FEATURE
Motown Movie Gives Unsung Heroes A Place In The Sun
Reuters, 11.15.02, 3:29 PM ET
By Gary Hill
NEW YORK, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The little-known musicians who helped make stars of Diana
Ross, Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and dozens more finally get their due several decades
later in a soulful new movie, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown."
Joe Messina, Joe Hunter, Johnny Griffith, Bob Babbitt, Richard Allen
The Funk Brothers, the musicians in the rhythm section of Detroit's Motown Records, played on
more hits than the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Beach Boys and Elvis Presley -- combined.
The movie's release on Friday takes on even greater poignancy after the death of apparent heart
failure on Sunday of Johnny Griffith, whose keyboard playing lives on in dozens of hits, including
The Supremes' "Stop! In The Name Of Love" and Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through The
Grapevine."
Just two days earlier, at a rollicking interview with the band and the moviemakers, Griffith, 66,
was a lively and proud participant as the musicians reminisced about some of the good times they
had, and tried to remember all the hit songs they had played. But there were far too many to
recall.
The movie contains tons of great music, of course, but also offers tales of hilarity, serious social
commentary, personal tragedy and, above all, shared triumphs crossing racial lines and musical
categories. The film began as a book by Allan Slutsky about the tormented life of James
Jamerson, who revolutionized bass playing but died in obscurity in 1983.
WAR STORIES
A documentary with a few "reenactments" of some of the war stories of the young Funk Brothers,
the film shows the now 60-something musicians revisiting their old stomping ground in Studio A,
then playing a Motor City concert backing singers, including Chaka Khan, Ben Harper and
Meshell Ndegeocello.
The performances reflect the full glory of Motown's elaborate and inventive arrangements much
more richly than they sound on the original 45's: "It's mixed more toward showing the musicians
than the usual vocal prominence," said Slutsky, a producer and guitarist for the film.
At times, the movie audience may find the original vocals on these familiar, generational anthems
are engraved too deeply in the memory to allow appreciation of the new singers.
But some of the guest vocalists supply outstanding moments of their own, notably Joan Osborne's
moving rendition of "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted?" and funky, funny deliveries of
"Cool Jerk" and "Do You Love Me?" by Bootsy Collins.
Joe Hunter, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina
From 1964 to 1967, Motown had 14 pop singles hit No.1 plus 20 No. 1 singles on the rhythm and
blues charts, 46 more Top 15 pop singles and 75 other Top 15 R&B singles. In 1966, an
astounding 75 percent of Motown's releases made the charts. Funk Brothers found time to play on
non-Motown hits, too.
SPY PLOY BACKFIRES
To stop that, Motown boss Berry Gordy tried to hire the musicians to spy on one another. They
didn't cooperate.
Gordy said he copied the methods of mass production and quality control of Detroit's car
factories in building his hitmaking machine -- a concept the film's director Paul Justman called "a
challenge ... because you don't have an assembly line of genius artists."
Still, Slutsky thanks Gordy for his generosity in allowing the use of Motown's songs in both his
book and movie.
"He made it happen. He overrode everybody," Slutsky said.
When Slutsky's book won an award, the judges "told me I was the first person ever to get
anything free from Berry Gordy."
Former Supreme Mary Wilson adds, under her breath: "It's all true." Nevertheless, she and others
interviewed gave Gordy full credit for Motown's creative freedom.
"We at Motown had a different language, we had a different approach to music, and we combined
everything we had in our arsenal to make us unique -- and it worked," said Jack Ashford, who
elevated tambourine to near solo status and played dozens of other percussion instruments,
including his first love, vibes -- another ingredient in the signature Motown sound.
OF FUNK AND FUSION
Griffith, the Funk Brothers pianist, was classically trained and a working jazzman -- perfect for
Motown. "It offered a chance," he said, "to incorporate the classics with the jazz and create,
fusing the two things together."
Several other Funk Brothers have also passed on, notably original drummer William "Benny"
Benjamin. He died in 1968.
Richard "Pistol" Allen -- master of the "four on the floor" (snare drum on every beat) style on
many of the Motown hits -- died in June after appearing in the movie. That leaves Uriel Jones,
who played on "Ain't Too Proud To Beg," "Cloud Nine" and "Ain't No Mountain High Enough,"
as the sole survivor of the Funk Brothers' three titan drummers.
Robert White and Joe Messina in Studio A at Hitsville USA
In another Motown triumvirate, three guitars, surprisingly, were used on most of the recordings.
Joe Messina jokes that he was the white cream in the Oreo cookie when he sat between Eddie
Willis, whose Mississippi background helped make him the bluesiest of the trio, and the late
Robert White, whose long thumbnail gave the world the famous riff that opens "My Girl."
Messina and bassist Bob Babbitt and their black bandmates provide some of the most touching
moments when they speak of their strong bonds of brotherhood, which the filmmakers set in
hopeful contrast with the racial tensions of the 1960s.
ON A SCREEN NEAR YOU
Artisan Entertainment, hoping to repeat the success of another musical documentary, "Buena
Vista Social Club," will screen "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" in about 80 U.S. theaters
on Friday, Nov. 15, before wider release. The film also debuts Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series
technology run off a computer without a film print. The digital version will show in 25
commercial theaters equipped with the DCS Cinema System product introduced by Digital
Cinema Solutions.
NEW YORK (Reuters) 12/16/02 -
"Standing In The Shadows Of Motown," directed by Paul Justman, was chosen at the 68th annual
New York Film Critics Circle (news - web sites) awards on Monday as the year's best non-fiction film.
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