Pat Cosby began working at Motown in 1962 after graduating from Detroit’s Northwestern High School the previous year. She started in the tape library working with Fran Heard Maclin, became a Switchboard Operator Supervisor, and eventually moved on to become an Album Coordinator.
Pat married Motown musician, songwriter, producer, arranger, and session contractor Henry “Hank” Cosby, giving her a unique insight into both the creative and the organizational process of Motown. Her insight holds true – nearly every hit Motown song from the classic Detroit years of 1959 –1972 contains brass and/or woodwinds played by top musicians of the Motor City, with Hank as one of the most prolific saxophonists.
The video below highlights just some of the many important musical motifs delivered on Motown classics by the label’s horn players.
As Motown’s early success grew, so did the area of ground that the artists had to cover as they traveled the country singing their songs to an increasingly adoring public. The label still wanted the studios up and running while artists were on the road. While Motown’s Head of A&R, William “Mickey” Stevenson, sourced players from the local jazz clubs, pianist and bandleader Joe Hunter was tasked with creating a list of musicians that Motown could use for recording sessions. “I was asked to make a list of musicians who could fit the bill and place the list on a bulletin board,” Hunter wrote in his autobiography Musicians, Motown, and Myself. “First on the list was my high school friend and fellow musician, Hank Cosby.”
Clockwise from top: Joe Hunter, Hank Cosby, Mike Terry, Larry Veeder, Benny Banjamin, James Jamerson
This photo highlights the members of the early Joe Hunter Band – Hunter on piano, Benny Benjamin on drums, James Jamerson on bass, guitarist Larry Veeder, and saxophonists Cosby and Andrew “Mike” Terry. These musicians, among many others, were part of the loose collective that became known as the Funk Brothers. Hunter wrote in his autobiography that the name was one of the “popular phrases … coined by Benny Benjamin.” The Funk Brothers were what he would “call musicians who could excel in Funky rhythmic pockets with his funky rhythm beats.” As the first bandleader for Motown, Hunter’s recollection of his list of first-call players secures Cosby’s position as an original Funk Brother.
Stax Records in Memphis also had their own studio band. Booker T. & The M.G.s, in addition to recording their own hit instrumental records, laid the musical groundwork for singers including Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave, and Eddie Floyd. In 1962, the M.G.s, fronted by organist Booker T. Jones, began having hits with their single “Green Onions.” Motown followed suit by releasing instrumental singles featuring organist Earl Van Dyke. However, with “funk” being considered a dirty word at the time, the artist name was listed as Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brothers.
Most of the Soul Brothers recordings were repurposed instrumental Motown tracks used on hit recordings, including horns, with Earl Van Dyke’s keyboards played in place of the lead vocals. Although the Funk Brothers were directly responsible for many of the ingredients used to create the Motown Sound, the band name was not formally used in album credits or live concerts.
In the 1960s it was far less common for studio bands to receive credit by name. While jazz records, like those released on Motown’s Workshop Jazz imprint, would name individual players, pop music almost never did. The Wrecking Crew, a group of ace session musicians from the West Coast (who also recorded for some LA Motown sessions) anonymously recorded countless hits by artists including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Monkees, and more. When The Beatles used additional studio musicians, such as the string quartet heard in place of their drums and guitars for the instrumental track for “Eleanor Rigby” on the 1966 Revolver album, those musicians were not named on the packaging.
It wasn’t until the 1970s that in-house recording studio bands began to commonly be listed on releases. In Alabama, the Muscle Shoals Swampers (who had played on the bulk of Aretha Franklin’s early hits for Atlantic Records) received formal credits on albums by Wilson Pickett, Joe Simon, and Leon Russell. The band behind classics by Al Green, Syl Johnson, and Ann Peebles was dubbed Hi Rhythm, also releasing their own records under that banner, named after the label they recorded for. For Philadelphia International Records, it was MFSB (an abbreviation for Mother, Father, Sister, Brother) who released hits and was credited as the band behind the O’Jays, Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes, and The Three Degrees. Similarly, individual musician credits for Motown recordings did not appear until 1971 with LPs such as Marvin Gaye’s seminal What’s Going On, and Valerie Simpson’s Exposed.
