Goodbye to the Funky Beat

Yesterday, March 24, Uriel Jones died. He was the last surviving drummer of the Funk Brothers. They were the house band for Motown Records' Detroit period. When Motown moved to LA in 1972, the Funk Brothers were broken up.

They played on more Number 1 hit records than Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys combined. Aside from the Motown hits, they moonlighted on sessions that produced, Boom Boom Boom, by John Lee Hooker, (Your Love Keeps Liftin' Me) Higher & Higher, by Jackie Wilson, Cool Jerk, by the Capitols and many others. 

Gleaned from the best jazz musicians in Detroit, the Funk Brothers created the music that became the Motown sound. They were the label's unsung heroes as the company's policy was not to list the musicians on the album. It wasn't until one of the last, and best,  Detroit Motown albums, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, did they receive credit on the album sleeve.

Rock & Roll heaven just got funkier - as ever BB

"A good groove releases adrenaline in your body...That's what good drumming is all about." - Mickey Hart