Movie Info

In 1959, Berry Gordy gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over ...(read more...) a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on "My Girl," "Bernadette," I Was Made to Love Her," and every other hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note an a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story. The Funk Brothers story is told through archival footage and still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Funk Brothers backing up Chaka Kahn, Ben Harper, Bootsy Collins, Montel Jordan, Meshell Ndegeocello, Joan Osborne, and Gerald Levert.

Director: Paul Justman

MPAA: PG

Running Time: 1 hr. 48 min.

Release Date: Nov 15, 2002

Cast: Andre Braugher, Ben Harper, Benny 'Papa Zita' Benjamin, Bob Babbitt, Bootsy Collins, Chaka Khan, Earl Van Dyke, Eddie 'Bongo' Brown, Eddie Willis, Gerald Levert, Jack Ashford, James Jamerson, Joan Osborne, Joe Hunter, Joe Messina, Johnny Griffith, Martha Reeves, MeShell Ndegeocello, Montell Jordan, Richard 'Pistol' Allen, Robert White, Rudy Robinson, Tom Scott, Uriel Jones