Joe Hunter
Earl Van Dyke
Richard "Popcorn" Wylie
Johnny Griffith
Johnny Gittens
Ted Sheely
Guitarists:
Robert White
Eddie "Chank" Willis
Joe Messina
Larry Veeder
Dave Hamilton
Marvin Taplin
Cornelius Grant
Dennis Coffey
Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin
Ray Parker
Bassists:
James Jamerson
Clarence Isabell
Tony Newton
Bob Babbitt
Eddie Watkins
Tweed Beard
Joe Williams
Michael Henderson
Joe James
Drums:
William "Benny" Benjamin
Richard "Pistol" Allen
George McGregor
Clifford Mack
Marvin Gaye
Uriel Jones
Frederick Waites
Andrew Smith
Percussion:
Jack Ashford
Eddie "Bongo" Brown
Vibes:
Jack Ashford
Dave Hamilton
James Gittens
Jack Brokensha
Trumpets:
Herbie Williams
John "Little John" Wilson
Marcus Belgrave
Russell Conway
Johnny Trudell
Floyd Jones
Maurice Davis
Billy Horner
Don Slaughter
Eddie Jones
Saxophones:
Henry "Hank" Cosby
Andrew "Mike" Terry
Norris Patterson
Thomas "Beans" Bowles
Teddy Buckner
Ronnie Wakefield
"Lefty" Edwards
Eli Fontaine
Ernie Rodgers
Kasuka Malia
Eugene "BeeBee" Moore
William "Wild Bill" Moore
Angelo Carlisi
Dan Turner
Bernie Peacock
Larry Nozero
Lanny Austin
Trombones:
Bob Cousar
George Bohanon
Paul Riser
George Bohanon
Jimmy Wilkens
Don White
Carl Raetz
Patrick Lanier
Bill Johnson
Ed Gooch
Flute:
Dayna Hartwick
Strings:
Gordon Staples and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Strings Section
In 1959, Berry Gordy gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on "My Girl," "Bernadette," I Was Made to Love Her," and every other hit from Motown's Detroit era.
By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers.
Forty-one years after they played their first note an a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story in STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN.
With the tumultuous sixties as a backdrop, Motown's unsung heroes take the viewer on a compelling journey in time as they trace the evolution of The Motown Sound" from its origins in Detroit to its demise in Los Angeles during the seventies. Through the eyes of the riveting characters who ruled Hitsville's studio by day and the club scene of Detroit by night, we enter a world of unparalleled soul and emotion as the Funk Brothers revisit the sites of their musical roots, triumphs, and eventual heartbreak.
For more than four decades, from the dance floors of the world, to the Detroit riots of 1967, to the war in Vietnam, the music the Funk Brothers created has played a major role in the cultural fabric of all of our lives. STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN finally puts some faces on that music and introduces these heroic musical figures to the world.
Fourteen years in the making, this film is based upon a book of the same title that won the 1989 Rolling Stone / BMl "Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award", STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN was shot in 35mm film, on location in Detroit and elsewhere. This one hour and forty-eight minute documentary and performance film tells the Funk Brothers' saga through archival footage and still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Funk Brothers backing up Chaka Khan, Ben Harper, Bootsy Collins, Montell Jordan, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joan Osborne, and Gerald Levert
Track
Listing: Starring The Funk Brothers on all tracks
Soundtrack
Produced by Allan Slutsky, Harry Weinger and Ted Greenberg
*Original Motown Recordings
Artists
featured on the soundtrack
Joan
Osborne
Meshell Ndegeocello
Bootsy Collins
Gerald Levert
Ben Harper
Gerald Levert
Chaka Khan
Montell Jordan
Original Funk Brothers: Joe
Messina – Guitar
Eddie Willis – Guitar
Joe Hunter – Keyboards
Johnny Griffith – Keyboards
Bob Babbitt – Bass
Richard “Pistol” Allen – Drums
Uriel Jones – Drums
Jack Ashford – Vibes and Percussion
Departed
Funk Brothers There In Spirit: Robert
White – Guitar
Earl Van Dyke – Keyboards
James Jamerson – Bass
Benny “Papa Zita”Benjamin – Drums
Eddie “Bongo” Brown – Congas
Hello from Japan. Thank you for the add. I'm honored to be a new friend. I saw the movie "in the shadows of Motown" twive in a movie theatre. And I bought the DVD. It makes me cry and feel happy to be able to play music! I love your sound and soul!
Debut album "Groovy!" out on June 16th! A fantastic review from the leading UK soul site Soulchoonz and airplay in San Fransisco, London, Vienna, Montenegro, Frankfurt... Ooh, groovy!
Thanks a million Funk Brothers for joining our ministry of Blues. It's all about peace, love, understanding, and GROOVE! Hope to perform for you sometime. Thanks for a youth filled with incredibly great music. Wishing you the very best in Blues and life and afterlife! -Big Daddy
I feel so incredibly honored to be added to your circle of myspace friends. Thank you for sharing your music with so many of us for so many years. The Funk Brothers = the very essence of Motown. Love every single note! Thanks again for the honor and privilege. Peace and happiness, Melissa
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