The Most Successful Studio Band You’ve Never Heard Of
When you think of Motown, you probably think of Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Temptations, Four Tops, Stevie Wonder and early Michael Jackson.
But behind all those artists was another group of musicians who helped create the sound of Motown. They were known unofficially as The Funk Brothers.
Motown’s house band was active from 1959 until 1972, when the company relocated from Detroit to Los Angeles. During those years, they played on an extraordinary number of Motown recordings, without receiving the recognition or credit that the singers and songwriters received.
Their lineup wasn’t fixed, but a core group of musicians became the driving force behind the Motown sound.
When they performed as a band with their leader Earl Van Dyke, they were sometimes credited as Earl Van Dyke & The Soul Brothers.
And despite the name we know today, Berry Gordy apparently wasn’t particularly fond of the word “Funk”. The irony being that funk is exactly what these musicians brought to the records.
James Jamerson: The Bass Player Who Changed Everything
Perhaps the most famous member of The Funk Brothers was bassist James Jamerson.
Jamerson didn’t simply play the root notes underneath the singers. His bass lines could be melodic, syncopated and surprisingly busy, sometimes almost becoming a second melody.
Check out Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and you’ll hear what makes his playing so remarkable.
This is one of the biggest lessons the Funk Brothers have for guitarists. If you only listen to the guitar, you miss half the arrangement.
Listen to the bass. Listen to the drums. Listen to the handclaps, percussion and backing vocals.
Then notice how the guitar fits into the gaps. That’s how the Motown sound was built.
Baby Love: The Motown Machine Gets Moving
In 1964, The Supremes released Baby Love, written by Holland-Dozier-Holland and backed by The Funk Brothers.
The song quickly reached #1 in both the U.S. and U.K., becoming The Supremes’ first chart-topping single. It was the beginning of an extraordinary period for The Supremes.
Their second album also contained Where Did Our Love Go?, and they followed that success with an almost ridiculous schedule of recordings. In just two years, The Supremes released six albums.
There was a Beatles covers album, a Country & Western album, a Sam Cooke tribute and a Christmas album. The sheer volume is worth considering.
Motown wasn’t waiting around for inspiration. They were making records. Lots of them. And The Funk Brothers were right in the middle of that machine.
My Girl: A Must for the Working Motown Band
Another essential Funk Brothers recording is My Girl by The Temptations. Written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White, it was released in 1964 and became one of Motown’s defining songs.
It’s also one of those tunes that seems to appear on every Motown or Soul band’s setlist sooner or later. Most likely as a Father-Daughter dance at a wedding.
For a working band, that makes My Girl particularly useful. You might spend most of the evening playing up-tempo Motown numbers, but eventually someone will want something slower. And this is where having a deep repertoire matters.
There’s nothing more awkward than playing You Can’t Hurry Love while people are trying to eat because your band only knows 30 songs! If you’re serious about working as a musician, you need to learn the classics before you need them.
My Guy: Motown’s Sweeter Side
Mary Wells was Motown’s first female superstar, and My Guy became her signature song. Written by Smokey Robinson and released in 1964, it reached #1 in the U.S. and became one of the defining songs of Motown’s early, sweeter sound.
Wells left Motown in 1965, hoping to develop a career elsewhere, and the label simply moved on. There was always another singer waiting to be backed by the legendary house band and master minded by Gordy.
Martha and the Vandellas, The Supremes and other female acts were already part of the Motown machine, while Marvin Gaye would soon find new duet partners such as Tammi Terrell and Kim Weston.
For working musicians, My Guy remains another useful first-set tune—especially when you need to bring the energy down without losing the audience.
I Can’t Help Myself: The Motown Formula
In 1965, the Four Tops released I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch). Written by Holland–Dozier–Holland and performed by The Funk Brothers, it became one of the biggest singles of the decade. It’s also a brilliant songwriting lesson.
The verse, instrumental and chorus all use the same basic progression. That sounds simple, but that’s part of the magic.
Motown understood that you don’t need a new chord progression every eight bars to keep people interested. You need a great melody, a great groove, a memorable lyric and an arrangement that keeps moving.
If you’re playing in a Motown band, this one is guaranteed to appear on the setlist sooner or later.
1965: What a Year for Songwriting
On a side note, it’s worth noting the sheer quality of music being released around this time, it really is extraordinary.
Alongside I Can’t Help Myself were songs such as:
- (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
- California Dreamin’
- Fever
- How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)
- It’s Not Unusual
- Keep On Running
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Mr. Tambourine Man
- My Generation
- My Girl
- Nowhere to Run
- Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
- Rescue Me
- Respect
- Unchained Melody
- We Can Work It Out
- Wooly Bully
What a year for songwriting! And right in the middle of it all were The Funk Brothers, and nobody even knew their name.
