We have heard their music and the vocal legends that defined and populated Berry Gordy’s legendary music label Motown, but would any of you be able to name the musicians that were responsible for playing in the background?
Paul Justman’s 2002 documentary STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN is a recent example of the genre focusing on some of the unsung heroes of the music business. Films like SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN, BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB and TWENTY FEET FROM STARDOM are also similar in their assessment of the people behind the people behind the music.
‘The Funk Brothers’ were a bunch of talented individuals who came out of the Deep South to head North for fortune and prosperity. As they found their way to Detroit, a legend was born – and the documentary gives some interesting insights, not only into their own journeys to the centre of legends, but also the context of what makes the ‘Motown Sound’ the way it is.
The film is hugely entertaining with the enlightening stories that many of the people on show tell, but a movie about a musical legacy would not be complete without a few live performances, which are here in the form of the likes of Joan Osborne, Ben Harper, Gerald Levert and Chaka Khan amongst others singing the likes of REACH OUT (I’LL BE THERE), HEATWAVE, WHAT BECOMES OF THE BROKEN HEARTED and AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH.
A documentary should both educate and entertain – and STANDING IN THE SHADOWS is a movie that ticks both boxes as a shining example of how to make a decent documentary on a specific subject.