Standing in the Shadows of Motown

The soul behind the sound.

116 mins
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.

Benny 'Papa Zita' Benjamin

Himself (archive footage)

Eddie 'Bongo' Brown

Himself (archive footage)

Ben Harper

Himself

Joe Hunter

Himself

James Jamerson

Himself (archive footage)

Chaka Khan

Herself

Paul Riser

Himself

Gary Bosek

Young Bob Babbitt

Michael Q. Martin

Associate Producer

Michael Q. Martin

Post Production Supervisor

Paul Justman

Director

David Scott

Executive Producer

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