Hunter said that Benjamin was leaving the studio (known as the "Snake Pit", due to all the cable runs out of the ceiling) after session work, paused on the stairs, turned and said to his fellow musicians, "You all are the Funk Brothers."

Various Funk Brothers also appeared on such non-Motown hits as The San Remo Golden Strings "Hungry For Love", "Cool Jerk" (the Capitols), "Agent Double-O Soul" (Edwin Starr, before that singer joined Motown itself), "(I Just Wanna) Testify" by the Parliaments, "Band Of Gold" (Freda Payne), "Give Me Just a Little More Time" (The Chairmen of the Board), and blues musician John Lee Hooker's "Boom Boom".

During the mid- to late-1960s, one-fifth of Motown records began using session musicians based in Los Angeles, usually covers and tributes of mainstream pop songs and showtunes.

The Funk Brothers were dismissed in 1972, when Berry Gordy moved the entire Motown label to Los Angeles; a development some of the musicians discovered only from a notice on the studio door.

For many of the L.A. recordings, members of the Wrecking Crew worked for Motown, including drummer Earl Palmer, percussionist Gary Coleman, bassist Carol Kaye, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, and keyboardist Larry Knechtel.

In February 2004, surviving members of the Funk Brothers were presented the Grammy Legend Award at the 46th Annual Grammy Awards at the Staples Center in Los Angeles in March 2006, some remaining Funk Brothers were invited to perform on Philadelphia writer-producer-singer Phil Hurtt's recording session at Studio A, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, where they contributed their performances to "The Soulful Tale of Two Cities" project.

The musicians played on the Philly hits, giving their unique Detroit interpretations of the songs under the leadership of Phil Hurtt, Bobby Eli, Clay McMurray and Lamont Dozier.

Many other ex-Motown and Detroit artists performed vocals on the session, including the Velvelettes, Carolyn Crawford, Lamont Dozier, Bobby Taylor, Kim Weston, Freda Payne, and George Clinton.

[4] The Funk Brothers have received three Grammy awards: Bassist James Jamerson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and drummer Benny Benjamin in 2003.

In 2003, surviving members were invited to the White House to meet President George W. Bush, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, in an event tied to Black History Month.

Some also count backing vocalist trio the Andantes (Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, and Louvain Demps) as notable contributors to the Funk Brothers and Motown's sound.