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Boston, Massachusetts The story of the Funk Brothers is one of the most complicated and convoluted in pop music history. And it's not done yet. While they made some of the silkiest, joyous and most soulful music of the 1960s, their story is anything but smooth. And their identity is still a question mark to many fans: Who exactly were the Funk Brothers then? And who are the Funk Brothers now? The Funk Brothers is the name taken by the group of musicians that backed many of Motown's biggest stars from the early 1960s through 1972. Folks like Smokey Robinson, the Four Tops, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye and the Temptations. The Funk Brothers have had multiple band members – the online encyclopedia Wikipedia credits 16 primary players - and have had numerous disputes about money and credit. There's no disputing this, though: The Funk Brothers played on more No. 1 singles than the Beatles, Elvis, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys combined. (In fact, the Beatles and Stones covered Motown songs at various points in their careers.) Yet, the Funk Brothers – largely anonymous to anyone outside the music business - fell off the face of the earth when Motown moved to Los Angeles in 1972 and no longer needed their services.  The Funk Brothers backing Johnnie Mae are, left to right; drummer Uriel Jones, unidentified saxophone player, bassist James Jamerson, Earl Van Dyke at piano, and guitarist Robert White. "We realized we were being left out of the dream," keyboardist/band leader Joe Hunter says in the 2002 documentary, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," directed by Paul Justman. The title of the film reflects the position the band members were in – as well as being a partial title of a Four Tops song that they played on. The Funk Brothers emerged during the early '60s since Motown singers and vocal groups didn't play instruments. Motown boss Berry Gordy had them schooled in vocals, choreography and presentation. He taught his front talent how to be photogenic stars who crossed boundaries and reached out to one and all. Friendly ambassadors of universal themes. "Motown registered the phrase 'The Sound of Young America,'" says Boston-based music archivist and collector David Bieber. "It was colorblind. The Funk Brothers created that brand, that sound. They nuanced the arrangement on an ongoing basis so there was that thread of musical continuity and similarity. There were a number of songs where you'd hear the intro but had to wait for the vocal to come in to identify the song. They had such a great groove going you didn't mind hearing it again and again." "Session players are often really inventive, great musicians, who can help you realize what it's in your mind. It takes a great nimble creativity," says Paul Justman's brother, Seth, former keyboardist for the J. Geils Band and a solo artist. He jammed with, and got to know, the Funk Brothers in 2001. He puts the Funk Brothers right at the top of the heap. Jamming with keyboardist Joe Taylor was a sweet treat. By the early '70s, the Motown sound and modus operandi had changed. Artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye – who were musicians, too – were talking more control over their records. Both the label and the artists became more album-driven, as opposed to singles-driven, prime examples were Gaye's "What's Going On" and Wonder's "Innervisions." As to the Funk Brothers, some retired, some played sessions, some tried to work in Los Angeles, some passed on. Original drummer Benny Benjamin died in 1969 of a stroke after battling heroin and alcohol addiction. Original bassist James Jamerson died in 1983, from complications stemming from his alcoholism. The two are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as sidemen. Jamerson was the featured player in Allan Slutsky's 1989 book upon which the movie drew. It was called "Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Times of James Jamerson."
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