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Joe Messina, Funk Brothers guitarist on Motown hits, dies at 93
Joe Messina, Funk Brothers guitarist on Motown hits, dies at 93
Link to tweet
Joe Messina, Funk Brothers guitarist on Motown hits, dies at 93
He played guitar on dozens of Motown hits by the Supremes, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye.
He played guitar on dozens of Motown hits by the Supremes, the Temptations and Marvin Gaye.
Obituaries
Joe Messina, Funk Brothers guitarist on Motown hits, dies at 93https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/04/07/joe-messina-funk-brothers-dead/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wp_obits
By Terence McArdle
Yesterday at 3:06 p.m. EDT
Joe Messina, a guitarist with the Motown session band known as the Funk Brothers whose largely anonymous work graced hit records such as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life” and the Four Tops’ “Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” died April 4 at his son’s home in Northville, Mich. He was 93. ... The cause was complications from kidney disease, said family friend Steve Shepard.
Mr. Messina was a mainstay of Detroit’s vibrant jazz scene for years before joining Motown’s studio band in 1959. Along with about a dozen other musicians, including bassist James Jamerson, pianist Earl Van Dyke and drummers Benny Benjamin and Richard “Pistol” Allen, Mr. Messina helped form the core of a versatile group that quickly learned and recorded new songs for Motown’s young hitmakers.
Label owner Berry Gordy patterned Motown on automobile production lines, with sessions occurring on an around-the-clock schedule. The company’s early recordings were often completed in one or two takes. Even as Motown songs rose to the top of the charts, Mr. Messina and his colleagues went uncredited on the early albums and initially received no royalties for their contributions.
Typically, Motown producers matched Mr. Messina with fellow guitarists Robert White and Eddie Willis. ... Mr. Messina was known for his almost subliminal backbeat rhythms, chord accents that followed the snare drum and tambourine on the second and fourth beats of a bar. At times, all three guitarists played the accents in unison.
{snip}
By Terence McArdle
Terence McArdle has been a working blues singer-guitarist for 40 years and a Washington Post staffer since 1988. He released his first audio recording in 2004. Since 2008, he has brought his musical insights to bear on the obituaries of both celebrated and little known musicians. He also writes about social history for the Retropolis blog.
Joe Messina, Funk Brothers guitarist on Motown hits, dies at 93https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/04/07/joe-messina-funk-brothers-dead/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wp_obits
By Terence McArdle
Yesterday at 3:06 p.m. EDT
Joe Messina, a guitarist with the Motown session band known as the Funk Brothers whose largely anonymous work graced hit records such as Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life” and the Four Tops’ “Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch),” died April 4 at his son’s home in Northville, Mich. He was 93. ... The cause was complications from kidney disease, said family friend Steve Shepard.
Mr. Messina was a mainstay of Detroit’s vibrant jazz scene for years before joining Motown’s studio band in 1959. Along with about a dozen other musicians, including bassist James Jamerson, pianist Earl Van Dyke and drummers Benny Benjamin and Richard “Pistol” Allen, Mr. Messina helped form the core of a versatile group that quickly learned and recorded new songs for Motown’s young hitmakers.
Label owner Berry Gordy patterned Motown on automobile production lines, with sessions occurring on an around-the-clock schedule. The company’s early recordings were often completed in one or two takes. Even as Motown songs rose to the top of the charts, Mr. Messina and his colleagues went uncredited on the early albums and initially received no royalties for their contributions.
Typically, Motown producers matched Mr. Messina with fellow guitarists Robert White and Eddie Willis. ... Mr. Messina was known for his almost subliminal backbeat rhythms, chord accents that followed the snare drum and tambourine on the second and fourth beats of a bar. At times, all three guitarists played the accents in unison.
{snip}
By Terence McArdle
Terence McArdle has been a working blues singer-guitarist for 40 years and a Washington Post staffer since 1988. He released his first audio recording in 2004. Since 2008, he has brought his musical insights to bear on the obituaries of both celebrated and little known musicians. He also writes about social history for the Retropolis blog.
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