Motown's Funk Brothers stepped out of the shadows of the Rose
Garden to meet President George W. Bush Tuesday during a cocktail party
following a program at the White House honoring Black Music Month.
It topped a big year for Motown's famed studio band, who were
the subject of the Artisan documentary film "Standing in the Shadows of
Motown" in 2002.
President Bush had obviously been well briefed on the Motown
musicians, because he knew who each Funk Brother was, according to
Funks producer Allan Slutsky.
"The guys were very honored and touched; I could tell, I was
watching their faces as they talked to the president," said Slutsky.
Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser
Condoleezza Rice were also at the party, and Powell spoke to several
Funks, Slutsky said.
The logistics were too complicated for the Funks to perform
because the East Room is much too small. But each Funk Brother -- Joe
Hunter, Joe Messina, Uriel Jones, Bob Babbitt, Eddie Willis and Jack
Ashford -- had a private minute with the president. Hunter, Messina and
Jones all still live in the Detroit area.
Others on hand included gospel singers Marvin Winans and Bobby
Jones; Kirk Whalum; Herb Jeffreys, who sang with Duke Ellington in the
'40s, as well as football player Lynn Swann and music writer Stanley
Crouch.
Performers from George C. Wolfe's musical "Harlem Song" and the
Harlem Jazz Museum Artists combined three Duke Ellington pieces with
four songs from the Broadway musical during the entertainment portion
of the afternoon ceremony.
"In so many different ways, the artistry of black musicians has
conveyed the experience of black Americans throughout our history,"
Bush said. "From the earliest generations of slaves came music of
sorrow and patience, of truth and righteousness and of faith that
shamed the oppressor and called upon the justice of Almighty God and
praised His holy name. Out of this heritage has come a tremendous
variety of music."
Ironically, Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. had a role in
founding Black Music Month, which was first proposed by the Black Music
Association in 1978, comprising black music industry leaders like
Gordy, writer/producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and singer Stevie
Wonder. President Jimmy Carter first declared June Black Music Month in
1979.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. You can reach Susan Whitall at (313) 222-2156 or swhitall@detnews.com.
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