The funk brothers biography
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Encyclopedia Of Detroit
The Funk Brothers were Motown Records’ house band that played behind the Motown stars from 1959 to 1972. Though known in the jazz clubs of Detroit they were anonymous on Motown recordings until the 1970s when the studio acknowledged backing musicians. Over the years more than 50 musicians cycled through the Studio A “snake pit” providing the driving rhythm that distinguished the “Motown Sound.”
According to Berry Gordy in his autobiography, To Be Loved, bassist James Jamerson, along with drummer Benny Benjamin, were key members of the Funk Brothers, a name credited to Benjamin. Other original members were pianist and band leader Joe Hunter, drummers and percussionist Uriel Jones, Pistol Allen and Eddie “Bongo” Brown. Guitar players included Robert White, Joe Messina, and Eddie Willis. Johnny Griffith played the organ while Earl Van Dyke played the piano and Jack Ashford the tambourine. Later, Jack Brokensha and Dave Hamilton were both on percussion, Bob
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We remember The Funk Brothers — the astounding musicians who made the musikstil record label what it was: a hit-making machine and the highest-earning African-American-run US business for many years.
In the mid-’50s, Berry Gordy, a Detroit, MI native, had turned his passion for music into a growing business, having written a string of popular songs for soul singer-songwriter Jackie Wilson. Not long after he discovered The Miracles in 1957 (featuring Smokey Robinson on lead vocals), Gordy signed them as the first act on his newly-created Tamla Records. In 1959, Gordy established the musikstil Record Corporation and launched the musikstil label.
A stable of artists were soon issuing records on the Motown label, backed bygd a grupp of musicians Gordy had assembled who formed the backbone of every recording issued bygd Motown between 1959 and 1972. The Funk Brothers, as they were soon known, are the musicians who collectively recorded more number one hit songs than The Beach Boys, The Rolling
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The Funk Brothers
Group of Detroit-based Motown studio musicians
For the professional wrestlers, see Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk.
The Funk Brothers | |
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Funk Brothers in early 1960s. Left to right: Benny Benjamin, James Jamerson, Joe Hunter, Larry Veeder, Hank Cosby, Mike Terry | |
| Origin | Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | Soul, funk, R&B |
| Years active | 1959–1972 |
| Labels | Motown |
| Members | NARAS membership Richard "Pistol" Allen Jack Ashford Bob Babbitt Benny Benjamin Eddie "Bongo" Brown Johnny Griffith Joe Hunter James Jamerson Uriel Jones Joe Messina Earl Van Dyke Robert White Eddie Willis |
The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972.
Its members are considered among the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history. Among their hits are "My Girl", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Baby Love", " I