MUSICIAN(S) OF THE DAY: THE FUNK BROTHERS

MUSICIAN(S) OF THE DAY: THE FUNK BROTHERS

[From the wikipedia page] The Funk Brothers - nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until 1972, when the company moved to Los Angeles. The Funk Brothers played on Motown hits such as:

• "My Girl"
• "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"
• "Baby Love"
• "Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours"
• "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"
• "The Tears of a Clown"
• "Ain't No Mountain High Enough"
• "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave.

The role of the Funk Brothers is described in Paul Justman's 2002 documentary film Standing in the Shadows of Motown, based on Allan Slutsky's book of the same name. The opening titles proclaim the Funk Brothers as "having played on more number-one hits than The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys combined."

Early members included bandleader Joe Hunter and Earl Van Dyke (piano); James Jamerson (bass guitar); Benny "Papa Zita" Benjamin and Richard "Pistol" Allen (drums); Robert White, Eddie Willis, and Joe Messina (guitar); Jack Ashford (tambourine, percussion, vibraphone, marimba); Jack Brokensha (vibraphone, marimba); and Eddie "Bongo" Brown (percussion). Hunter left in 1964, replaced on keyboards by Johnny Griffith and as bandleader by Van Dyke. Uriel Jones joined the band as a third drummer. Late era bassist Bob Babbitt joined the ensemble in 1967.