IT WAS LIKE A RIVER
CONSTANTLY FLOWING. TALENT, CREATIONS, YOU KNOW.
PEOPLE COME IN. "WHO'S AVAILABLE?
WHO'S ON THE LIST?
WELL, CALL THEM IN. WHERE ARE THEY?
THIS ONE'S OUT OF TOWN?
CALL THE OTHER ONE." BUT IT WAS ALWAYS
THE FUNK BROTHERS. ALWAYS THE FUNK BROTHERS.
FIRST. WITHOUT THEM, THERE REALLY
WOULDN'T BE A MOTOWN. THAT WAS THE SOUND.
THAT WAS THE FOUNDATION. THAT WAS IT.
THAT WAS THE ESSENCE OF MOTOWN. <i>[ Narrator ] THAT ESSENCE
WAS AN OVERPOWERING LINEUP
OF VETERAN GROOVE MASTERS...</i> <i>AND TRAILBLAZING VIRTUOSOS.</i> <i>GUITARISTS EDDIE WILLIS,
JOE MESSINA AND ROBERT WHITE...</i> <i>AND KEYBOARDISTS
JOHNNY GRIFFITH, JOE HUNTER
AND EARL VAN DYKE...</i> <i>WOVE AN IRRESISTIBLE TAPESTRY
OF INSTRUMENTAL HOOKS
AND COUNTER-RHYTHMS...</i> <i>OVER THE ELECTRIFYING CORE
OF THE MOTOWN GROOVE--</i> <i>A CORE COMPRISED OF
JAMES JAMERSON, THE TORMENTED
GENIUS OF THE MOTOWN BASS...</i> <i>AND LATE-ERA BASSIST
BOB BABBITT,</i> <i>PERCUSSIONISTS JACK ASHFORD
AND EDDIE "BONGO" BROWN,</i> <i>DRUMMERS URIEL JONES,
"PISTOL" ALLEN...</i> <i>AND THE EXPLOSIVE
BENNY "PAPA ZITA" BENJAMIN,</i> <i>THE CREATOR OF
THE MOTOWN DRUMBEAT.</i> <i>THE DANCE FLOORS OF THE WORLD
DIDN'T STAND A CHANCE.</i> <i>♪♪ [ R&B ]</i> <i>E AUTO IND.</i> HE WALKED OVER BY THE BANDSTAND
WHILE WE WERE PLAYING
AND, UH, SAID-- HE SAID TO ME,
"WOULD YOU HAVE TIME
TO TALK TO ME?" I SAYS,
"I GOT MORE TIME
THAN MONEY." <i>AND HE EXPLAINED TO ME
WHAT HE WAS ABOUT.</i> <i>HE WANTED TO SET UP
A RECORD COMPANY...</i> <i>AND HE NEEDED GOOD MUSICIANS.</i> <i>I THOUGHT IT WAS
A WONDERFUL IDEA.</i> <i>AND WANTED TO KNOW,
DID I KNOW ANYBODY
THAT COULD FEEL THE THING.</i> HE ALREADY KNEW MR. BENJAMIN--
BENNY BENJAMIN, "PAPA ZITA." SO HE CALLED THE FIRST REHEARSAL
OVER AT CLAUDETTE'S HOUSE-- SMOKEY ROBINSON'S WIFE
AT THAT TIME. <i>THAT WAS LATE '58.</i> <i>AND THEN PAPA ZITA WAS
ALREADY THERE, AND I WAS THERE.</i> <i>WE EVENTUALLY FOUND THE GREAT
JAMES JAMERSON ON BASS.</i> <i>♪♪ [ Bass ]</i> <i>[ Man ]
I REMEMBER MY DAD SAYING
AS A CHILD GROWING UP...</i> <i>THAT HE WOULD TAKE A STICK
AND TAKE A RUBBER BAND...</i> AND PUT ONE PART AT ONE END
AND THE OTHER PART
AT THE OTHER... <i>AND STICK IT IN AN ANT HOLE...</i> <i>AND MAKE THE ANTS DANCE.</i> <i>♪♪ [ Gospel ]</i> <i>ME--</i> WHEN I'M PLAYING,
