Release Date:
11/15/2002
If James Brown is the Godfather of Soul, then the Funk Brothers are the long lost uncles who moved to Vegas to pursue a life of pimping and dealing. This group of black soulsters (and a couple of white boys) were responsible for putting Motown on the map and injecting some soul into your
erm
soul.
Charting the Funk Brothers origins and examining why they never made it to the front of album sleeves, this documentary is part history lesson and part music video. It chronicles the emergence of the Detroit R&B scene and profiles each members contribution (including keyboard man Johnny Griffith, who died less than a week prior to the films release), while spicing things up with live contemporary versions of their biggest hits performed by such luminaries as Ben Harper, Joan Osborne, and classic funkster Bootsy Collins. Described as veteran groovemasters and trailblazing virtuosos, the Funk Brothers combined efforts are considered the greatest hit machine in music history (excluding O-Town, obviously) and with a repertoire including My Girl and I Heard It Through the Grapevine, its easy to see why. Although it does wallow a bit too much in nostalgia, fans with even a fleeting interest in the genre will be mightily impressed by the talent on display and will also gain a unique perspective on the beginnings of soul music. Thats rightsoul existed way before Justin Timberlakes solo career took off.
Charting the Funk Brothers origins and examining why they never made it to the front of album sleeves, this documentary is part history lesson and part music video. It chronicles the emergence of the Detroit R&B scene and profiles each members contribution (including keyboard man Johnny Griffith, who died less than a week prior to the films release), while spicing things up with live contemporary versions of their biggest hits performed by such luminaries as Ben Harper, Joan Osborne, and classic funkster Bootsy Collins. Described as veteran groovemasters and trailblazing virtuosos, the Funk Brothers combined efforts are considered the greatest hit machine in music history (excluding O-Town, obviously) and with a repertoire including My Girl and I Heard It Through the Grapevine, its easy to see why. Although it does wallow a bit too much in nostalgia, fans with even a fleeting interest in the genre will be mightily impressed by the talent on display and will also gain a unique perspective on the beginnings of soul music. Thats rightsoul existed way before Justin Timberlakes solo career took off.