“We're an American Band" became Grand Funk’s first number one single and was released in July 1973. Written by drummer Don Brewer and produced by Todd Rundgren, it was sung by Brewer who began doing more lead vocals for the band since they had changed their name from Grand Funk Railroad as they sought to transition from album-oriented rock to top 40 hits.

After releasing their “Phoenix” album in 1972 they were dealing with lawsuits while trying to stay creative. Their manager suggested they write songs about what they do while on the road. Brewer's lyrics are autobiographical, detailing the band's most recent tour supporting the “Phoenix” album.

In the song, Brewer mentions playing poker with Freddie King. The blues artist was their opening act and he would make his band play poker with him every night. According to Brewer, “He’s paying them and then goes and wins all of their money, so they were broke, and they have to keep playing for him.” The lyrics also mention "sweet sweet Connie", in reference to the legendary groupie, Connie Hamzy, whom they met in Little Rock; as well as a reference to Omaha where they partied with four groupies who snuck into their hotel in Omaha after a show.

With Todd Rundgren at the production helm, he created a new sound which appealed to the band.

The first pressing of the 45-rpm single was pressed on gold vinyl. According to Brewer, “It was Capitol’s idea. A couple of bands had done it previously and it was an expensive process. Black vinyl was always preferred by the record companies because they could hide a lot of impurities in the records, but the clear virgin vinyl was to appeal to collectors. 100,000 units of both the single and the album were pressed to make that statement.

Various Sources