Terry Knight and the Pack

Hailing from the Flint, Michigan, Terry Knight and the Pack achieved semi-legendary status during their short formation between 1965 and '67. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label throughout its short recording career.

Previous DJ sensation and indefatigable self-promoter Terry Knight fronted the act as singer and songwriter. Don Brewer and Mark Farner played drums and bass, respectively. Curt Johnson supplied fuzz guitar solos while Bobby Caldwell provided melodic keyboards.

A quintessential garage band, TK&TP openly imitated best-selling rockers of the mid-'60s, especially the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. Due to the band's lack of refinement and Knight's compositional idiosyncrasies, much of their material transcends its inspiration to qualify as lost classics of the "Nuggets" era.

Six of their nine 45s made regional Top 40s throughout Michigan, Ohio and New York, with two of them - "Mister, You're A Better Man Than I" (originally by The Yardbirds) and "I (Who Have Nothing)" (a cover of a Ben E. King song) - hitting the national charts. "I (Who Have Nothing)" went to #46 and earned the band an appearance on Dick Clark's television program "Where The Action Is".

Memorable tracks by the band include: "This Precious Time" (composed and produced by P.F. Sloan), a version of "I Can't Get No Satisfaction" and several Knight originals: "Numbers," "A Change On The Way" and "Love, Love, Love, Love, Love" (later covered by Detroit roots rockers Brownsville Station). An interesting note is that The Music Explosion issued an almost identical version of "Love, Love, Love, Love, Love"--same instrumental backing track but a different vocal track; it's unclear whether The Pack or the Music Explosion recorded the "original".

TK&TP were mainstays on Cleveland's TV rock & roll showcase, "Upbeat". In addition, they opened regional gigs for the Rolling Stones, Dave Clark Five and The Yardbirds. Michigan newspapers lavished praise upon the band, with extensive coverage by Lorraine Alterman (later of The New York Times).

After their second LP, "Reflections", Knight left the band to pursue a frustrated solo career as producer and singer. The Pack continued without Knight with even less success. The band was largely forgotten until Farner and Brewer formed the nucleus of Capitol Records' best-selling act of the early '70s, Grand Funk Railroad, initially managed and produced by Knight.

All recordings by Terry Knight and the Pack have been out of print since 1973, except for "I (Who Have Nothing)" which is included in the "Cameo Parkway 1957-1967" box set.

Only one "best of" compilation was released in late 1972 by ABKCO Records as the 2 LP set "Mark, Don and Terry 1965-67" (blue cover)inspired by the Grand Funk Railroad 2 LP set "Mark, Don and Mel 1969-72" (black cover)released earlier that year on Capitol. The ABKCO-released album was later re-packaged in 1973 as "Funk-Off." Both albums are considered collectors items after being dropped from the ABKCO catalog. Another quasi-best-of compilation, "Track On", was released on Lucky Eleven circa 1969-70, but the legality of this issue has been questioned.

External links

Terry Knight & The Pack:
* [http://www.furious.com/PERFECT/terryknight2.html Remembering Terry Knight & The Pack]