Bring in the Funk: The Men Behind Motown

Motown. The name brings to mind many things to many people: Detroit, the automobile industry, but mainly, the record label formed in 1959 by Berry Gordy, and the music that was born in a small house on W. Grand Boulevard, aptly christened Hitsville USA. When you hear the name Motown, artists such as Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, and countless others spring to mind. Unfortunately, the musicians that most people never think of, the kings of studio A, the band that delivered their signature sound to every single hit that Motown ever produced between 1959 and 1972, is the Funk Brothers.

Mention the Funk Brothers, and most people will just stare at you with a not-so-bright look on their face, wondering just who in creation you might be talking about. The plain and simple truth is, they are the only band in rock history with the most number one hit singles under their collective belts. The house band for Motown Records...The Funk Brothers. To their credit, they have more number one hit singles than the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys combined.

The Funk Brothers changed music history. They were the first integrated band. African Americans and whites worked side by side together, and considered each other family. The Funk Brothers also gave all Motown songs their distinctive sound. They used anything and everything they could find to use in the background music to make the Motown sound that was a hard backbeat with grittiness to it. This music has influenced almost every musician ever since. When touring in England, the Brothers met the Beatles. John Lennon told them that they were an inspiration for him, and that all of his favorite artists were from Motown.

The core group of the Funk brothers consisted of drummer Benny Benjamin, bassist James Jamerson, Pianist Earl Van Dyke and guitarist Robert White. These are the people who played on all of the Motown records. Others who would join them from time to time were Joe Hunter and Johnny Griffith on the piano, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina, and David Hamilton on guitar, the legendary Bob Babbitt on bass, Uriel Jones and Richard Allen on drums, Eddie Brown, Jack Ashford, Jack Brokensha on percussion, as well as Thomas Bowles on the saxophone and flute. In order to find musicians for his house band, Berry Gordy producer for Motown, sent William Stevenson to look at all the bars and hangouts in Detroit, no matter how seedy to search for stellar musicians. The Funk Brothers were the essence of Motown. Motown would not have existed had there been no Funk Brothers.

The majority of the band members had migrated to Detroit from the south in order to work within the auto industry. It didn't take long for most of them to realize they would rather have been playing music. The first rehearsal was in late 1958 at song writer Smokey Robinsons house. The band was given three hours of studio time to do four songs. Everyone had to be in perfect tune so at the end of the session they were left with three tracks to work with. In 1960 Berry Gordy bought a house on West Grand Boulevard that doubled as his studio and home. All recordings were henceforth done there in what was affectionately called the "Snake Pit" the small cramped room in the basement of the house.

The musicians were paid ten dollars a song until the song was perfect in Gordy's mind. Almost all of the Funk Brothers came from a Jazz background, and that's not what Gordy wanted. Depending on who was in the studio at the time, the sound would change according to each musician's style. It was alright to ad lib to a certain extent while recording. The brothers however, especially James Jamerson who was known for his improvisation would see how far they could push Gordy until he yelled for the recording to be stopped. The Brothers still jammed with other jazz musicians and recorded for other labels. However they were fined if Gordy thought another label or artist at a nightclub was using what was considered the Motown sound.

The band would be called in to record at all hours of the night. Basically whenever Gordy thought he had an ingenious idea. Sometimes they were called in to do backbeats for music that had not even been written yet. The recordings from these sessions would later be slipped into the background of other songs. There were two people that Gordy insisted being at every recording, no matter the circumstances. These were bassist James Jamerson and drummer Benny Benjamin. There were times that the band thought that they were being overworked, and would go hang out in a local funeral parlor to make sure that Gordy could not find them. The funeral director was paid handsomely to say that he had not seen them. Gordy did not care if they came in drunk, so long as they were both there.

Despite drug and alcohol problems, and the death of Benny Benjamin in 1968, the brothers continued to be the backbeat of Motown until 1972, when Berry Gordy left for Los Angeles without telling anyone beforehand. Most musicians had discovered his departure when they showed up to work that day, and there was a sign on the door saying that the operation had been moved. Some of the Brothers moved to Los Angeles, but it was very short-lived, as it wasn't home to them. Those that did go returned to Detroit a short time later. This is when Motown began its slow descent. The only group that formed after the move that had success was the Jackson Five.

The Funk Brothers received no recognition for any of their work with Motown until performing "What's Going On?" with Marvin Gaye, when they were finally recognized for their work on the album. The Funk Brothers, however were still virtually unknown until 1986 when the book about James Jamerson, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" was published. The title was used in a documentary about the entire band that was released in 2002. Until the film came out, the band was only known by die hard Motown fans.

The Funk Brothers eventually did receive the acknowledgment they deserved. In 2000 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame added a new category, called the sideman to their annual awards. James Jamerson was inducted into this category for his extraordinary bass playing the first year the award came out. Benny Benjamin was inducted into the same category in 2003 for his talented drumming. The group as a whole was recognized for their achievement when the Grammy committee presented them with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. The majority of the remaining Funk Brothers are still in the music industry.

It's amazing to me personally. How such a talented and eclectic group of influential musicians could be overlooked and underappreciated for so long. I suppose it's uncouth to include one's personal views in a paper such as this, but I think that music, especially music that you love and have a passion for, can only be a personal experience. For me, Motown is that music. It is the heart and soul of what I grew up listening to, and the Funk Brothers were, for lack of a better word, the omnipresent nucleus of the machine which was Motown. As my boyfriend says passionately: "Motown was, and is the soundtrack of my life. Being born in Detroit, even in 1974, the Motown influence was everywhere in my household growing up. Other babies may have been fed mother's milk or formula, but I and most everyone else I know were bottle fed Motown...we were cradled and rocked to sleep every night to that Funk Brothers' groove. People like Earl Van Dyke and Bob Babbitt, James Jamerson...those are the guys who'll still be listened to by my grandchildren's grandchildren. I hope I live long enough to see the wide eyed sparkle creep across their faces when they hear the opening groove of "Ain't Too Proud Too Beg. " I guarantee they'll be just as enthralled as I am."