To the boys who put the funk in Motown
A good friend of mine recommended this cut to me for Friday Travelin’ Music. It features Joan Osborne performing an old Motown hit with the Funk Brothers, the legendary group of session players who played background for almost all of the hits from Motown’s golden era, from 1959 until the label left Detroit for the glitter of Los Angeles in 1972.
The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, the Supremes, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Stevie Wonder — the brothers funked it up for all of them. Ms. Osborne has the pipes to live up to that heritage in this cut.
– Jay Bookman
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303 comments Add your comment
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:00 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjrIa3szE3w
josef
February 22nd, 2013
5:01 pm
ZamVet
And the wimmin?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE2fnYpwrng
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:03 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu1Ezr1YEoY
Kamchak ~Thug from the Steppes
February 22nd, 2013
5:06 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3-hY-hlhBg
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
5:07 pm
josef, though most of us went nuts over Linda Ronstadt’s version, I very much love that original!
Another monster from that girl band…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABbc-O_3_Ac
TaxPayer
February 22nd, 2013
5:11 pm
What the theme tonight? Did someone say women with soul.
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:12 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXrgnZvRg-c
josef
February 22nd, 2013
5:13 pm
ZamVet
Yep. Bruno and Hillbilly flat foot know their tunes…
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:19 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vphSSRJS7kk
getalife
February 22nd, 2013
5:19 pm
Check it out now, funk soul brothers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WrVi_CLAV0
josef
February 22nd, 2013
5:20 pm
TBS
@ 5:03
Excellent choice!
ZamVet
It was a choice between that one and the one I linked…
and some great covers of this one, but it’s still theirs imeoiauo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdvITn5cAVc
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:23 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N_SqtFerjg
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
5:26 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIDeK7bVfUk
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
5:29 pm
Kam, those chicks that came later, like her and this one did have some knock out stuff!
(I think she was a former Laker girl!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=El1kgCqD7Xk
Fred ™
February 22nd, 2013
5:31 pm
And thus commences the last FNM session.
Can you believe they found a motor for my furnace and are already back here fixing it?
And in honor of the LAST FNM……….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3p_xAToFzck
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:33 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3fkjVnW7Ws
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:35 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYrDyMY0Vew
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
5:36 pm
A six octave range???
Wowzers!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2uD_MUu55U
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:37 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NQ-Bk63Hs8
Kamchak ~Thug from the Steppes
February 22nd, 2013
5:38 pm
Bubble gum soul
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWrrt5hQYwU
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:38 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRmINZddtEE
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
5:39 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRpWvIKCFO0
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:39 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzTeLePbB08
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:40 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2cQ47VVzU0
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:42 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iw8A0XpzHCE
TaxPayer
February 22nd, 2013
5:42 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwmPbFGY_tI
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
5:43 pm
TBS, I remember how much Hillbilly loved the music of Bobby Caldwell. I still cannot believe he (Caldwell, not HD, LOL!) is white!
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:43 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rD1sYh3A9jg
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
5:44 pm
We’re gonna send the hit count through the roof tonight, boys!
TBS, that Bobby Bland is kickin’!
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:48 pm
This lady has some range………. What a voice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHg-Zkwndqg
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:49 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FU-4Gc77XM
TaxPayer
February 22nd, 2013
5:50 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGifsrkpToM
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
5:50 pm
TBS, you are a maniac. I love ya, but you’re like a machine gun of music!
Kamchak ~Thug from the Steppes
February 22nd, 2013
5:51 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN01vHhFZdA
josef
February 22nd, 2013
5:54 pm
K’CHAK
@ 5:06
Nice choice…
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:54 pm
Jam
Enjoy
Josef said to be ready, so I showed up guns a blazing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GX8UalMq8k
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
5:58 pm
I must say, I always found it strange that they called themselves the “Funk Brothers”. Motown was anything BUT “funky”..for the most part. Motown was definitely soulful, smooth, laid back. Funk? FUNK??
Now THIS is “funk”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jBsxQZPojU
josef
February 22nd, 2013
5:59 pm
ZamVet
(I think she was a former Laker girl!)
AND as Syrian MOT!
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
5:59 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbf1Vvw9rjo
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:00 pm
I have definitely heard a wider range of great R&B/soul/ funk/whatever songs that I’ve never heard before than ever.
