Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)

Standing in the Shadows of Motown: Directed by Paul Justman. With Richard ‘Pistol’ Allen, Jack Ashford, Bob Babbitt, Benny ‘Papa Zita’ Benjamin. Documentary about the Funk Brothers, a group of Detroit musicians who backed up dozens of Motown artists.

“I really loved this documentary. Three key points: (1) I applaud the spirit and energy to put the project- long overdue recognition and praise for great musicians- together. I happen to be a fan of the Temptations movie and saw this DVD next to it. Had I not bought it on a whim, I would be so much more empty. (2) James Jamerson-I would love a documentary on him alone. Not because of his quirks, but because of his tortured spirits; a great movie-making project! Also, upon my research of this topic after seeing this film, I came across an extensive web site, bassplayer.com, with a great tribute page to Jamerson. Among the most outrageous discussions that have not been resolved to my knowledge- who played bass on Stevie Wonderu0026#39;s u0026quot;I Was Made to Love Heru0026quot;? The majority of folks strongly contend it was James Jamerson, however, a woman named Carol Kaye states she was the actual bass player for the song.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eI donu0026#39;t know the truth, but I do know that after never hearing the bass in the song for the 30+ plus that this has been one of my all-time favorite songs, I ONLY hear the bass line. That bass line is so masterful, so exceptional, and so unrelentingly funky, that I believe only a virtuoso could have done it. The fact that that song and bass line were done in 1966/67, amidst so many hundreds of other Motown hits and other songs, tells me that the Funk Brothers and James Jamerson were truly blessed talents.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e(3) Chaka Khanu0026#39;s rendition of Marvin Gayeu0026#39;s u0026quot;Whatu0026#39;s Going Onu0026quot; is undoubtedly the very best performance I have ever seen her do and is among the top performances ever recorded. That she won a Grammy for the song is amazing. She actually sang it in 2000; the movie was released in 2002 and won the Grammy in 2003! I get teary every time I hear her singing the song in the movie(I replayed this section at least 10 times when I first saw the movie) and I donu0026#39;t think she will ever have another brilliant performance that would match that intensity. Bottom line: I strongly recommend this movie and subsequent deeper research into other great Ru0026amp;B music roots. Rod Walker”