The Funk Brothers
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The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit musicians who were the house band at Detroit's Motown Records from 1959 to 1972, when the company moved to Los Angeles. Their story was told in Paul Justman's 2002 documentary film Standing in the Shadows of Motown, based on Allan Slutsky's book of the same name.
History
Notable members
Early members included bandleader Joe Hunter and Earl Van Dyke (piano); James Jamerson (bass guitar); William "Benny" Benjamin and Richard "Pistol" Allen (drums); Robert White, Eddie Willis, and Joe Messina (guitar); Jack Ashford (tambourine, percussion, vibes, marimba); Jack Brokensha (vibes, marimba);and Eddie "Bongo" Brown (percussion). Hunter left in 1964, replaced on keyboards by Johnny Griffith and as bandleader by Van Dyke. Around the same time Uriel Jones joined the band as a third drummer.In 1967, guitarists Dennis Coffey and Wah Wah Watson joined the band. Benny Benjamin died the next year, and Bob Babbitt began to replace James Jamerson on many recording dates.
The Funk Brothers were an integrated band. Most members were black; Joe Messina, Jack Brokensha, Bob Babbitt, and Dennis Coffey, who introduced the wah-wah guitar pedal sound that defined Motown's psychedelic soul records, were white.
Legacy and techniques
Until the film, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, the members of the band were generally unknown for their crucial contributions to Motown, despite having played the background music in nearly every Motown hit. Their involvement in these famous songs makes them the biggest hitmakers in music history, having played in more #1 songs than The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones combined.The band used a number of innovative techniques for performing the backing tracks for many Motown songs. For example, most Motown records feature two drummers instead of one, either playing together or overdubbing one another — Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" used three drummers. A number of songs utilized instrumentation and percussion unusual in soul music recording. The Temptations' "It's Growing" features Earl Van Dyke playing a toy piano for the song's introduction, snow chains are used as percussion on Martha & the Vandellas' "Nowhere to Run", and a custom oscillator was built to created the synthesizer sounds used to accent Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Reflections".
Dissolution and later years
During the mid to late-1960s, roughly one-fifth of Motown records began utilizing session musicians based in Los Angeles, usually covers and tributes of mainstream pop songs and showtunes. By 1970, an increasing number of Motown sessions were being done in Los Angeles instead of Detroit, most notably all of The Jackson 5's hit recordings. Nevertheless, Motown producers such as Norman Whitfield, Frank Wilson, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson steadfastly continued to record in Detroit for as long as they could.The Funk Brothers were dismissed from Motown's service in 1972, when Berry Gordy moved Motown to Los Angeles. A few of the members, including Jamerson, migrated to Los Angeles, but found the environment foreign and uncomfortable. Jamerson died in 1983, Brown in 1984, Van Dyke in 1992, White in 1994, and Allen and Griffith in 2002.
Awards
The Funk Brothers have received three Grammy awards:- Lifetime Achievement award in 2004
- Best Traditional R&B Performance for "What's Going On" with Chaka Khan, 2002
- Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For A Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media for Standing in the Shadows of Motown, 2002.
Members
Membership lists based upon research by Allen Slutsky, with some minor corrections. [#endnote_list]Detroit musicians
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Los Angeles musicians
''Many of the Los Angeles players were members of The Wrecking Crew collective of studio musicians.
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Arrangers and conductors
- Detroit: Paul Riser, Willie Shorter, Dave Van DePitte, Wade Marcus, Johnny Allen, Gil Askey, Ernie Wilkins, Jerry Long, Henry "Hank" Cosby, Slide Hampton, and H.B. Barnum
- Los Angeles: Gene Page, James Carmichael, and Arthur Wright
Notes
- ↑ Slutsky, Allen. "The Musicians". Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection [CD Box Set]. New York: Motown Record Co., L.P.
References
External links
- [The Funk Brothers] California Literary Review
- [Official Standing in the Shadows of Motown website]
- [Standing In The Shadows of Motown soundtrack wins 2 grammys]
- [Grammy Lifetime Achievement awards]
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