OK, you boys wanna play? I’ll show ya what real music aficionados are into…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Doi07ewYDhc
Kamchak ~Thug from the Steppes
February 22nd, 2013
6:00 pm
Acid jazzy funk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8Pav8cLvDA
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:01 pm
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan “Tell Me Something Good”:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm_cFzVAoo8
Funk fo’ yo’ @$$!
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:03 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=istJXUJJP0g
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:03 pm
jo, no wonder I wanted her! And back at ya about your comment some weeks back about the things one learns on FNM!
And I was perhaps wrong about Stevie W. being the most talented black cat of his era; arguably Jimi was.
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:04 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtvjkppN9lA
TaxPayer
February 22nd, 2013
6:05 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAIc2n4ZIp0
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:05 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDOUsT7dQjo
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:06 pm
Let me show y’all how we got down where I’m from
AVERAGE WHITE BAND “School Boy Crush”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSP5yiUbDLQ
What y’all know about that?
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:07 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhq7fSrXn0c
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:07 pm
Tell me that that upside down guitar Jimi plays doesn’t just mess up your mind! It was forty plus years ago that I first saw it and it still does mine.
josef
February 22nd, 2013
6:08 pm
a little classical soul for the folks down to the Hubbard Daily News who’ve set out to take a sh*t on Big Daddy’s verandah…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmMWGpiicjA
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:09 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZZcZHWw9eM
Great tune……….
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:10 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEehuUrOd18
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:11 pm
P-Funk!
Bootsy’s Rubber Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VVVCRn24GE
godless heathen - owner of many things he does not need
February 22nd, 2013
6:12 pm
The most talented black cat of his era. Hands down.
Stevie outta sight.
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:14 pm
Ohio Players
“Skin Tight”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHLz5ZcVVLc
FONKY!! @>xO(
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:14 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNoj-PZbcO8
Kamchak ~Thug from the Steppes
February 22nd, 2013
6:14 pm
Not Chaka Khan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIA1y5cZt9o
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:16 pm
Jo my bro, gonna save Freddie’s Funeral for a Friend for tomorrow.
Tonight I’m not gonna go maudlin or negative. Had enough of the blues lately.
Nothing is forever.
get, I never knew who that was; thanks! Dig that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBgyXXnbfBc
(I knows it sounds like I’m racially obsessed and maybe that FUN GUY post this morning set me off, but seriously, I could play NOTHING but black music for months or years on end and never miss a beat!)
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:17 pm
Brand New Heavies (Brit band, new on the scene for 90s funk revival)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HH5lEIhjOHY
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:18 pm
Someone say FUNK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOyQtoz3lI4
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:19 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8vTCp1eV8E
josef
February 22nd, 2013
6:20 pm
KRYSTAL
Ah, the memories THAT Chaka one brings back… ! Had a boyfriend who used to tell me “…Like Chaka says, I’ll make you wish there were 48 hours to each day,,,” He did!
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:20 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ybn1ytS4Y0E
josef
February 22nd, 2013
6:22 pm
KRYSTAL
Now, they put the F U in Funk! Nobody like ‘em, before or since…
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:22 pm
A really fine Chicago guitarist, a co-worker, another Todd/music fan, a collector of classic guitars and amps and a damn good friend turned me onto this guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEnfy9qfdaU
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:23 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lcw5U5kRRro
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:23 pm
Aside from the fact that Stevie Wonder is the actual writer of Chaka Khan’s “Tell Me Something Good”, here is some of his own “funk”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjsVWSHw5fQ
In my opinion, Stevie vs. Jimmy is an unfair comparison (which I happen to believe Stevie wins hands down by the way).
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:27 pm
I just got caught off-guard. Haven’t followed “SMV”…then I see and hear Marcus Miller nevermind the legend Stanley Clark and V. Wooten. Yep! Funky.
Saw him (MM) here at Variety Playhouse end of last year. Killed it. Still funky as 2+ decades ago.
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:29 pm
Krystal, you’re probably right, but something about Hendrix opened the door.
Music, like people, changes…
And here/hear is to the changing of the guard! (Killer Steely Dan song!)
josef
February 22nd, 2013
6:30 pm
ZamVet
That Funeral for a Friend was from Fred…I’m with you on not going maudlin just yet….
