All images copyright 2002 Elliott Scott Productions, LLC
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"Pistol" Allen laying down an authentic Beale Street shuffle.
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That left hand Uriel Jones is holding in the air is about to deliver a deadly backbeat to the snare drum.
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Jack Ashford displaying the finer points of his four mallet technique.
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Old friends reunited: Jack Ashford, his tambourine, and the "Snakepit."
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Jack Ashford playing cowbell at Baker's Keyboard Lounge.
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Uriel Jones layin' it down.
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A rare pose for Uriel Jones: in front of (instead of behind) the "Snakepit's" drum baffle.
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Uriel Jones bustin' on "Pistol" Allen's habit of reading a racing form on his floor tom.
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Tom Scott, Johnny Griffith, and Jack Ashford tearing it up at the Royal Oak Music Hall.
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Johnny Griffith rehearsing "Shotgun" on a Hammond B-3 organ.
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Meshell Ndegeocello and Johnny Griffith.
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Returning to the scene of the crime forty years later: Joe Hunter, Eddie Wills, and Joe Messina in the "Snakepit" recording "You've Really Got A Hold On Me."
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Joe Hunter cracking up after telling the story of the Phelps Lounge gun showdown as Johnny Griffith looks on.
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Eddie Willis and his Gibson Firebird.
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Joe Messina and Eddie Willis paying homage to their old buddy Robert White.
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Joe Messina and his world renowned guitar backbeats in the spotlight at last.
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Joe Messina and Joe Hunter sharing a quiet moment between takes.
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Feeling like he never left, Joe Messina sits in front of the meters that controlled the volume levels of Hitsville's guitarists.
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Joe Messina and Johnny Griffith in Hitsville U.S.A.'s lobby.
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Bob Babbitt and Uriel Jones telling Benny Benjamin stories at the Roostertail.
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Bob Babbitt telling Bob Babbitt stories at the Roostertail.
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"The heaviest cat you ever did see". . . . Bootsy Collins doing the "cool Jerk." (He decided to dress conservative for this tune.)
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Tom Scott pumping some serious air through his Baritone sax on "Heatwave."
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1st Assistant Director Tony Adler conferring with Meshell Ndegeocello before a take.
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Back-phrasing her butt off, Meshell Ndegeocello stretches the time on "Cloud Nine."
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Bootsy Collins putting a new spin on the Contours' celebrated hit "Do You Love Me."
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Joan Osborne and "Pistol" Allen about to perform an impromptu, silverware and teacup version of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" in a Detroit diner.
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Carrying on Marvin Gaye's anguished
plea for world peace, Chaka Khan belts out "What's Going On."
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Chaka must be thinking, "They don't make rhythm sections like this anymore." (Left to Right: Uriel Jones, Bob Babbitt, "Pistol" Allen and Chaka Khan).
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Director Paul Justman on the stage of the Royal Oak Music Theater giving instructions to the film crew.
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Lon Stratton lining up a shot.
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An impassioned Ben Harper performing "Ain't Too Proud To Beg."
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Paul Justman and Eddie Willis talking over the last take.
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Paul Justman explaining to Chaka Khan how he plans to shoot her performance of "What's Going On."
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Directors of photography Doug Milsome and Lon Stratton getting ready for the next take.
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Joe Hunter, Uriel Jones, and "Pistol" Allen at Detroit's "Club Bomax" with their favorite exotic dancer, Lottie "The Body".
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The marquee of the Royal Oak Music Hall with a message the Funk Brothers waited four decades to see.
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Actor Brian Marable portraying the young James Jamerson drinking with the caskets in a funeral home near Hitsville.
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Joan Osborne tearing it up on "Heat Wave."
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The Funk Brothers blowin' through some jazz changes at Baker's Keyboard Lounge.
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Allan "Dr. Licks" Slutsky making some last minute arrangement changes as Rudy Robinson and Eddie Willis look on.
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Ben Harper lamenting what he heard through the grapevine.
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Gerald Levert posing the musical question, "What time Is It" during his performance of "Shotgun." (The Answer: "Twine Time")
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That's a whole lot of Funk down there, a shot of the stage from the catwalk.
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