Uriel Jones
| Uriel Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born |
June 13, 1934 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | March 24, 2009 (aged 74) Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. |
| Genres | Soul |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1959–2009 |
| Associated acts | Funk Brothers |
Uriel Jones (June 13, 1934 – March 24, 2009) was an African-American musician. Jones was a recording session drummer for Motown's in-house studio band, the Funk Brothers, during the 1960s and early 1970s.
Jones was first hired by Motown as a fill-in for principal drummer Benny Benjamin; along with Richard "Pistol" Allen, he moved up the line as recordings increased and Benjamin's health deteriorated. Jones had a hard-hitting, funky sound, best heard on the tracks for the hits "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" - both versions, by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell in 1967 and the 1970 remake by Diana Ross, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and Ain't That Peculiar by Marvin Gaye, "Cloud Nine" by the Temptations (in which he was augmented by Spider Webb), Jr. Walker's "Home Cookin'," "I Second That Emotion" by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, "For Once In My Life" by Stevie Wonder, and many more. His influences included jazz drummer Art Blakey. For his Motown recordings, Jones performed on a studio set composed of Ludwig, Slingerland, Rogers and Gretsch components and possibly Zildjian cymbals. Jones became better known to music fans through his appearance in the feature documentary film, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown. Motown arranger Paul Riser said of Jones that "Uriel's drum sound was the most open and laid-back, and he was the funkiest of the three guys we had...He had a mixed feel and did a lot of different things well."
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