  Harpernottingham Member Username: Harpernottingham Post Number: 81 Registered: 04-2006 |
RIP, Joe Hunter. http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20070203/E NT01/702030388 | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 391 Registered: 10-2006 |
never heard of the funk brothers, but I am glad to say that music from before the 70s can be pretty cool! | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 1109 Registered: 01-2005 |
That's because the music after the 70s sucks. | ||
Harpernottingham Member Username: Harpernottingham Post Number: 84 Registered: 04-2006 |
Wow, CharlottePaul ... never heard of the Funk Brothers? Well, you've certainly heard them. Go right out and rent yourself a copy of "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" ASAP. You'll appreciate all those great hits even more. Long Live Pistol Allen! | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 396 Registered: 10-2006 |
Sorry man, I was born in 1982. I am trying my best to go back in history... | ||
Pam Member Username: Pam Post Number: 1005 Registered: 11-2005 |
Harper: I was just going to say the same thing. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ m/standing_in_the_shadows_of_m otown/ | ||
Jjaba Member Username: Jjaba Post Number: 4829 Registered: 11-2003 |
The movie and the story of the Funk Bros. was a huge diss on Barry Gordy. Joe Hunter was a real class act. Sorry to see him go. jjaba. | ||
Charlottepaul Member Username: Charlottepaul Post Number: 398 Registered: 10-2006 |
I've heard of Bob Segar! | ||
Bob Member Username: Bob Post Number: 1334 Registered: 11-2003 |
Joe Hunter used to play the Troy Marriott for years. If you want to hear Pistol Allen at his best, get James Carter's Live at Baker's CD. | ||
Gary Member Username: Gary Post Number: 206 Registered: 02-2004 |
The Funk Bros. were only the baddest group of studio musicians ever assembled. It was the nickname of the Motown studio band who provided the backing instrumentals to some of the most well known songs ever recorded. Joe Hunter was a founding member of this band and he was also a master pianist, songwriter, arranger, conductor and producer. Detroit should be very proud of Mr. Joe Hunter, he will be sorely missed. If you have never heard of the Funk Bros., do a Google search on them and you'll find out exactly who the hell they were. | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 6137 Registered: 09-2005 |
Perhaps someone has easy access to a postable list of, say, the top 25 (50?) songs where the Funk Bros did the backup instrumentals? That would be an eye-opener for the "tots" on these threads who weren't yet born but would still recognize these treasures when they hear them - many teens I know are regular listeners to "oldies" radio and/or Ipod tunes from that era. | ||
Pffft Member Username: Pffft Post Number: 1189 Registered: 12-2003 |
BARRY Gordy? Was he any relation to Berry Gordy Jr., Jjaba? | ||
Quozl Member Username: Quozl Post Number: 194 Registered: 07-2005 |
The Funk Brothers was the nickname given to a group of Detroit, Michigan musicians who performed on the backing tracks to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until 1972, when the company moved to Los Angeles. The Funk Brothers provided the instrumentation to approximately four-fifths of Motown's output during the 1960s and early 1970s, including major hits such as "My Guy", "I Heard It Through the Grapevine", "Baby Love", "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone", "The Tears of a Clown", "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave", and many more. Notable members: Early members included bandleader Joe Hunter and Earl Van Dyke (piano); James Jamerson (bass guitar); William "Benny" Benjamin and Richard "Pistol" Allen (drums); Robert White, Eddie Willis, and Joe Messina (guitar); Jack Ashford (tambourine, percussion, vibes, marimba); Jack Brokensha (vibes, marimba);and Eddie "Bongo" Brown (percussion). Hunter left in 1964, replaced on keyboards by Johnny Griffith and as bandleader by Van Dyke. Around the same time Uriel Jones joined the band as a third drummer. In 1967, guitarists Dennis Coffey and Wah Wah Watson joined the band. Benny Benjamin died the next year, and Bob Babbitt began to replace James Jamerson on many recording dates. The Funk Brothers were a racially integrated band. Most members were black; Joe Messina, Jack Brokensha, Bob Babbitt, and Dennis Coffey, who introduced the wah-wah guitar pedal sound that defined Motown's psychedelic soul records, were white. Legacy and techniques: Until the film, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, the members of the band were generally unknown for their crucial contributions to Motown, despite having played the music in nearly every Motown hit. Their involvement in these famous songs makes them the biggest hitmakers in music history, having played in more #1 songs than The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones combined. The band used a number of innovative techniques for performing the backing tracks for many Motown songs. For example, most Motown records feature two drummers instead of one, either playing together or overdubbing one another — Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" used three drummers. A number of songs utilized instrumentation and percussion unusual in soul music recording. The Temptations' "It's Growing" features Earl Van Dyke playing a toy piano for the song's introduction, snow chains are used as percussion on Martha & the Vandellas' "Nowhere to Run", and a custom oscillator was built to created the synthesizer sounds used to accent Diana Ross & the Supremes' "Reflections". Dissolution and later years: During the mid to late-1960s, roughly one-fifth of Motown records began utilizing session musicians based in Los Angeles, usually covers and tributes of mainstream pop songs and showtunes. By 1970, an increasing number of Motown sessions were being done in Los Angeles instead of Detroit, most notably all of The Jackson 5's hit recordings. Nevertheless, Motown producers such as Norman Whitfield, Frank Wilson, Marvin Gaye, and Smokey Robinson steadfastly continued to record in Detroit for as long as they could. The Funk Brothers were dismissed from Motown's service in 1972, when Berry Gordy moved Motown to Los Angeles. A few of the members, including Jamerson, migrated to Los Angeles, but found the environment foreign and uncomfortable. Jamerson died in 1983, Brown in 1984, Van Dyke in 1992, White in 1994, and Allen and Griffith in 2002. | ||
Harpernottingham Member Username: Harpernottingham Post Number: 92 Registered: 04-2006 |
Man, listen to James Jamerson on "Bernadette" and "You Keep Me Hangin' On." Holy shit. Listen to maybe the Funks' best performance on "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." That's Uriel Jones kickin' it off on drums. And oh, that "Oreo Cookie" guitar section. Listen to Robert White's guitar licks on "My Girl," and you're on your way. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 764 Registered: 10-2003 |
Charlottpaul..... .....the first thing I thought of when you said "I've heard of Bob Seger" was yea, but you never heard him when he really rocked. For your information and edification, check out Rusted Chrome, A Tribute To Motor City Rock And Roll: 1966-1972 at http://home.att.net/~s.m.geer/ This covers what some call Detroit's first golden age of R&R. Then get yourself a DVD copy of "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" AND a copy of the soundtrack if only for the backing tracks. You've got a lot of catching up to do, kid. | ||
Pffft Member Username: Pffft Post Number: 1190 Registered: 12-2003 |
When's the last time you saw Bob, Doug, ought 8? Maybe you need to see him today, before you say he isn't "rocking" as he used to... | ||
Chub Member Username: Chub Post Number: 460 Registered: 11-2003 |
My mom went and saw Bob just recently. She was pissed he didn't play 2+2 or any other early stuff. She always tells me about seeing Segar and the Last Heard at her high school dances. She says he was really rockin' back in those days. I believe it. | ||
Harpernottingham Member Username: Harpernottingham Post Number: 102 Registered: 04-2006 |
Hey, I figured "Bob" was Funk Brothers bassist Bob Babbitt. Love Seger, but give him his own thread, fellas. Long Live Pistol Allen ... and long live Joe Hunter. | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 765 Registered: 10-2003 |
I'm agreeing with Chub's mom here. Last time I saw Seger he was still playing 2+2 and East Side Story and Persecution Smith and Tales Of Lucy Blue and Lucifer. His LP's have been spotty for me since "Smokin OP's". First time I saw Seger, he was playing with Doug Brown. Harpernottingham..... .....I agree with you, too, but one shouldn't forget that there was an interrelationship between Detroit rock in the late '60's and Detroit soul. Seger is an excellent example of how one fed the other..... (Message edited by douglasm on February 04, 2007) | ||
Douglasm Member Username: Douglasm Post Number: 766 Registered: 10-2003 |
BTW.... Maybe Charlottepaul should wander next door to SD and get a further education. There's long threads on Joe Hunter and Billy Henderson of the Spinners, who also passed this weekend. | ||
Buddyinrichmond Member Username: Buddyinrichmond Post Number: 116 Registered: 02-2004 |
I didn't lose shit. | ||
Burnsie Member Username: Burnsie Post Number: 843 Registered: 11-2003 |
Quozl-- your post is from Wikipedia. There's nothing wrong with that but you should have credited it. | ||
Pffft Member Username: Pffft Post Number: 1191 Registered: 12-2003 |
Soulful Detroit isn't that much about Detroit music anymore. | ||
Gary Member Username: Gary Post Number: 207 Registered: 02-2004 |
Yeah, Pffft...you got that right. | ||
Harpernottingham Member Username: Harpernottingham Post Number: 109 Registered: 04-2006 |
Anybody hear anything about funeral arrangements? | ||
Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 1117 Registered: 02-2004 |
Very sorry to hear about Joe Hunter. A stellar musician, a lovely man (who I got to meet briefly - a favorite memory), a huge personality, a big piece of Detroit history. | ||
Pffft Member Username: Pffft Post Number: 1197 Registered: 12-2003 |
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pb cs.dll/article?AID=/20070205/U PDATE/702050433 |