IF I DON'T FEEL IT,
DON'T PLAY IT. <i> YOU KNOW, A LOT OF GUYS
WOULD JUST PLAY STRAIGHT--</i> <i> ♪♪ [ Bas</i> WHERE HE KEPT HIS THUMB
RIGHT HERE AS A REST. THAT'S HOW OLD THIS BASS IS. YOU CAN SEE
ALL THE DIRT ON HERE. UH, AS HE SAYS,
"THE DIRT KEEPS THE FUNK." THIS HAS BEEN THE ORIGINAL BASS
EVER SINCE HE STARTED PLAYING, <i>BEFORE HE SWITCHED OVER
TO PRECISION.</i> <i>HE USED THIS ON "HEAT WAVE,"
"MY GUY," "SHOP AROUND"--</i> <i>MOST OF THE MARY WELLS STUFF--</i> <i>"YOU BEAT ME TO THE PUNCH,"
SOME OTHER EARLIER STUFF
WITH STEVIE.</i> HE PLAYED WITH ONE FINGER
ON ALL THOSE HITS
JUST LIKE THIS. THE FINGER WAS CALLED
THE HOOK. IT WOULD HOOK LIKE THIS.
ON ALL THEM SONGS
THAT YOU HEARD, <i>BASICALLY IT WAS DONE
WITH ONE FINGER.</i> <i>I HAVE TROUBLE PLAYING
WITH TWO FINGERS
THE LINE THAT HE PLAYED.</i> YOU COULDN'T EVEN TOUCH
HIS TIMING, WE WENT TO THE STUDIO
AND WE WERE SUPPOSED TO RECORD. THERE WAS A BIG SIGN
ON THE DOOR SAYING, UH, "THERE WON'T BE ANY WORK
HERE TODAY. MOTOWN ARE MOVING
TO LOS ANGELES." WOW, WHAT A BREAK. I SUPPOSE THEY WERE JUST
LOOKING FOR A NEW SOUND, I SUPPOSE, YOU KNOW? SO WE JUST KEPT DOING
WHAT WE USUALLY DO-- WHAT WE
WERE DOING BEFORE MOTOWN-- AND THAT WAS PLAYING
IN THE CLUBS AROUND THE CITY-- PLAYING OUR BLUES,
PLAYING OUR JAZZ. THAT'S JUST ABOUT
THE WAY IT ENDED. WHEN MOTOWN LEFT DETROIT,
THERE WAS NO WARNING, NO ANNOUNCEMENT AND NO WAY
OF PREPARING FOR IT. AND THAT'S THE MOVE
THEY HAD TO MAKE. A MAJOR COMPANY
DOESN'T HAVE TO EXPLAIN TO EVERY
INDIVIDUAL THAT THEY'RE MOVING. BUT IT KIND OF LEFT
ALL OF US KIND OF LIKE,
"WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?" THE FUNNY THING WAS WE ALWAYS
HAD THAT IDEA ABOUT HOW
IT WOULD NEVER END. YOU KNOW, WE FELT LIKE
IT WOULD GO ON AND ON AND ON, BUT AS YOU CAN SEE,
IT ENDED. <i>[ Narrator ]
HOPING TO HOLD ON
TO THEIR DREAMS,</i> <i>SOME OF THE FUNK BROTHERS
FOLLOWED MOTOWN TO LOS ANGELES.</i> <i>BUT THE WEST COAST MUSIC SCENE
WAS TOO FOREIGN TO THEM,</i> <i>AND WITHOUT THE EMOTIONAL
SUPPORT THE FUNK BROTHERS'
FAMILY...</i> <i>HAD ALWAYS PROVIDED
FOR EACH OTHER, THEY WERE LOST.</i> HE MISSED HIS FRIENDS,
THE FUNK BROTHERS. JUST THE ATMOSPHERE.
