I was watching TCM last night and they had on a documentary about the Funk Brothers. It was pretty interesting and left me feeling ashamed that I could only name one of them (James Jammerson) before having watched the special. Did anyone else get a chance to watch this?

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Haven't watched that; I did watch "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" DVD (2002), awesome. These guys were the sound of Motown, indeed.

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La vie est belle, le monde est pourri, make the most of it!

Yes you have watched it. "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown" was what was on TCM last night.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

I watched it and loved it!

Joe Messina's Tele is sooo cool! I did some research and found out Fender Japan did a run of Joe Messina inspired Tele's a few years ago. I wish they would do another run, or officially release a Joe Messina signature model. Or an MIA or MIM version for all I care. Oh well, it will never happen. The Funk Brothers don't have the visual impact that Fender marketing would need to advertise the guitar. The Funk Brothers literally were in the shadows of the singers they cut tracks for. Like the record store scene at the beginning of the movie, everyone has heard them a million times, just never knew who they were.


At least Fender did a Custom Shop version of the James Jamerson bass. I bet it was pretty pricey though! Did it come with old dirty and dead flatwound strings? I've heard tales that Jamerson NEVER changed his strings and that's how he got his sound.

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Obligatory gear list: Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson, Gretsch, Vox, Martin, and more Fender.

The Funk Brothers were real fine musicians :

Keyboards - Joe Hunter, Earl Van Dyke, Popcorn Wylie
Guitars - Robert White, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina, Larry Veeder, Dave Hamilton
Bass - James Jamerson, Clarence Isabell
Drums - Benny Benjamin, Richard "Pistol" Allen, George McGregor, Clifford Mack
Percussion - Jack Ashford, Eddie "Bongo" Brown
Vibes - Jack Ashford, Dave Hamilton, James Gittens
Trumpets - Herbie Williams, John "Little John" Wilson, Marcus Belgrave, Russell Conway, Johnny Trudell
Saxophones- Hank Crosby, Andrew "Mike" Toney, Norris Patterson, Thomas "Beans" Bowles, Teddy Buckner, Ronnie Wakefield, Lefty Edwards, Eli Fontaine, Ernie Rodgers
Trombone - Bob Cousar, George Bohanon, Paul Riser

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Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

I liked his Tele as well. I found it kind of odd at first with the larger headstock (CBS if i'm not mistaken) on a telecaster.

I liked it when Jammerson's son demonstracted with the stand up bass pointing out the wear on the neck and the dirt.

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I tried to think of something clever to put here but- OH! Something shiny!!!

It's incredible how much great music motown produced. I am a heavy metal rocker and classic rocker first but I love motown. Diana Ross was smoking hot to.

Yes, a '62' Fender P Bass,a bear of right hand via his claw technique, a strong fretting hand to accommodate his high action, foam mute under the bridge, old La' Bella heavy gauge flat-wound strings, pushing the input gain of the tube driven equipment, and his sheer musical virtuosity.

Alright then, cool.
The Funk Brothers also have a 2008 DVD, "Live In Orlando".
Hm, time to go shopping.

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La vie est belle, le monde est pourri, make the most of it!

The mention of Motown reminded me of what happened to a very good friend of mine back in the Early 60s.Lew Skinner one of the provinces most respected guitarists and a good friend of Scotty Moore,was with his band The DuCats in Detroit to make a recording.While they were there a record exec heard them and offered them a job on the spot to be the backing group of a new girl group.The guys all basically home bodies declined the offer and possibly the most lucratave offer they would ever get because the new group was The Supremes.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

A really great flick to guys who played on more hit records than anyone in history.

Anybody who was around in the '60s must agree...Motown ruled the airwaves.
Somehow "classic radio stations" don't know that.

i grew up an hour south of detroit. motown was always hot around here. i have been able to see a few of the motown bands over the years, and i still love the music.

the funk bros. make me think of another house band- the wrecking crew. until i read the guitar player article, i didn't realize how many songs they played on.

btw, there was a movie made about the wrecking crew. does anybody know if it ever came out on dvd?