StandingShadows of Motown

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TITLE="http://www.drillteammedia.com/motown/mot"><U><B>For a moving clip of the film, check this out!</B></U></A></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> Standing in the Shadows of Motown</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div>   ****</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 23 WIDTH="575"><div> Rating</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> PG for language and thematic elements </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Director</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><div> Paul Justman</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>I heard it through the grapevine</B></div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="575"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>Starring</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> People you've heard musically, many times, whose names you don't know</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> This documentary is not about Berry Gordy or the singers that are household names such as Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, Smokey Robinson, Martha and the Vandellas, The Four Tops, The Temptations, Gladys Knight and the Pips, or Stevie Wonder. What it is about is the house band of names you'll never really know. They are called The Funk Brothers. Although a few have passed on, many of the 13 original band members are still playing in the Detroit area, in local clubs and in hotel lounges for tips. </div> <bR> <div> It's hard to believe the fact that a group could be so great that they have more number one hits than The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Beach Boys and Elvis combined! And they have never been heard of. We lived in Detroit during much of the Motown heyday and we never heard of them. As the Funk Brothers say, it is incorrect to say they have been rediscovered because they were never discovered in the first place.</div> <bR> <div> Because most of the Motown singers grew up in Detroit, they had life long friends there and it was not unusual for us to know them. That resulted in us being at private house parties, with zero commercial overtones, with people such as Steve Wonder and Gladys Knight. They lived in the neighborhood and you might see Marvin Gaye driving around in his white Rolls Royce or one of the Spinners waiting in the barbershop for a haircut along with the working class folks. Detroit was that kind of town and very different from what is depicted in the film <A HREF="id1597.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8 Mile"><U><I><B>8 Mile</B></I></U></A><A HREF="id1597.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8 Mile"><U> </U></A>or the upcoming <A HREF="id1821.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Narc"><U><I><B>Narc</B></I></U></A>.</div> <bR> <div> Motown was created in large measure to give black recording artists a record label and outlet to combat "race music," and to allow white parents to let their kids buy the recordings. Groups such as the Beatles, The Rolling Stones and even the King himself, were getting rich off of R&B based music and the black musicians wanted a piece of that action. Motown gave black artists the chance to become superstars, with #1 hits that crossed over between all ethnic groups. Artists such as Jackie Wilson, Ruth Brown, Jimmy Reed, The Spaniels, The Five Satins and Big Joe Turner sold most of their music to blacks, because unlike jazz musicians such as Sarah Vaughn and Nat King Cole, they stayed on their side of the railroad tracks. </div> <bR> <div> About the time that Motown was starting to hit the big time, Nat King Cole had his TV show<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >¾</FONT>though he could not obtain commercial sponsors because he was black. It was OK to be a guest on a show but not to function in the Ed Sullivan role, as a host with your name at the top of the marquee. Clearly, Berry Gordy was a music business genius, even though he eventually deserted Detroit and cashed out the company. He found a way to do the possible when it was theoretically impossible. As has been said, "If you ship does not come in, swim out to it."</div> <div>   </div> <div> In this film the challenge to showcase how good the band is comes quite differently than in the film <A HREF="id1826.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Only the Strong Survive"><U><I><B>Only the Strong Survive</B></I></U></A><I><B>. </B></I>In that film, we shared time on stage with artists such as Jerry Butler, Rufus Thomas, Sam Moore of Sam and Dave, Mary Wilson of the Supremes, listening to them in their heyday and today. The "throw down" here is met by the Funk Brothers with the statement (with no disrespect to the aforementioned household names) that any good singer would sound great with the Funk Brothers backing them up. Sure, yea, I'll bet…what kind of mess are they talking about? Well George is here to tell you that Joan Osborne "got off" on "Heatwave" and "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?" And Chaka Khan, has the nerve to sing "What's Going On?" live, right after you see a film of Marvin Gaye really hittin' it. Meshell Ndegeocello sings "You Really Got a Hold on Me" and Ben Harper jams on "Ain't Too Proud to Beg." The Funk Brothers were and are still, as Isaac Hayes would say "…shut your mouth, you're a bad MF."</div> <bR> <div> One can easily find fault with the film from the point of view of investigative reporting, or the fact that many songs are performed as an excerpt rather than from start to finish.  What this film does, other than play some great music, is give you background on a diverse set of musicians, and how and why they became life long friends. More importantly, it's a comment on the popular history and culture of the 1960-70 Vietnam/civil rights time frame.</div> <bR> <div> As one of The Funk Brothers said regarding their work, "Soul music makes your believe." It can also make you happy. At the end of<I><B> </B></I><A HREF="id1597.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="8 Mile"><U><I><B>8 Mile, </B></I></U></A>George was relieved; at the end of <I><B>Standing in the Shadows of Motown, </B></I>he had a broad smile on his face. This film will probably play only for a few weeks (unlike the $54 million opening for "8 Mile"), so if you like soul music and are a Motown fan, this is a movie that you just cannot miss. It's playing at Piper's Alley in Chicago, located at North and Wells. Be on the lookout for it in your city.</div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> George O. Singleton  © 2002</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:Reelmoviec@aol.com"><U><U>Reelmoviec@aol.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>