To make matters more complicated, horn sections were often billed separately from the “rhythm section” made up of drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, and percussion. When Booker T. & The M.G.s recorded rhythm section tracks for Stax, they were joined by the Memphis Horns, who had their own releases as a group in the 1970s. The Swampers were augmented by the Muscle Shoals Horns, Earth Wind & Fire worked with the Phenix Horns, and James Brown’s section toured and released their own music as the J.B. Horns. In 1966, Motown released a single titled “6 by 6” by Earl Van Dyke & The Motown Brass, which some listeners may have interpreted as a separation between the Soul/Funk Brothers as a rhythm section and the horn players. Motown’s recording process also normally saw the horn section recording separately, “overdubbing” their parts on top of a finished rhythm section track.
It was within this context that guitarist, educator, and writer Allan “Dr. Licks” Slutsky began to crack the musical code of classic songs in his books and videos such as 1987’s The Art of Playing Rhythm and Blues for Guitar Bass, and Drums. It was Slutsky who brought the Funk Brothers’ story into the mainstream with his award winning 1989 book Standing in the Shadows of Motown, borrowing its title from a 1983 article in Musician Magazine by Nelson George. Interviewed by Slutsky, Earl Van Dyke recalls “the band that I was playing with in the clubs had Jamerson on bass, Robert White on guitar, and Uriel Jones on drums. Benny [Benjamin] used to call us the Funk Brothers. By him coming up with the name, that made him Funk #1, but the name really applied to all the rhythm section players … they were all Funk Brothers too.”
In 2002, Allan Slutsky’s efforts to bring an overdue spotlight to the Funk Brothers resulted in a documentary sharing the same title as his book, Standing in the Shadows of Motown. The movie resulted in a world tour with Motown’s session musicians taking center stage, multiple film festival honors, and two Grammy Awards. When the Funks were honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences recognized the 13 musicians spotlighted in the documentary film as “official” Funk Brothers – bassists James Jamerson and Bob Babbitt, drummers Benny Benjamin, Uriel Jones, and Richard “Pistol” Allen, guitarists Robert White, Eddie Willis, and Joe Messina, keyboardists Earl Van Dyke, Joe Hunter, and Johnny Griffith, and percussionists Eddie “Bongo” Brown and Jack Ashford.
However, “official” can be a difficult term to apply to the Funk Brothers. In the documentary, Joe Hunter recalls that Benny Benjamin named the group after a recording session in Motown’s Studio A. Were the Funk Brothers the musicians who were present in that specific session? Were they the group that performed live with Earl Van Dyke, as the organist remembered in Allan Slutsky’s book? Were they the 13 musicians highlighted in the film? Were they all of the various rhythm section and horn players heard on Motown recordings by Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brothers? Were they the individuals credited on Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On LP? Were they the entire collective of instrumental artists who helped weave the common threads of the Motown Sound?
Even among established institutions, the definition varies. The Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN includes the photo of Joe Hunter’s band, but not all of the musicians pictured were inducted. They also included influential Motown guitarist Dennis Coffey as an official member, even though Coffey was not among the 13 featured in the film and inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame only inducted James Jamerson and Benny Benjamin, not the group as a whole. Without the “Funk Brothers” band name appearing on any formal releases, show posters, or concert tickets during the classic Motown era, the lines drawn to delineate “official” Funk Brothers are instead defined retroactively as the group continues to receive their long overdue accolades and recognition.
The lively horns and woodwinds heard in classic Motown songs are an integral part of the Motown Sound. These musicians add melodies, musical motif, and improvisational flair that can help a developing song become a classic. Baritone saxophonist Andrew “Mike” Terry, whose bellowing solos and lilting riffs are heard on countless hits, has been credited as a Funk Brother within the liner notes of The Complete Motown Singles series of box sets. In Berry Gordy’s autobiography, To Be Loved, the Motown founder includes saxophonist and flautist Thomas “Beans” Bowles when listing who he considered to be a member of the Funk Brothers. In William “Mickey” Stevenson’s book, The A&R Man, he lists Beans alongside trombonist/arranger Paul Riser and tenor saxophonist Hank Cosby. As one of the most frequently recorded saxophonists at Motown, Cosby is also dubbed a Funk Brother in his biography as an inductee of the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame.
