Larry Graham, Jr. (born August 14, 1946 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American … Read Full Bio ↴Larry Graham, Jr. (born August 14, 1946 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American baritone singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as both the bass player in the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. He is credited with the invention of the slapping technique, which radically expanded the tonal palette of the bass, although he himself refers to the technique as "Thumpin' and Pluckin'."
Graham played bass in the highly successful and influential funk band Sly & the Family Stone from 1967 to 1972. He pioneered the art of slap-pop playing on the electric bass, in part to provide percussive and rhythmic elements in addition to the notes of the bassline when the band lacked a drummer. This style has become archetypical of modern funk. Slap-pop playing couples a percussive thumb-slapping technique of the lower strings with an aggressive finger-snap of the higher strings, often in rhythmic alternation. The slap and pop technique incorporates a large ratio of muted (or 'ghost' tones) to normal notes, which adds to the rhythmic effect.
This "machine-gun" bass style was later used by such artists as Les Claypool, Bootsy Collins, Louis Johnson, Mark King, Flea, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, John Norwood Fisher, P-Nut, Danny McCormack, Matt Noveskey and Dirk Lance.
Upon the Family Stone's disintegration due to lead singer Sly Stone's drug addiction, Graham formed his own band, Graham Central Station. The name is a pun on Grand Central Station, the train station located in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Graham Central Station had several hits in the 1970s, including "Hair."
In the mid 1970s, Larry Graham worked with Betty Davis, the former second wife of jazz legend Miles Davis. Betty Davis' band included members of the Tower of Power horns and the Pointer Sisters, and she recorded three albums to critical acclaim but limited commercial success.
In 1975, Graham became a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. In the early 1980s, Graham recorded five solo albums and had several solo hits. His biggest hit was "One in a Million, You", which reached number 9 on the Billboard chart in 1980.
He recorded another album in the late 1990s, with a new band using the Graham Central Station name. Two of the new members were former Family Stone bandmates Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini. He also toured with Prince as opening act in 1997 and 1998.
In 2007 he was invited to play in Minneapolis with the reformed Sly & the Family Stone, but declined because he was out of town. He did, however, appear onstage in Minneapolis on July 8th, 2007 with Prince at First Avenue.
Graham played bass in the highly successful and influential funk band Sly & the Family Stone from 1967 to 1972. He pioneered the art of slap-pop playing on the electric bass, in part to provide percussive and rhythmic elements in addition to the notes of the bassline when the band lacked a drummer. This style has become archetypical of modern funk. Slap-pop playing couples a percussive thumb-slapping technique of the lower strings with an aggressive finger-snap of the higher strings, often in rhythmic alternation. The slap and pop technique incorporates a large ratio of muted (or 'ghost' tones) to normal notes, which adds to the rhythmic effect.
This "machine-gun" bass style was later used by such artists as Les Claypool, Bootsy Collins, Louis Johnson, Mark King, Flea, Victor Wooten, Marcus Miller, Stanley Clarke, John Norwood Fisher, P-Nut, Danny McCormack, Matt Noveskey and Dirk Lance.
Upon the Family Stone's disintegration due to lead singer Sly Stone's drug addiction, Graham formed his own band, Graham Central Station. The name is a pun on Grand Central Station, the train station located in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Graham Central Station had several hits in the 1970s, including "Hair."
In the mid 1970s, Larry Graham worked with Betty Davis, the former second wife of jazz legend Miles Davis. Betty Davis' band included members of the Tower of Power horns and the Pointer Sisters, and she recorded three albums to critical acclaim but limited commercial success.
In 1975, Graham became a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses. In the early 1980s, Graham recorded five solo albums and had several solo hits. His biggest hit was "One in a Million, You", which reached number 9 on the Billboard chart in 1980.
He recorded another album in the late 1990s, with a new band using the Graham Central Station name. Two of the new members were former Family Stone bandmates Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini. He also toured with Prince as opening act in 1997 and 1998.
In 2007 he was invited to play in Minneapolis with the reformed Sly & the Family Stone, but declined because he was out of town. He did, however, appear onstage in Minneapolis on July 8th, 2007 with Prince at First Avenue.
JUST BE MY LADY
GRAHAM LARRY Lyrics
Just be my lady
And everything will be alright
Just be my lady
I will love you every day and night
Just be my lady
I promise you everything will be alright
Just be my lady
That's really what you ought to do
Just be my lady
This love I have was meant for you
Just be my lady
Everything you ask of me sweetheart I'll do for you
My promise to you is I'll always be true
No matter what no one, no one tries to do
'Til death do us part you can have my heart forever
And that's a long, long time
Just be my lady
I'm saying all I'm gonna say
Just be my lady
Just take my hand and I'll lead the way
Just be my lady
There's no never time to start the today, today
Just be my lady
All mine
Just be my lady
All mine
Just be my lady
All mine
Just be my lady
All mine
Just be my lady
And everything will be alright
Just be my lady
I will love you every day and night
Just be my lady
I promise you everything will be alright
Just be my lady
That's really what you ought to do
Just be my lady
This love I have was meant for you
Everything you ask of me sweetheart I'll do for you
My promise to you is I'll always be true
No matter what no one, no one tries to do
'Til death do us part you can have my heart forever
And that's a long, long time
Just be my lady
I'm saying all I'm gonna say
Just be my lady
Just take my hand and I'll lead the way
Just be my lady
There's no never time to start the today, today
Just be my lady
All mine
Just be my lady
All mine
Just be my lady
All mine
Just be my lady
All mine
Just be my lady
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it
More Genres
No Artists Found
More Artists
Load All
No Albums Found
More Albums
Load All
No Tracks Found
Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Search results not found
Song not found
Terry Brown
This was my wife and I wedding song and forty years from that day, we are still together and still play this song. Thank God for our union!!
Dr. Greg Marco
Totally awesome! Continue the journey!
MissionScrappr Will
WoW, Congratulations 🎉 GOD's Grace To Both Of You 🙏
Marcello Fernandes
Larry Graham has the best voice of all R&B singers! God bless you Larry!
Mom2BbyG KaTeraD
I'm not crying 😢.... My eyes are sweating! Brother Larry Graham, this is absolutely beautiful.🌹🤵🏽💍👰🏽💞
A CHOSEN VESSEL
The fact that a masterful piece of music like this has less than a million views is a good indicator of where we are as a society and how standards in music are in the gutter today.
BeThe All
2 mill views now ! 🎤🎤🎤
only 1 true
A CHOSEN VESSEL yes indeed
Carolyn Harvey
So True. That Voice. That Song. So Romantic. My friend told me her boyfriend called her on the phone. Just repeated her name and played this song. Instant courtship. And the fact that he was fine. That helped. 😂
Janice Burford
For real...the true artist and the really talented musicians are and were under paid and were not recognized for the contributions and their talents to the music industry.