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Funk Brothers and Company Party
Joan Osborne, Darlene Love and Maxi Priest Join the
Surviving Members of the Studio Band in Concert
By Natalie Nichols - Special to the Times
Los Angeles Times
Pop Music Review
April 25, 2003
Most people think of "the Motown sound" as the Supremes, Marvin Gaye or the Temptations. But the
legendary R&B label’s signature style also came from the music’s ticking guitars, nimble bass lines and
irresistible rhythms, played to hit-making perfection by the studio band known as the Funk Brothers. On
Wednesday at the Wiltern, the surviving members celebrated their legacy with two light-hearted hours of
songs and anecdotes featuring guest vocalists Joan Osborne, Darlene Love and Maxi Priest.
None of those singers was connected to Motown, but Osborne performed in last year’s award-winning
film "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," which spotlighted these mostly unheralded veteran Detroit
musicians who put their sonic stamp on every Motown hit from 1959 to the early ‘70s.
Keyboardist Joe Hunter, vibraphonist-percussionist Jack Ashford, drummer Uriel Jones, bassist Bob
Babbitt and guitarists Joe Messina and Eddie Willis wore bright red suit jackets to stand out amid the
17-piece band. Professional yet relaxed, they injected fresh joy into tunes they could probably do while
sleeping, and honored such fallen brethren as electric bass pioneer James Jamerson and drummer Richard
"Pistol" Allen.
The featured vocalists traded off with three backup singers on songs identified with such artists as Stevie
Wonder, the Marvelettes, Mary Wells and Shorty Long. Among the highlights were Priest’s lively
rendition of the Spinners’ "It’s a Shame," Love’s version of the relatively obscure Martha & the
Vandellas’ "My Baby Loves Me" and Osborne’s soul-ripping take on Jimmy Ruffin’s ballad "What
Becomes of the Brokenhearted."
Yet a song such as "My Girl" is so deeply ingrained in pop culture that five random guys from the
audience were able to croon it credibly, if hardly as memorably as the Temptations. That "American Idol”
moment underscored just how important the Funk Brothers were to Motown’s success.
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