TRIBUTE

Not many know what used to go down
in the basement of 2648 W. Grand Blvd.
Few knew
it would change shit
forever.

They were fearless
deadly revolutionaries
who understood the
heartbeat of the street.
And they,
who went
nameless for years,
(most folks today still ain’t hip)
…who saw the future
and framed it with their
own ubiquitous flava,

played on…

Without them there would
have been no Hitsville, USA.
They had the love
so,
they did what they did
without recognition by us.
Only their peers
called them
GENIOUS.
Fame was not their goal.
They thumped just because
the loved it.
In that dark
tight
basement
the MOTOWN SOUND
was created.
Through cesarean effort
everything had to be done
in 1
take, because
there were only
3 tracks
back then.
Churning & burning
hit
after hit after
hit after
hit.
More than
elvis
the beatles
the rolling stones
and the beach boys
combined.
In the basement
Studio-A
they honed their craft.
The other artists called it
“The Snake Pit”
for down there
sinewy, slithering, lethal
grooves uncoiled and
sprang to life.
It’s said that nothing good
can come out of a dungeon
but those of us who have
been in the
darkest of holes
know how to bring forth
the light
in spight…
It’s what we do
It’s who we are
It’s why we exist…
And still
hardly anyone knows
who they are!
Their work fathered
generations of superstars.
Their fruit
made millions
for others.
Without them
“My Girl” would’ve
just been another poem.
“You Can’t Hurry Love”
would be just
a phrase on a
bathroom wall.
They gave the words
bounce.
They gave the spirit
SOUND.
They gave Detroit
an identity
and in turn gave us all
life.
They knew the NEED
for “Dancing In The Street”
It was their sound
that gave definition
to a decade.
Pistol-shot snares,
boogalo bongos,
wah-wah guitar licks
and that bass,
oh shit
that bass thumped
to the turbulent
beat of OUR pain…
Their sound was, is, and will forever
be remembered by one word:
SOUL.

So,
we go on
and we praise Berry Gordy
and the stars of Motown
for all the hits and all the memories
and all the babies who were
conceived to
“Your Precious Love”
But
while listening to the opening
bass-line of
“Papa Was A Rolling Stone”
we must remember them
those cats who played the music.
Joe Hunter
Earl Van Dyke
Eddie Willis
Eddie Brown
Bennie Benjamin
James Jamerson
Jack Ashford
Joe Messina
Uriel Jones
Some dead
some not
some mentioned here
some not
All collectively known as
The Funk Brothers…

© 2005 swing first productions