How Sweet It Is
Marvin Gaye’s How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) is another perfect example of the Motown formula. The tune was written by Holland–Dozier–Holland and recorded by Marvin in 1964.
It’s a deceptively simple piece of music. The chords aren’t the difficult part. The difficult part is getting the feel right.
That’s something you quickly discover when learning Motown songs on guitar. You can know every chord and still sound completely wrong. The magic lives in the timing.
Nowhere to Run and Heat Wave
Martha and the Vandellas gave The Funk Brothers some of their most energetic material. Heat Wave arrived in 1963 and became one of the songs that helped establish the classic Motown sound.
Then came Nowhere to Run in 1965, another Holland–Dozier–Holland composition with the unmistakable Motown combination of rhythm section, horns, backing vocals and relentless momentum.
These songs are brilliant studies for guitarists because the guitar isn’t necessarily the star. The groove is the star. You have to understand where your part sits inside the whole band.
Play too much and you get in the way. Play too little and the arrangement loses energy. Get the timing right and suddenly everything locks together.
Dancing in the Street
Then there is Dancing in the Street. Released by Martha and the Vandellas in 1964, it became one of Motown’s most enduring songs.
It’s another great example of how the Funk Brothers created a backing track that feels impossible to sit still through.
The arrangement doesn’t need a complicated guitar solo. It needs movement.
The drums, bass, percussion, horns, vocals and guitar all contribute to the sense that the song is constantly pushing forward. And that’s exactly why it remains such useful repertoire for working bands.
People know it. People respond to it. And, most importantly, people dance to it.
Jimmy Mack
By 1967, Martha and the Vandellas had another classic with Jimmy Mack.
Once again, the songwriting is deceptively simple. Once again, the arrangement is everything.
If you’re building a female-fronted Motown set, Jimmy Mack sits naturally alongside Heat Wave, Dancing in the Street, Nowhere to Run, Baby Love, You Can’t Hurry Love and My Guy.
This is one of the great advantages of learning music by artist, songwriter or style rather than simply collecting random songs.
One song leads naturally to another. Before long, you’ve built an entire repertoire.
You could, with The Funk Brothers repertoire do this and get all the bets tunes from the most legendary artists, from the golden era of music into one setlist, now there’s a tribute act idea for you…
You Can’t Hurry Love
The Supremes had already released several hits before You Can’t Hurry Love appeared in 1966.
It was written by Holland–Dozier–Holland and became one of their signature songs. The Supremes had taken several years to find their breakthrough, but once they did, the hits arrived at an extraordinary rate.
Where Did Our Love Go, Baby Love and Come See About Me arrived in 1964.
Then came Stop! In the Name of Love, Back in My Arms Again and I Hear a Symphony in 1965.
And 1966 brought You Can’t Hurry Love, You Keep Me Hangin’ On, Love Is Here and Now You’re Gone and The Happening.
The Supremes ultimately had 12 U.S. #1 singles. For musicians, You Can’t Hurry Love remains one of those songs that almost every female-fronted Motown band needs to know.
And behind it all? The Funk Brothers!
Reach Out I’ll Be There
The Four Tops returned in 1966 with Reach Out I’ll Be There. Written and produced by Holland–Dozier–Holland, it became a huge hit, reaching #1 in both the U.S. and U.K.
Apparently, the Four Tops weren’t initially convinced by the recording and reportedly asked Berry Gordy not to release it. Fortunately, Gordy disagreed. The song became the group’s signature tune.
And once again, you can hear why the Funk Brothers were so important. The arrangement creates drama without needing to become complicated.
For a guitarist, the lesson is simple: Don’t confuse complexity with musicality. The most important thing you can do is play the right part at the right time.
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
James Jamerson’s bass playing is particularly striking on Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.
The song had already been recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell before Diana Ross transformed it into a dramatic solo performance.
But whichever version you study, the lesson remains the same. The bass isn’t simply holding the song together. It’s actively helping create the melody and movement.
For guitarists, this is worth stealing—not the actual bass line, but the idea. Try playing your guitar part as though you’re another melodic voice in the arrangement. Just make sure you don’t compete with the singer.
Can I Get a Witness
Marvin Gaye’s Can I Get a Witness was another early Motown success. Released in 1963, it was written by Holland–Dozier–Holland and features that unmistakable Motown combination of gospel energy, rhythm and call-and-response.
This is another song where the guitar has to understand the difference between playing chords and playing rhythm. The two aren’t the same thing.
A guitarist who simply strums the correct chords can still sound completely disconnected from the record. The Funk Brothers understood the importance of the spaces between the notes. That’s why their arrangements still feel so good.
