Song · Grand Funk Railroad
“The Locomotion” by Grand Funk Railroad
From the album Shinin’ On (1974)
“The Locomotion” by Grand Funk Railroad appears on 5 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 2012 and 2026. It was first released in 1974 on the album Shinin’ On. Its best result is #39 on the WMGK Philly 500 (2022). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,540 classic rock song of all time.
Watch
Video from YouTube (Dario Paccagnella). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
Grand Funk Railroad dusted off "The Loco-Motion" for Shinin' On in 1974, with Todd Rundgren producing, and rode it all the way to number one in America, a dozen years after Little Eva had done the same thing with it. Gerry Goffin and Carole King wrote it for Dee Dee Sharp, who turned it down, and most of the words simply walk you through the steps of a dance that didn't even exist until the song came along.
Grand Funk's hit made it only the second song ever to reach number one in America for two different acts, and the first had been another Goffin and King tune, "Go Away Little Girl".
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 393 | Big 100 | BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) | 500 |
| 2014 | 731 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2022 | 39 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2023 | 154 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2026 | 361 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2026) | 500 |
Also listed as: The Loco-Motion.
Comments
Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "The Locomotion" by Grand Funk Railroad.
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.