brewer’s performance of a drum solo from the day he and Grand Funk Railroad sold out Shea Stadium in 1971 was included in the Classic Rock Drum Solos DVD (2007), which was released in 2007. At the annual Drum Festival event hosted by Modern Drummer Magazine in the year 2000, Brewer participated as a guest clinician and performed. Brewer made his first appearance with the band since playing for them on their 1983 tour when he rejoined Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band in 2006 for their tour in 2006–07. This was his first appearance with the band since he played for them on their 1983 tour. In addition, he played with them throughout their tour in 2011, as well as during Seger’s Ride Out concert tour in the United States in 2014–2015.
Grand Funk was resurrected by Brewer and Farner in 1981 for the recording of the album Grand Funk Lives, which debuted at number one on the Billboard albums chart. After another two years of being apart, they finally parted ways, and Brewer went on to join Bob Seger’s Silver Bullet Band. In 1996 Brewer, Schacher, and Farner regrouped as Grand Funk. Brewer and his wife Sunny Quinn have been married since 1985 and currently reside in Jupiter, Florida. They have a total of five grandchildren to go along with their two daughters.
At the tail end of 1998, Farner made the decision to part ways with the band in order to concentrate on his solo career. In the year 2000, Brewer and Schacher brought on board vocalist Max Carl, keyboardist Tim Cashion, and former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick to complete the band’s lineup. This band has been doing roughly forty gigs a year across the United States and Canada as part of their tour.
