File this under: here's why I like to read through old rock magazines. Or, further proof that Grand Funk Railroad was one of the most important bands of the 1970s.

I've never heard of The Deele, but apparently they were a Cincinnati-based R&B group of the 1980s that was the first big step up the ladder of fame by noted producers L.A. Reid and Babyface Edmonds. In an old issue of Record magazine - a short-lived offshoot of Rolling Stone - The Deele is briefly profiled (by Anthony DeCurtis, no less), and Reid offers the following comment about his influences:

"I remember seeing Grand Funk Railroad do an outdoor stadium show in Cincinnati. They just blowed me away ... It was rainin' and they didn't stop. I said, 'I wanna do that!'"

Check chapter one of This Ain't the Summer of Love for more on Grand Funk. They deserve a longer entry on this blog, but I just don't have the energy at the moment.

To be continued.