Pitchfork

Joe Hunter-- pianist, Funk Brother, and Motown's first bandleader-- died Friday, February 2 at age 79, according to the Associated Press. The AP claims Hunter was diabetic, though the exact cause of his death was unknown when his son, Joe Hunter Jr., spoke to the Detroit News.

Hunter won three Grammys with the Funk Brothers, Motown's house band memorialized in the 2002 documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown. He was the label's first hire, and he played backup with Smokey Robinson in addition to contributing to songs such as Martha and the Vandellas' "Heat Wave" and Marvin Gaye's "Pride and Joy". He did not, however, make the move with the label from Detroit to Los Angeles in 1972.

After the reception of two Grammys in 2003 and one in 2004, Hunter toured with a reunited version of the Funk Brothers.

[Photo by Karen Sas, Artisan Entertainment]