I Heard It Through the Grapevine
Then there’s I Heard It Through the Grapevine. Marvin Gaye’s version became one of Motown’s most famous recordings, but the song had already been recorded by other artists. That’s another important part of Motown’s system.
Songs were tried with different singers, different arrangements and different producers until the right combination was found.
And when everything clicked, you got a record like Grapevine.
The bass, drums, guitar and percussion create an atmosphere that is as important as the vocal. For guitarists, it’s another reminder that feel beats complexity.
You’re All I Need to Get By
Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell also gave us You’re All I Need to Get By. The duet format allowed the musicians to create space for two voices, with the arrangement constantly supporting the interaction between them.
This is another great lesson for anyone playing behind a singer. Your job isn’t necessarily to make the guitar noticeable. Your job is to make the tune noticeable. That’s something the members of the Funk Brothers understood better than anyone.
Get Ready
Get Ready was written by Smokey Robinson and first recorded by The Temptations. The tune was originally intended to fuel a dance craze, but quickly became much bigger than that.
Later, Rare Earth recorded a successful rock version, while Ella Fitzgerald also put her own spin on it.
For a working band, that’s exactly the kind of song you want in your repertoire. It’s recognisable, energetic and adaptable.
And the fact that different artists can arrange it in completely different ways makes it even more useful to study.
Higher and Higher: The Funk Brothers Outside Motown
The Funk Brothers weren’t limited to Motown. In 1967, Jackie Wilson—“Mr. Excitement”—released (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher.
The musicians behind the recording included members of Motown’s Funk Brothers, working outside the label.
The song became a major hit and has gone on to become a soul standard. It is also a brilliant example of the power of a simple progression.
The chords are not particularly difficult. That’s good news for your band. When the harmony is straightforward, everyone can relax, concentrate on the groove, play with dynamics and connect with the audience.
Band of Gold
The Funk Brothers also appeared on Band of Gold by Freda Payne. The song was written by Holland–Dozier–Holland and released through their Invictus (their own label), in 1970.
Despite the complicated relationship between the songwriting team and Berry Gordy, they managed to bring some of the Motown musicians with them.
Band of Gold became a huge international hit and remains one of the great soul records of the era.
Again, listen beyond the singer. Listen to the rhythm section. That’s where you’ll hear the fingerprints of Detroit.
Motown’s Secret Weapon
The great irony of The Funk Brothers is that for years, nobody knew who they were.
The singers became famous. The songwriters became famous. Berry Gordy became famous. The musicians who created the musical foundation remained anonymous.
The 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown finally brought much more attention to their story. It explored the sacrifices these musicians made and the way their relationship with Motown eventually ended.
In 1972, when Motown’s operations moved from Detroit to Los Angeles, the Detroit musicians were effectively left behind. The story is summed up by the note reportedly left on the studio door: “No work today”.
The Funk Brothers and the Working Guitarist
The most important lesson from The Funk Brothers isn’t about learning one particular guitar part. It’s about learning how to play in a band.
Check out this list of tunes:
- Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
- Can I Get a Witness
- Dancing in the Street
- Heat Wave
- How Sweet It Is
- I Heard It Through the Grapevine
- Jimmy Mack
- Nowhere to Run
- You’re All I Need to Get By
And that’s before you even get to My Girl, Baby Love, Reach Out I’ll Be There, You Can’t Hurry Love, Get Ready and the countless other records they played on.
There are 18 Funk Brothers tunes featured here at Spytunes alone. That’s quite a repertoire. But don’t just learn the chords.
Listen to the bass. Listen to the drums. Listen to where the guitar sits. Notice the backing vocals. Notice the horns. Notice the little gaps.
Then play along with the backing tracks and remember, the great secret of Motown is that the groove is bigger than any individual musician.
Building Your Motown Repertoire
If you want to play Motown professionally, you need more than a handful of famous songs.
You need the slow songs. You need the dance songs. You need female-fronted material. You need male vocal material. You need duets. And you need songs that can fill different parts of an evening.
That’s why tunes like My Guy, My Girl, Baby Love, You Can’t Hurry Love, Reach Out I’ll Be There, Dancing in the Street, Heat Wave, Nowhere to Run, Jimmy Mack, Get Ready, Higher and Higher and I Heard It Through the Grapevine are so useful.
The Funk Brothers didn’t just make records. They created a vocabulary.
Learn that vocabulary and you’ll start hearing the same ideas everywhere—from Soul and R&B to Disco, Funk, Pop and modern Dance music.
And as a guitarist, that’s the real lesson. Don’t just learn the song. Learn the groove, learn the arrangement, and learn how your part fits into the band. That’s how you stop simply playing guitar and start becoming a working musician.