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:33 pm
LMAO @Millie Jackson
She was some other kind of funky, but funky nonetheless.
Her daughter Keisha is an Atlanta based artist.
josef
February 22nd, 2013
6:33 pm
The unity of music…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6t5_ajnuStk
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:34 pm
Krystal, I bought Skin Tight back then and never regretted that $4 (I think) expense!
TBS, I want you to catch up! (Your Betty Wright from earlier) So fine!!
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:35 pm
Wow, these White Russians and italics just ain’t working out. Maybe I’ll go plebeian and give them up!
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:36 pm
Shhhiiiiiyyyyiiiiidddd
Steely Dan?
“Black Cow”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqnZBvWEdJ8
mo blue-eyed funk!
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:40 pm
“The unity of music…”
It’s why the world is so broken now. The music has been perverted and sacrificed in the name of corporatism. I could drop an entire dissertation on this, as I about most things I guess.
They day artists WAKE UP and embrace the concept of making music to move people and create movements rather than simply make a dollar to buy a Bentley, 3 mansions and rack up cheap awards…that will be day the world becomes a better place…again.
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:42 pm
@Jam “Sugarfoot” (lead singer OP) just passed a few weeks ago.
“OOOooowwwwwwwww”. He’s the first one to do it.
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:42 pm
Nope, no one just ripped a silent but deadly one and left the room……….
The bass is just that funky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHabNK0_D3Q
josef
February 22nd, 2013
6:43 pm
KRYSTAL
I did not know that…thanks for the introduction…she’s certainly Mama’s L’l Girl…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qlgvv08-l4
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:43 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqpxQ1Xf2us
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:46 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpMW7WrUW4o
Krystal'sBalls
February 22nd, 2013
6:46 pm
Now, what y’all know about.. .PETER BROWN??
“Do You Wanna Get Funky With Me”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD5qLh3aCXY
We used to get smelly, sweaty, FONKAY up in the parties when I was a kid on this.
…and yes even as a kid, life was a party. Even though we were broke as hell and didn’t have s— we had family, neighbors who actually talked to each other and came to each other’s house if to do nothing else to spend time…and this music.
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:51 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmZ03Q7AoaU
josef
February 22nd, 2013
6:51 pm
KRYSTAL
Yep. And the power is world wide…
And, again, Scout, thanks for turning me on to this site…mo of that music crossing the great divides…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLXiGZsSn_I
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
6:51 pm
Krystal, @6:40. I agree, But even still (Steven Stills?) I think there has to be musical decimation, before there can be musical rebirth.
i.e., the nineteen sixties/seventies will probably only come around once every few centuries. Like Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt did. Or maybe the parabola curve of more rapid human learning and humanness (?) means every 100 years or less now. Whatever, I sorely wish that I could be around for the next musical epiphany…
Back to back Womack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RXnjmqAjjg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zepxgMEz5IM
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:53 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC7_LAklaHo
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:57 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P2a9YL1aeU
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:58 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFKlezPu3xg
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
6:59 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2xJnvVN3zU
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
7:00 pm
Kinda hope that RW shows up later. He;s pretty fly for a white guy…
TBs at 6:51, Marvin Gaye changed the world, For me and the English girls who wanted each other.
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
7:04 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDJhRa9ee48
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
7:07 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxTygifcL_o
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
7:07 pm
School Days (no italics, LOL!) reminds me of the best of Jeff Beck.
Funk?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL3mHPmNKRE
josef
February 22nd, 2013
7:08 pm
I haven’t seen this one yet. Forgive me if I’m repeating somebody…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKgNKoDE5L8
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
7:09 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGrz9xJEGRE
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
7:12 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4RskhZebn8
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
7:15 pm
Why not another Isley Bros tune………….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh6lGI1bOkw
JamVet
February 22nd, 2013
7:15 pm
Part Hebe, part AA. (Cons are repulsed at the unpure idea!)
Reminds me of the Fab Four…
Love is gentle as a rose
And love can conquer any war
It’s time to take a stand
Brothers and sisters join hands
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wztq4_GEHEw
TBS
February 22nd, 2013
7:16 pm
And another………….. Man they had some great tunes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESEppr58zp0