The Funk Brothers
The Funk Brothers are:
Eddie Willis – Guitar
Bob Babbitt – Bass guitar
Trenita Womack – Congas/percussion/vocals
Spider Webb – drums
Robert Jones – keys/vocals
Ray Monette – guitar
Marcia Ware – vocals
Donna Curtin – vocals
Delbert Nelson – vocals
The Funk Brothers employ The Shine Horns for dates within travelling distance of Ottawa
Kelly Craig – Trumpet
Brian Asselin – Saxophones
Steve Berndt – Trombone
The Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. The Funk Brothers played on Motown hits such as
“My Girl”
“I Heard It Through the Grapevine”
“Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours”
“Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
The role of the Funk Brothers is described in Paul Justman‘s 2002 documentary film Standing in the Shadows of Motown, based on Allan Slutsky‘s book of the same name. The opening titles proclaim the Funk Brothers as “having played on more number-one hits than The Beatles, Elvis Presley, The Rolling Stones, and The Beach Boys combined.”
There have been many articles written which identify the actual members of The Funk Brothers, some of which claim that virtually every musician who ever played on a Motown track was a “Funk Brother”. In actuality, there are 13 actual Funk Brothers as identified in the film Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, as well as 13 members identified by both NARAS for the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and recognized by the recent Star on the Hollywood Walk Of fame.
