Motown’s House Band Finally Gets Their Recognition and Just Due
LOS ANGELES — After more than 40 years of obscurity, the Funk Brothers are finally earning their due.
Though this group of 13 jazz/blues artists crafted much of the sound for Motown Records’ Detroit-era hits, its contribution to the music industry only recently received widespread recognition with the Standing in the Shadows of Motown documentary (Artisan).
The title’s April 22 DVD release ($22.98, $19.98 for VHS) promises to attract an even wider American audience with such notable added-value content as extra jam-session footage and extended documentary featurettes, as well as through its joint promotional support from Artisan Home Entertainment and Universal Music Enterprises (UME). UME promoted the accompanying soundtrack, which was released on Hip-O/Motown.
PACKED WITH CELEBRITIES, HITS
The Standing in the Shadows of Motown project first took wing in the 1980s. Writer/producer Allan Slutsky had been researching the bass playing of James Jamerson for a book about R&B hotbeds of the 1960s. Interest in the musician’s style led Slutsky to track down his widow, who informed him about Jamerson’s work with the Funk Brothers through out that decade and into the early 1970s. Slutsky ultimately wrote a book about the Funk Brothers and produced the documentary, which was released in theaters last November.
Through interviews and re-enacted scenes, the film documents the Funk Brothers’ rise and fall at Berry Gordy Jr.’s Motown Records. It also features performance segments with the surviving members of the house band and such contemporary vocalists as Joan Osborne, Chaka Khan, and Ben Harper. Pianist Johnny Griffith and drummer Richard “Pistol” Allen participated in the film, but they passed away before its theatrical release. (Griffith’s passing came just days before the film’s debut.)
The film’s soundtrack-which includes new recordings of “Heat Wave,” “Do You Love Me,””I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” and other Motown hits–garnered the Funk Brothers’ first Grammy Awards this year, in the categories of best traditional R&B vocal performance (for “What’s Going On,”with lead vocals by Khan) and best compilation sound track album for a motion picture, television or other visual media. The project, released Sept. 24, 2002, has sold 13,000 units, according to Nielsen Sound Scan.
Motown music’s ability to captivate modern audiences is not surprising to Funk Brother Jack Ashford, a tambourine player, who says, “Each Funk Brother had a unique signature to what he did, and these combinations made Motown’s music which in turn, collectively, created the Motown sound.”
Pianist Joe Hunter adds that the film “is the biggest recognition that [the Funk Brothers] have ever gotten. And because of Allan, I saw a whole lot of people I hadn’t seen in 35 years. By the time we had played our third tune together, we were at it again.”
Viewers will gain further insight into the ongoing history of the Funk Brothers through the DVD’s special features. Among these selections are a commentary with Slutsky and director Paul Justman, biographies of individual Funk Brothers, and a featurette recorded at a dinner with the group. The interactive recording-studio extra also enables viewers to arrange and record variations of the Funk Brothers tunes.
“I think the DVD will be most rewarding, because it is going down in history,” says Funk Brother Joe Messina, a guitarist who had stopped playing music for 30 years before participating in the project.
MOTOWN MARKETING
Artisan and UME’s joint promotional plans are designed to interest consumers in the video and the soundtrack. UME senior director of sales and marketing Ken Patrick says, “The goal is to try to create overall Motown excitement.”
The companies will run joint consumer print ads and are working on a variety of retail promotions. For example, Tower stores will feature end caps with the CD and DVD, while a sampler of Motown songs will be free with the purchase of the DVD at Circuit City outlets.
The Albany, N.Y.-based Trans–World chain is also running print and radio ads touting the titles. Trans World video buyer Mark Higgins says, “I think the DVD is going to do great. This is a natural for us, because our business is still primarily music.”
Artisan and UME will also provide support for the Funk Brothers’ April tour with Osborne. Artisan president of sales and marketing Jeff Fink notes, “We’re trying to include our retail accounts in the tour as much as possible. We will offer concert ticket giveaways at various stops.” Tour stops are still being determined. END
_______________
Credit source information (as published): Billboard, March 22, 2003
