20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Funk Brothers

The Funk Brothers: Robert White, Joe Messina, Eddie "Chank" Willis (guitar); Joe Hunter, Johnny Griffith, Earl Van Dyke (keyboards); Jack Ashford (vibraphone, percussion); James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt (bass); William "Benny" Benjamin, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones (drums); Eddie "Bongo" Brown (congas).
Additional personnel: The Temptations.
Producers include: Mickey Stevenson, Harvey Fuqua, Henry Cosby, Richard Street, Norman Whitfield.
Compilation producer: Harry Weinger.
Recorded between 1960 & 1972. Includes liner notes by Allan Slutsky.
This is part of "20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection" series.
Personnel: Robert White , Joe Messina (guitar); Earl Van Dyke, Joe Hunter , Johnny Griffith (keyboards); Jack Ashford (vibraphone, percussion); William Benjamin, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones (drums); Eddie "Bongo" Brown (congas).
Audio Mixer: Ellen Fitton.
Liner Note Author: Harry Weinger.
Recording information: Detroit, MI.
Photographer: The Funk Brothers.
Arrangers: Paul Riser; David Van De Pitte.
The Funk Brothers were the Motown house band, and their punchy, organ-fueled grooves set the blueprint for American soul, framing the singing of the Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, and many others. Upon its release in 2004, THE BEST OF THE FUNK BROTHERS was the only collection issued under the band's name. This, of course, wasn't due to of a lack of recorded material by this influential ensemble. However, the album proved to be the first time that the Funk Brothers were acknowledged for their own instrumental tracks alone, outside of the fascinating 2002 documentary STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN.
In their 12-year tenure with Motown (1960-1972), the Funk Brothers underwent few personnel changes, and these same core musicians combined jazz, pop, and R&B grooves to perfection on innumerable classics. This set contains the original, pre-vocal instrumental tracks to immortal smashes "The Way You Do the Things You Do," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and "What's Going On," among others. The jams are as familiar and essential as air. It is said that these musicians played on more Number One hits than the Beatles, the Stones, and Elvis combined: Though few people know their names, the Funk Brothers may be the most popular band of all time.