The Funk Brothers - the heartbeat of Motown (singer, bass)

Whatsitoosit · 03-31-2009, 03:00 PM

I did a quick search and didn't see a thread for these guys... if I missed it, my apologies to the mods.

So "The Funk Brothers", to anybody unaware, were a group of jazz musicians from Detroit that were compiled by Motown founder Berry Gordy. These guys played on pretty much every Motown hit you can think of and (in that time) weren't credited on any of the singles or albums up until 1970 when "What's Going On" was released. They were paid studio musicians and that was that.

The member list is pretty long as through the years new members were added or a few members passed on. you can see the involved story and lists HERE. The most notable member was James Jamerson who, to most, is considered the greatest bassist of all time... a claim to which I can understand and almost agree with. HERE is an example of his basswork (isolated from the track "What's Going On").

This past weekend I watched the documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" about the Funk Brothers... I strongly recommend it to any fan of the Motown genre. It really shows how "the Motown sound" wasn't about the room they recorded in, or the artist that sang on the records... it was clearly about these particular musicians and how skilled they were for pop/r&b music.

****, I just realized this could also be in the "Soul & Funk" section... my bad.

jackhammer · 04-02-2009, 03:33 PM

Standing In The Shadows Of Motown was a great documentary and anyone with even a passing interest in music should watch it whether they are into motown or not.

Whatsitoosit · 04-02-2009, 04:06 PM

good point... I always considered Motown in a class of its own regarding musical genres in general. I'm really surprised it took this documentary to make me realize the caliber of musicians that must have been used on these recordings and that they were probably the same group of guys consistently pumping out these hits.

jackhammer · 04-02-2009, 04:10 PM

I'm pretty damn sure that they are the most successful group ever in terms of sales yet hardly no one knows who they are!

right-track · 04-02-2009, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whatsitoosit

The most notable member was James Jamerson who, to most, is considered the greatest bassist of all time... a claim to which I can understand and almost agree with. HERE is an example of his basswork (isolated from the track "What's Going On").

The most notable amongst some truly brilliant musicians.
Jamerson was the Pele of bass. A genius that completely revolutionised bass playing and all done with a single index finger!
THE greatest bassist that ever lived.

right-track · 04-02-2009, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackhammer

I'm pretty damn sure that they are the most successful group ever in terms of sales yet hardly no one knows who they are!

People usually tend to overlook the contribution made from the Los Angeles studios in house musicians 'The Wrecking Crew'.

Apologies for copy pasting wiki here;

The Wrecking Crew was a nickname (coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact) given to a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful "groups" of studio musicians in music history.

The Wrecking Crew's members typically had backgrounds in jazz or classical music, but were highly versatile. The talents of this group of 'first call' players were used on almost every style of recording, including television theme songs, film scores, advertising jingles and almost every genre of American popular music, from The Monkees to Bing Crosby. Notable artists employing the Wrecking Crew's talents included Bobby Vee, The Partridge Family, The Mamas and the Papas, The Carpenters, John Denver and Simon and Garfunkel.

The figures most often associated with the Wrecking Crew are producer Phil Spector (who used the Crew to create his trademark "Wall of Sound"), and Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, who utilized the Crew's talents on many of his mid-60s productions including the songs "Good Vibrations" and "California Girls" and the acclaimed album Pet Sounds.

Whatsitoosit · 04-03-2009, 11:09 AM

interesting Right Track, never heard of them until now. I have the entire "Pet Sounds Sessions" on my ipod and you can hear Brian Wilson telling each musician what he wants in the studio and you then hear them deliver it nicely.

03-31-2009, 03:00 PM	#1 (permalink)
Whatsitoosit Bringer of Carrots Join Date: May 2008 Location: New York, NY Posts: 648	The Funk Brothers - the heartbeat of Motown I did a quick search and didn't see a thread for these guys... if I missed it, my apologies to the mods. So "The Funk Brothers", to anybody unaware, were a group of jazz musicians from Detroit that were compiled by Motown founder Berry Gordy. These guys played on pretty much every Motown hit you can think of and (in that time) weren't credited on any of the singles or albums up until 1970 when "What's Going On" was released. They were paid studio musicians and that was that. The member list is pretty long as through the years new members were added or a few members passed on. you can see the involved story and lists HERE. The most notable member was James Jamerson who, to most, is considered the greatest bassist of all time... a claim to which I can understand and almost agree with. HERE is an example of his basswork (isolated from the track "What's Going On"). This past weekend I watched the documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" about the Funk Brothers... I strongly recommend it to any fan of the Motown genre. It really shows how "the Motown sound" wasn't about the room they recorded in, or the artist that sang on the records... it was clearly about these particular musicians and how skilled they were for pop/r&b music. ***, I just realized this could also be in the "Soul & Funk" section... my bad. __________________ "It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face." Last edited by Whatsitoosit; 03-31-2009 at 03:07 PM.*

04-02-2009, 03:33 PM	#2 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	Standing In The Shadows Of Motown was a great documentary and anyone with even a passing interest in music should watch it whether they are into motown or not. __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

04-02-2009, 04:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
Whatsitoosit Bringer of Carrots Join Date: May 2008 Location: New York, NY Posts: 648	good point... I always considered Motown in a class of its own regarding musical genres in general. I'm really surprised it took this documentary to make me realize the caliber of musicians that must have been used on these recordings and that they were probably the same group of guys consistently pumping out these hits. __________________ "It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face."

04-02-2009, 04:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
jackhammer Ba and Be. Join Date: May 2007 Location: This Is England Posts: 17,331	I'm pretty damn sure that they are the most successful group ever in terms of sales yet hardly no one knows who they are! __________________ It be my music and film collection. “A cynic by experience, a romantic by inclination and now a hero by necessity.”

04-03-2009, 11:09 AM	#7 (permalink)
Whatsitoosit Bringer of Carrots Join Date: May 2008 Location: New York, NY Posts: 648	interesting Right Track, never heard of them until now. I have the entire "Pet Sounds Sessions" on my ipod and you can hear Brian Wilson telling each musician what he wants in the studio and you then hear them deliver it nicely. __________________ "It takes 43 muscles to frown and 17 to smile, but it doesn't take any to just sit there with a dumb look on your face."