IT'S TOTALLY DIFFERENT
IN CALIFORNIA THAN DETROIT. <i> HE WASN'T GETTING--
RECEIVING THE PHONE CALLS
LIKE BEFORE,</i> WORKING IN A STUDIO--
YEAH, TO WORK IN A STUDIO. AND... THERE WAS
A BATTLE THERE, YOU KNOW, OF EMOTIONS AND PROBABLY
FEELING LESS THAN A MAN... OR LESS THAN A DAD
TO PROVIDE FOR US... <i>FROM WHAT HE USED TO DO BEFORE.</i> <i>I'VE SEEN A LOT OF HURT AND PAIN
AND THE ILLNESS...</i> AND THE STRUGGLES
WITH THE ALCOHOL. <i>IT WASN'T GOING RIGHT FOR HIM.
HE WANTED TO DO EVERYTHING.</i> <i>HE'S USED TO DOING
EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE.</i> AND THEN IT WAS HIS TIME
WHERE<i> HE</i> NEEDED HELP, AND A LOT OF TIMES
NO ONE WAS THERE. OR HE DIDN'T WANNA LISTEN,
'CAUSE HE COULD BE
HARDHEADED TOO, SO-- <i>[ Narrator ]
IN 1983, JAMES JAMERSON
SCALPED A TICKET...</i> <i>FOR THE NATIONALLY TELEVISED
SHOW</i> MOTOWN 25... <i>AND SLIPPED INTO A BALCONY SEAT.</i> <i>TWO MONTHS LATER,
HE SLIPPED AWAY... FOREVER.</i> <i>♪ A NEW DAY IS DAWNING
SUNNY AND BRIGHT ♪</i> <i>♪ BUT AFTER I'VE BEEN
CRYING ALL NIGHT ♪</i> <i>♪ THE SUN IS COLD
AND THE NEW DAY SEEMS OLD ♪</i> <i>♪ SINCE I LOST MY BAB</i> LET ME TELL YOU. MARVIN
WAS PUTTIN' THIS TOGETHER
WITH "WHAT'S GOIN' ON." <i>AND HE WAS EXPERIMENTING
WITH A LOT OF THINGS.</i> ♪ WE'VE GOT TO FIND... ♪ <i>BUT WHAT HAPPENED--
HE DECIDED HE NEEDED JAMERSON.</i> ♪♪ [ Continues ] <i>SO JAMERSON WAS WORKIN'
A LOCAL CLUB, AND MARVIN
FOUND OUT WHERE HE WAS WORKIN'.</i> <i>HE WENT OVER THERE TO GET HIM.
JAMERSON WAS BLASTED.</i> SO HE SAID, "WELL, I GOTTA
GET HIM BACK, BECAUSE I GOT
THIS. I GOTTA GET IT OFF." BROUGHT HIM BACK OVER HERE
TO THE STUDIO. JAMERSON REALLY
DIDN'T WANT TO DO THIS, BUT BECAUSE OF MARVIN,
HE SAID, "OKAY, I'LL TRY IT." SO JAMERSON COULDN'T SIT UP ON--
YOU KNOW, HE HAD A HIGH STOOL
HE USED TO SIT ON. HE WAS AFRAID
HE WAS GONNA FALL. <i>LIKE A STRING BASS PLAYER.</i> HE LAID RIGHT OUT
WHERE YOU WERE LAYING
AND STARTED PLAYING THIS. NO ONE BELIEVED IT. <i> HE DID A JOB THAT NO ONE
COULD DO STANDING UP.</i> <i> HE DID IT LAYING DOWN.
THAT WAS JAMES JAMERSON.</i> <i>MM-HMM. YEAH, THE MASTER.</i> - ♪ OOOH ♪
- PRESSURE MEANT NOTHING TO YOU?