In celebration of the musical contributions of original Funk Brother Hank Cosby and his fellow horn section players, below is a video spotlighting some of the virtuosic brass and woodwind players at Motown:
Motown Museum celebrates the contributions of the many brass and woodwind players who recorded over the course of the Detroit years of 1959 – 1972. Among others, these musical luminaries include:
Trumpets:
- Herbie Williams
- John “Little John” Wilson
- Marcus Belgrave
- Russell Conway
- Johnny Trudell
- Floyd Jones
- Maurice Davis
- Billy Horner
- Gordon Stump
- Don Slaughter
- Eddie Jones
Saxophones:
- Henry “Hank” Cosby
- Andrew “Mike” Terry
- Norris “Kasuku Mafia” Patterson
- Thomas “Beans” Bowles
- Ted Buckner
- Walter “Choker” Campbell
- Frank Harvey
- Ronnie Wakefield
- Charles “Lefty” Edwards
- George F. Benson
- Eli Fontain
- Ernie Rodgers
- Eugene “BeeBee” Moore
- William “Wild Bill” Moore
- Angelo Carlisi
- Dan Turner
- Bernie Peacock
- Larry Nozero
- Lanny Austin
Trombones:
- McKinley Jackson
- Bob Cousar
- George Bohanon
- Paul Riser
- Jimmy Wilkens
- Don White
- Carl Raetz
- Patrick Lanier
- Bill Johnson
- Ed Gooch
Flute:
- Dayna Hartwick
- Thomas “Beans” Bowles
Piccolo:
- Dayna Hartwick
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
The content used in this educational exhibition was sourced from the Motown Museum archive or fair use.
Curated by Drew Schultz and Kemuel Benyehudah
Horn Spotlight Videos edited by Drew Schultz
Sources:
- Hunter, Joe. Musicians, Motown, and Myself. Global Sound Publications, 1996.
- George, Nelson. “Standing In The Shadows of Motown.” Musician Magazine. Billboard Publications, Inc., Issue 60, October 1983.
- Slutsky, Allan “Dr. Licks.” Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Hal Leonard Publishing Corp, 1989.
- Gordy, Berry. To Be Loved: The Music, the Magic, the Memories of Motown. Grand Central Pub, 1994.
- Stevenson, William Mickey. Motown’s First A&R Man Presents The A&R Man. Stevenson International Entertainment, 2015.
- The Complete Motown Singles, Vol. 1–12b. Hip-O Select, Universal Music Group, 2005–2013.
- Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Paul Justman, Director. Artisan Entertainment, 2002.
- Hitsville USA: The Complete Motown Singles Collection 1959–1971. Motown Record Company, 1992.
- “Inductees.” Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, 19 June 2023, www.musicianshalloffame.com/inductees/.
- “Henry Cosby.” Songwriters Hall of Fame, 2006, https://www.songhall.org/profile/henry_cosby1
- “James Jamerson.” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 2000, https://rockhall.com/inductees/james-jamerson/
- “Benny Benjamin.” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 2003, https://rockhall.com/inductees/benny-benjamin/
- “The Funk Brothers.” Hollywood Walk of Fame, 2013, https://walkoffame.com/the-funk-brothers/
- Booker T. & The M.G.s. Green Onions. Stax, 1962.
- Van Dyke, Earl & The Soul Brothers. That Motown Sound. Motown, 1965.
- The Beatles. “Eleanor Rigby.” Revolver. Parlophone, 1966.
- The Beatles. “Yellow Submarine / Eleanor Rigby.” Capitol Records, 1966.
- Pickett, Wilson. Pickett In The Pocket. RCA Victor, 1974.
- Simon, Joe. Mood, Heart & Soul. Spring Records, 1974.
- Russell, Leon. Leon Russell & The Shelter People. Shelter Records, 1971.
- The Swampers. Muscle Shoals Has Got The Swampers. Muscle Shoals Sound Records, 2017.
- Hi Rhythm. “Superstar.” Hi Records, 1976.
- MFSB. “The Zip.” Philadelphia International Records, 1975.
- Gaye, Marvin. What’s Going On. Tamla, 1971.
- Memphis Horns. Memphis Horns. Cotillion, 1970.
- Muscle Shoals Horns. Doin’ It To The Bone. Ariola Records, 1977.
- The JB Horns. I Like It Like That. Soulciety Records, 1993.
- Van Dyke, Earl & The Motown Brass. “6 by 6.” Soul, 1966.
- Four Tops. On Broadway. Motown, 1967.
- Edwards, Lefty. The Right Side of Lefty Edwards. Workshop Jazz, 1964.