Standing in the Shadows of Motown is a film about the Funk Brothers, the Motown house band from 1959 to 1972. As the trailer for the documentary says, “they were the biggest hit machine in the history of music” producing more #1 hits than the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys combined. They backed the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Miracles, the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and others.
The members of the Funk Brothers included Richard “Pistol” Allen (drums), Jack Ashford (percussion), Bob Babbitt (bass), William “Benny” Benjamin (drums), Eddie “Bongo” Brown (percussion), Dennis Coffey (guitar), Johnny Griffith (keyboards), Joe Hunter (keyboards), James Jamerson (bass), Uriel Jones (drums), Joe Messina (guitar), Melvin “Wah Wah Watson” Ragain (guitar), Earl Van Dyke (keyboards), and Eddie “Chank” Willis (guitar). They have received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. They’ve also been inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and R&B Hall of Fame.
The documentary was inspired by the book Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson. Allan Slutsky wrote it as a bass guitar instruction book which also featured a biography of James Jamerson. The movie offers archival footage as well as interviews with the surviving band members. The Funk Brothers also perform some of Motown’s hits with Bootsy Collins, Chaka Khan, Gerald Levert, Joan Osborne, and others.
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First posted 11/14/2023.
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