Many successful singers stand on the shoulders of others: Dylan rocked with The Band, Springsteen has The E-Street Band, and Neil Young rides with Crazy Horse. But the greatest backing band of all time is perhaps the most unsung.
The Funk Brothers, are the virtuosos of jazz and R& B who put the fire and soul into Motown’s greatest hits. But memories of Motown are memories of the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson while the men who actually built that Detroit groove rarely made the liner notes.
Now there is a new full-length documentary that turns a long-overdue lens on The Funk Brothers, men who churned out more hits than Elvis or the Beatles. They are the engine in the Motown machine and the motor city’s musical muscle.
Guests:
Jack Ashford and Joe Hunter, Funk Brothers
Allan Slutsky, musician, author, and producer of the film “Standing in the Shadows of Motown”