This band of musicians had more number one hits than Elvis, The Beach Boys, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined.
They were the band for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Diana Ross & The Supremes. The Temptations. Marvin Gaye's. Martha Reeves & The Vandellas, even young Stevie Wonder's band.
The early recording artists at Motown all had the same band. A band of session musicians hand picked by Berry Gordy from the jazz clubs and hole in the wall bars of Detroit. They were musicians, employed at Hitsville USA.
Not many can answer the question.
Until the 2002 documentary came out, finally acknowledging these great musicians behind the original "Motown Sound", I'll bet it would be hard to find anyone who could name just one member.
Joe Hunter, Earl Van Dyke, Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Jack Ashford, Richard "Pistol" Allen, William "Benny" Benjamin, Robert White, Joe Messina, Eddie Willis, James Jamerson and Jack Brokensha were original members.
These musicians never got the fame and notoriety that came out of Detroit with the hits they helped make. Their pay was for session work, no royalties. In the early 70's, when Berry Gordy moved Motown to LA, they weren't part of the move. They were replaced with members of The Wrecking Crew, LA's collection of studio musicians.
My cousin by marriage, was one of just a few white guys that was employed by Berry Gordy. I remember him talking about this new "girl" group that was going to be big, really big. Indeed, Diana Ross and The Supremes did leave their mark.
I started to research what these guys did with the years that followed, but decided to leave it out. Most didn't have the happily ever after ending, or have passed away.
The name of the band?
The Funk Brothers
4 comments:
OMHH. One night, after a really late flight from Chicago to Detroit (okay, that happens more often than not) my MetroCars driver was talking about being part of a band on the Motown label.
His name? I'm sorry that I don't remember. His band? The Funk Brothers.
Howdy. I think there is a healthy debate as to which band had more hits: The Wrecking Crew or The Funk Bros.. While The Funk BRos had that Motown stable, The Crew had Elvis, both Sinatras, The beach Boys, Phil Spector, The Mamas & The Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, The Byrds, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Sam Cooke, Richie Valens, The Monkees, Neil Diamond, Jan & Dean, & The Tijuana Brass.
Oh, I love Detroit. It's such a big mess of a massive town. And I love that Hitsville building.
Did you make it to John J. King bookstore?
I hate to burst your bubble but I had as many hits as Elvis, The Beach Boys, The Beatles and The Rolling Stones combined. They never played together and never had any hits when combined. LOL Ok you stumped me on the question.
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