Jack Ashford

Jack Ashford
Ashford in 2013
Background information
Born	(1934-05-18) May 18, 1934 (age 90) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Musician
Instruments	Percussion vibraphone
Years active	1960s–1980s
Formerly of	The Funk Brothers

Jack Ashford (born May 18, 1934) is an American musician who was a percussionist for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band during the 1960s and early 1970s. Ashford is most famous for playing the tambourine on hundreds of Motown recordings.

Biography

Ashford played tambourine, vibraphone, marimba, maracas, cabasa, bells, chimes, bell tree, finger cymbals, kazoo, triangle, wood block, handclaps, foot stomps and hotel sheet.^[1] His definitive performance is on "War" by Edwin Starr. Other notable songs Ashford played tambourine on include "Nowhere to Run" by Martha & the Vandellas, "You Can't Hurry Love" by the Supremes, "Going to a Go-Go" by the Miracles, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye, and "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston. Influenced by Milt Jackson and Lionel Hampton, he played the vibes on Motown recordings such as the Miracles' "Ooo Baby Baby", the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go", and Marvin Gaye's "What's Going On".

In the 1960s and 1970s, Ashford worked closely with singer and songwriter Lorraine Chandler, setting up Pied Piper Productions, and working with her on her own records and those of other musicians in Detroit such as Eddie Parker.^[2]

Ashford moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1970s. The early 1980s saw production work from Ashford but it proved to be the end of his career in music. However, in 2014, he made a recent appearance on The Secret Sisters' second album Put Your Needle Down.^[3]

With the death of Joe Messina in April 2022, Ashford is the last surviving member of the Funk Brothers.^[a]

Session work

• The Mighty Clouds of Joy - Kickin' - ABC Records, 1975 - (percussion)^[4]
• The Mighty Clouds of Joy - Live and Direct - ABC Records, 1977 - (hotel sheet, percussion)^[5]

Footnotes

1. More precisely, Ashford is the last survivor of the 13 Funk Brothers identified in the 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown, who in turn were the specific Funk Brothers honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences with its Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.

References

1. "Standing in the Shadows of Motown -- the Funk Brothers".
2. Jason Ankeny, Biography of Lorraine Chandler, Allmusic.com. Retrieved 6 January 2020
3. "A quick hello from Laura, and an album update!". secretsistersblog.com. The Secret Sisters Blog. Archived from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-02-09.
4. ABC LP, ABCX-889
5. ABC LP, 9022-1038

• Ashford, Jack (2003). Motown: The View From The Bottom. Bank House Books. ISBN 1-904408-03-6

External links

• Standing in the Shadows of Motown at IMDb