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from page 73
JN: Tell me more about your Jewish
background. Do you think that being
Jewish influenced you in your drive
to tell this story?
AS: That's something I've given a lot
of thought to over the years. From a
very young age I worked with my
father. I was always around black peo-
ple way more than the average white
kid was.
In Philly, there were always a lot of
Jewish businessmen working in the
ghetto. They had variety stores, cloth-
ing stores. My father was in the ciga-
rette-vending business.
The mob controlled all the "good"
neighborhoods. My father, being an
independent, had to go into the worst
parts of the city to do his business.
The mob didn't want any part of that.
It was too dangerous.
But there was a history in my family
of a lot of interaction with African-
Americans. My grandparents were
very, very religious. And my father was
always willing to help people out. In
the Jewish religion, it's called tzedakah.
I don't think that I was consciously
thinkinc, about that, but it was the
way I was raised. My parents did a
good job on that end.
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74
JN: So, in a way, the film itself is
tzedakah?
AS: I think so. Really, the film has to
make a $10-million profit just for me
to break even. I knew I probably was-
n't going to make money on this. It
was more an affair of the heart.
Whether I have a Don Quixote
complex or what, I took it upon
myself to help [the Funk Brothers] get
their dream.
JN: Was that also the case for your
partners?
AS: Definitely. [Director/Producer]
Paul Justman and [Producer] Sandy
Passman were heroes. Paul was in this
about 11 years; Sandy, six years. That's
a long time for people to hang in there
and fight against overwhelming odds.
I can't say enough about them.
As far as the Jewish connection
between me, Paul and Sandy: When
we were trying to come up with a
management name, we would some- ,
times kid around and jokingly call
ourselves "Three Jews Management"
or — you know the old Louis Jordan
song "Five Guys Named Moe"? — we
thought about callino. ourselves "Three
Guys Named Moishe."
AS: In addition to everything else I've
done, I've probably played 2,000
Jewish weddings and bar mitzvahs. I've
played these songs over, and over, and
over, and over.
Every bar mitzvah band has its
obligatory Motown medley. It's all part
of my background.
JN: It must mean a lot to you to have
your dedication to the Funk Brothers'
story pay off.
AS: Exactly. The only musical phe-
nomenon of the last 40 years that was
as big as the Beatles is Motown. And
every single story from Motown has
been told and retold and exploited
over and over.
Berry Gordy borrowing $500 dollars
— you've heard that story a million
times. This was the first new story.
Suddenly, we pop up and say,
"Guess what, fellas, you didn't know
50 percent of the story."
The way the Motown story has been
marketed all along — it's the Temps,
it's the Supremes, it's Stevie, it's
Marvin. To me, the Motown story is
the story of a dozen musicians and a
cast of revolving vocalists.
That's the Motown story to me.
But, then again, I'm a musician.
JN: So did the film live up to your
expectations? Did you achieve your
goal?
AS: My belief with this film was all we
had to do was not screw it up. We had
the greatest story in the world. We just
had to let [the Funk Brothers] tell
their story the way they remembered it
and get the hell out of the way. And
that's basically what we did.
In a couple places they get some
braggadocio; they're strutting their
stuff. Well, they're entitled to it. They
stood in supermarkets with their
music playing overhead and people in
the checkout lines are snapping their
fingers or singing to it. And these peo-
ple don't know they're standing next to
the guy who played on it.
They've had enough years of aggra-
vation, and anonymity, and obscurity.
It takes its toll. The fact that they're
finally getting their due now is a great
thing.
If this film gets them into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame — Jamerson
already got in last year — or if maybe
the soundtrack wins them a Grammy,
it'll be a good thing. It'll be a mitzvah. 17_,
o
JN: How about your musical train-
ing? Did being Jewish influence you
there, too?
Standing In The Shadows ofMotown
opens Friday, Nov. 15, in Detroit.