The Funk Brothers Tunes | Related Pages
(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave | Martha & the Vandellas
You can learn Heat Wave by Martha Reeves & the Vandellas using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Eb N.C (Bb C Bb G) | Fm (Gbm) | Gm (Bm) | Cm (Bm) | Cm |
Whenever I’m with him, (oh, oh, oh, oh) something inside (inside)…
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher | Chords + TAB
You can learn (Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher by Jackie Wilson using chords, lyrics, TAB, and backing tracks.
| D | G/D | Em/D | D |
Your love, lifting me higher, than I’ve ever been lifted before…
Ain’t No Mountain High Enough | Chords + TAB
You can learn Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell using chords, chord analysis, lyrics, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Bm7/A | G#m7b5 | Gmaj7 | Em9 |
Ain’t no mountain high, ain’t no valley low, ain’t no river wide enough, baby…
Baby Love | Chords + TAB
You can learn Baby Love by The Supremes using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| C | C7/Bb | A7 | Dm |
Baby love, my baby love, I need you, oh how I need you…
Band Of Gold | Chords + TAB
You can learn Band Of Gold by Freda Payne using chords, chord analysis, lyrics, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| G | G | D/F# |
Now that you’re gone, all that’s left is a band of gold…
Can I Get A Witness | Chords + TAB
You can learn Can I Get A Witness by Marvin Gaye using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, a backing track, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Eb Ab | Db Ab | Eb Ab | Db Ab |
Ah listen, everybody, especially you girls…
Start learning with the full lesson series: Can I Get A Witness – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Dancing In The Street | Chords + TAB
You can learn Dancing In The Street by Martha and the Vandellas using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| E7 | E7 (D/E) | E7 | E7 (D/E) |
Callin’ out around the world, are you ready for a brand new beat…
Get Ready | The Temptations
You can learn Get Ready by The Temptations using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, backing tracks, TAb, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| F5 | Bb | G5 | C |
And I’m bringing you a love that’s true so get ready, so get ready…
Check it out how the main riff is taught in the course for FREE here: Get Ready | Guitar Lesson – Step 2.
How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) | Chords + TAB
You can learn How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by Marvin Gaye using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| F | Dm7 G7 | C C6 | C (C7) |
How sweet it is to be loved by you, yes baby, oh, oh, oh, oh…
I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) | Chords + TAB
You can learn I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by The Four Tops using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| C | C | G | G |
Oh, sugar pie, honey bunch, you know that I love you…
I Heard It Through The Grapevine | Marvin Gaye
You can learn I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye using chords, lyrics, backing tracks, a chord chart, TAB, and video guitar lessons.
| Ebm | Ebm | Bb Ab | Ab6 Ab |
I bet you’re wonderin’ how I knew, ’bout your plans to make me blue…
Check it out how the verse is taught in the course for FREE here: I Heard It Through The Grapevine | Guitar Lesson – Step 2.
Jimmy Mack | Chords + TAB
You can learn Jimmy Mack by Martha and the Vandellas using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, backing tracks, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Ebm | Gbmaj7 | Dbmaj7 | Gb |
Jimmy Mack, Jimmy. Oh, Jimmy Mack, when are you comin’ back…
Check it out how the intro is taught in the course for FREE here: Jimmy Mack | Guitar Lesson – Step 2.
My Girl | Chords + TAB
You can learn My Girl by The Temptations using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, and the original recording.
| C | F | C | F |
I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day…
Check out the full TAB lesson here: My Girl (The Temptations) Guitar Lesson with TAB.
My Guy | Chords + TAB
You can learn My Guy by Mary Wells using chords, lyrics, a backing track, a chord chart, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 | Bb Bb6 |
Nothing you could say could tear me away from my guy…
Start learning with the full lesson series: My Guy – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
Nowhere To Run | Chords + TAB
You can learn Nowhere To Run by Martha and the Vandellas using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| G | F Em C/E | G | F Em C/E |
Nowhere to run to, baby. Nowhere to hide…
Reach Out I’ll Be There | Chords + TAB
You can learn Reach Out I’ll Be There by the Four Tops using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| Abm7 Gb/Bb | Db | Abm7 Gb/Bb | Db |
Now if you feel that you can’t go on, because all of your hope is gone…
You Can’t Hurry Love | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play You Can’t Hurry Love by The Supremes using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, a backing track, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
| Bb | Bb | Eb Bb | Bb |
I need love, love, to ease my mind…
Start learning with the full lesson series: You Can’t Hurry Love – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
You’re All I Need To Get By | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play You’re All I Need To Get By by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, TAB, and backing tracks.
| A | B/A |
(You’re all I need to get by) Like sweet morning dew, I took one look at you…
The Funk Brothers on the web
