The Funk Brothers - Motown's Studio Musicians

Everyone knows Motown.

Berry Gordy's record company popped out hit after hit of songs that are still popular today. Songs like, "My Girl," "Get Ready," "Baby Love," "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," "What's Going On," and "Mercy, Mercy Me." The groups were unforgettable too... "Gladys Knight and the Pips," "The Supremes," "The Four Tops," "The Temptations," and of course who can forget artists like, "Marvin Gaye," "Stevie Wonder," and "Smokey Robinson & The Miracles."

But have you ever wondered who were the musicians behind many of these big named artists?

The Funk Brothers were the guys who played on more number one hit records than The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined. But nobody's ever heard of them, right? Well, that's because they were studio musicans. They played all of the instruments behind the big names. So while you may not know their names, you know their music because it is music that you continue to hear today on the radio and TV.

Here are their names: Earl Van Dyke, Joe Hunter, Johnny Griffith, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina, Robert White, William "Benny" Benjamin, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, James Jamerson, Bob Babbit, Jack Ashford, and Eddie "Bongo" Brown. These were the guys who recorded all the great music you remember from the Motown era.

If you get a chance, go get a copy of the video called, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." It's the story of these guys.

Growing up, I remember hearing all these great Motown tunes on the radio. I even bought the 45's of the hits. As a musician, I've always been aware of the studio players. While other friends would only look at the names of the artists on the cover, I'd always go to the back of the LP covers and check out the names of the people who played on the record. I could consistently see the same names of players from one record to the next. But even so, for some reason, I never paid any attention to the names of the players on the Motown label! And, I had grown up listening to virtually every top song that label produced too!

Go around and ask anyone if they have ever heard of the names of the artists from Motown. I'll bet you'd have a hard time finding someone who doesn't know at least one or two Motown artists. Then ask them who played the music for them. I'll bet they won't know.

These are among the best studio players around. Check 'em out!