Joe Hunter: 1927-2007

Motown's first Funk Brother dies at age 79

Susan Whitall / The Detroit News

I t was a sad day for Motown fans Friday as three-time Grammy winner Joe Hunter of the Funk Brothers was found dead in his Detroit apartment. He was 79.

While the cause of death was unknown at press time, he was diabetic, and his son said it appeared he was trying to take some medicine when he died. Hunter, whose jovial personality and snappy dress sense delighted his fans, had just returned on Sunday from a European tour with fellow Funk Brother Jack Ashford.

Born in Jackson, Tenn., Hunter moved to Detroit just before his 12th birthday, although he never lost his Southern accent or charm. He was a raw, rootsy piano player who started out in the 1950s backing up acts such as Jackie Wilson and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, but he could play jazz or Professor Longhair and Fats Domino-style New Orleans piano as well.

Hunter was Berry Gordy Jr.'s first hire, to back up acts such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles on piano in the late '50s, as Gordy mustered a staff for what would become Motown Records. Hunter also served as Motown's first bandleader in those very early days.

His soulful, bluesy piano is the first thing you hear on the Marvin Gaye song "Pride and Joy."

That piano work was an integral part of such songs as Martha and the Vandellas' "Heat Wave" and "Come and Get These Memories," but after Motown left Detroit in 1972, like many musicians, Hunter took what gigs he could.

"He was like a father to me and a buddy," said A.J. Sparks, who became alarmed when he hadn't heard from Hunter since his return from Europe. Sparks called Hunter's son, Joe Hunter Jr., who went in with Detroit police and found his father. "Please tell people that we need their prayers," Hunter Jr. said.

"He will be welcomed in heaven," said fellow Funk Brother Bob Babbitt.

"I just called his name today," said a stunned Martha Reeves on Friday.

"Joe was one of a kind," said Bert Dearing, owner of Bert's in the Marketplace and Bert's on Broadway. Hunter not only played his clubs, but Bert's in the Marketplace was a favorite hangout.

"If I couldn't find any other musicians, he was always willing to come and do a one-man show. He'd play blues, jazz he worked all my clubs."

Dearing said there will be a gathering of musicians, fans and friends for Hunter at Bert's in the Marketplace after funeral arrangements are set.

Bruce Resnikoff, president of Universal Music Enterprises, the division of Universal Music which oversees the Motown catalog, issued a statement: "Joe Hunter's piano and stellar leadership helped birth the 'Motown Sound.' You can't miss Joe's piano on those great early hits. The first of the Funk Brothers, his terrific riffs and easy-going musicianship will live forever."

The glamour of Motown wore off quickly for Hunter after the '60s. When Philadelphia musician/historian Allan Slutsky set out to find all the Funk Brothers in the 1980s, he found Hunter playing for tips at the Troy Marriott. Hotel guests had no idea who he was.

"Joe was kind of a throwback character, an English country gentleman in an R&B blues body," said Slutsky, whose book and film "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" chronicled the Funk Brothers' saga.

"He would come off with that backwoods thing, talking about corn 'likker'and stuff, but then he would quote Shakespeare," Slutsky added.

After the documentary film "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" was released in 2002, the Funk Brothers' soundtrack album won two Grammys in 2003. In 2004, Hunter and the Funks were awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammys, and the group toured for several years.

Hunter's life wasn't all about rhythm and blues and Motown. He was a longtime supporter of the late Mother Waddles. His son confirmed that up to the end of his life, Hunter was on-call to go anywhere to play for the Mother Waddles mission.

While the Funk Brothers had splintered into several different groups in recent years, Hunter and his colleagues, who played in Motown's Studio A at 2648 W. Grand Blvd. in Detroit, would never again be nameless players, the musical engine behind all the hits.

"It makes me really happy that I got to see Joe get his place in the sun and get a little bit of his dream," said Slutsky. "In the beginning of the movie, he said when the dust settled (from Motown), it was all over for him. That proved to be wrong. He got his dream in the last part of his life."

In addition to his son, Hunter is survived by a daughter, Michelle, and three grandchildren.

Detroit News Staff Writer Norman Sinclair and freelance writer David G. Grant contributed to this report.You can reach Susan Whitall at (313) 222-2156 or swhi tall@det news.com.