Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Standing in the Shadows of Motown
Theatrical release poster for Standing in the Shadows of Motown
Directed by	Paul Justman
Produced by	Paul Justman Sandford Passman Allan Slutsky
Written by	Walter Dallas, Ntozake Shange, Allan Slutsky
Narrated by	Andre Braugher
Distributed by	Artisan Entertainment (USA)
Release date	November 15, 2002
Running time	116 mins
Language	English

Standing in the Shadows of Motown is a 2002 documentary film directed by Paul Justman that recounts the story of The Funk Brothers, the uncredited and largely unheralded studio musicians who were the house band that Berry Gordy hand picked in 1959. They recorded and performed on Motowns' recordings from 1959 to 1972. The film was inspired by the 1989 book Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson, a bass guitar instruction book by Allan Slutsky, which features the bass lines of James Jamerson.

The film covers the Funk Brothers' career via interviews with surviving band members, archival footage and still photos, dramatized re-enactments, and narration by actor Andre Braugher. The film also features new live performances of several Motown hit songs, with the Funk Brothers backing up Gerald Levert, Me'shell Ndegeocello, Joan Osborne, Ben Harper, Bootsy Collins, Chaka Khan, and Montell Jordan.

The impetus behind making the film was to bring these influential players out of anonymity. In addition to bassist James Jamerson, The Funk Brothers consisted of the following musicians: Jack Ashford (percussion); Bob Babbitt (bass); Joe Hunter (keyboards); Uriel Jones (drums); Joe Messina (guitar); Eddie Willis (guitar); "Pistol" Allen (drums); "Papa Zita" Benjamin (drums); "Bongo" Brown (percussion); Johnny Griffith (keyboards); Earl Van Dyke (keyboards); and Robert White (guitar).