but I think the producer, Rick
Chertoff, had more of a global
point of view, and he was the
one who lobbied hard to put
“One of Us” on the record. I just
felt it was so much different from
many of the other songs on the
record that I wondered if it be-
longed there. But he made the
case that it did. And he, I think,
heard it as a popular song and
as a hit song and, for whatever
reason, I didn’t have that impres-
sion of it.
And I don’t know if that’s the
artist’s job — to make something
that’s popular. I guess, certainly,
you can do that, but I don’t know
that, for me, I could necessar-
ily set a task for myself where
I’m going to write a hit song
and then actually be able to do
it. Rather, I think I just try to do
something that I think is good.
How did you get involved with
The Funk Brothers and the film,
NJ STAGE 2017 - Issue 40
Standing in the Shadows of Mo-
town?
I got a call from Alan Slutsky,
who is a bass player and a huge
fan of the Motown bass play-
ers — James Jamerson, in par-
ticular. He was putting together
a film that was based upon his
book about James Jamerson,
and he was looking for con-
temporary singers and artists to
come to Detroit and work with
The Funk Brothers — the original
Motown studio guys. And he just
sent a letter to my management
saying, “Would Joan be interest-
ed?” and I was like, “Are you kid-
ding? Of course!” So it was just
about him, I guess, hearing about
me or seeing me live and think-
ing that I might be good for the
project and inviting me to do it.
And what was the experience
doing that project like for you?
It was amazing! In the first
place, it was funny because the
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