Standing in the Shadows of Motown Page #2

by the Gordy family's construction crew.

Everyone pitched in at

Motown:
In the early days,

Smokey Robinson was responsible

for cleaning Studio A.

A key to the Motown Sound was nothing

ever moved, especially the drums.

The vibes arejack Ashford's original

Deegan Imperial Nocturne model.

The real piano, however,

is in Berry Gordy's house.

Meshell performs The Miracles'

"You've Really Got A Hold On Me. "

The original track was cut October 16,

1962, and hit the Top 10 a few months later.

None of the musicians used headphones

during their original sessions.

The guitarists crowded

around a monitor (seen behind

Eddie Willis) and were

responsible for their own volume.

Smokey wrote

"You Really Got A Hold On Me"...

a homage to Sam Cooke's

"Bring It On Home To Me. "

The horns are playing live

they're just off camera, in

Motown's original isolation booth.

Meshell was the first woman to be

honored as "Bassist of the Year," in 1994.

Jack Ashford stands 6'

5", but he still gets

teased for having the

world's largest tambourine.

Marvin Gaye started singing with

The Rainbows in Washington D.C....

and Harvey Fuqua's Moonglows in the "50s.

He first worked at Motown as a drummer.

Joe had been retired for

30 years but was convinced,

for this film, to take

out his guitar again.

Riser is being modest here:

he was a terrific trombone player.

Quick look:
a rare

shot of the Temptations'

David Ruffin without his

trademark black glasses.

Benny Benjamin and joe

Hunter were in their

mid-thirties when they

started the Motown band.

The Funks recorded the session

Joe's referring to on june 3, 1962.

Berry Gordy sang the demo

for The Contours.

"Do You Love Me?"

originally hit number three in '62...

and returned to the charts when featured

in the hit film Dirty Dancing in 1988.

Bootsy is an influential

and innovative bassist

who was heavily influenced

byjames jamerson.

Bootsy admits he could

never play likejamerson, so

he developed his own unique,

"liquid funk" style...

as heard on james Brown's "Sex Machine,"

several P-Funk classics

and with his own band.

Berry Gordy originally turned down The

Contours. jackie Wilson

spoke up on their behalf.

Wilson was shot by his girlfriend in front

of his NYC apartment February 15, 1961.

Because of his injuries,

Wilson could only handle

three shows a week. The

Funks made $25 per show.

However, their expenses were

$60 a week, leaving them with

only $15 profit. They were

better off in the "Snakepit. "

On the road,james jamerson

spent the better part of his

time searching for soul food.

Hotel food made him grouchy.

Jamerson liked odd food concoctions

like raccoon and possum gumbo.

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