Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Documentary · 2003 · 1h 56m

Movie

7.0/10 · TMDB

The soul behind the sound.

Overview

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.

Watch the trailer

Cast & crew

Richard 'Pistol' AllenSelf
Jack AshfordSelf
Bob BabbittSelf
Benny 'Papa Zita' BenjaminSelf (archive footage)
Eddie 'Bongo' BrownSelf (archive footage)
Bootsy CollinsSelf
Johnny GriffithSelf
Ben HarperSelf
Joe HunterSelf
James JamersonSelf (archive footage)
Uriel JonesSelf
Montell JordanSelf
Chaka KhanSelf
Gerald LevertSelf
Joe MessinaSelf

Information

Release date
28 July 2003
Director
Paul Justman
Genres
Documentary, Music
Runtime
1h 56m
Country of origin
United States

More like this