Allan Slutsky, also known by his pen name, Dr. Licks, (born in 1953 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

) is a Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

 winning American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 arranger

Arrangement

The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...

, guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

ist, music producer, and historian.

Biography

Slutsky studied music at Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

. He went on to pursue guitar studies at the Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music

Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...

 in Boston and graduated in 1978.

Slutsky went to Philadelphia and began transcribing music under the name "Dr. Licks."

Slutsky wrote the book Standing in the Shadows of Motown profiling the life of The Funk Brothers

The Funk Brothers

The Funk Brothers was the nickname of Detroit, Michigan, session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown Records recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972...

 bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

ist James Jamerson

James Jamerson

James Lee Jamerson was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s , and he is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history...

 in 1987. The book went on to win the Rolling Stone/BMI Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award in 1989.

Slutsky produced the documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown, released in 2002. The film expanded the scope to cover The Funk Brothers group of musicians as a whole. The film won two Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

s in 2003.

Books

• (1982) Doctor Licks: Rock's Hottest Guitar Solos Transcribed Note for Note
• (1987) The Art of Playing Rhythm & Blues For Guitar, Bass, and Drums Volume One The 50's and 60's
• (1989) Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson
• (1997) The Funkmasters-the Great James Brown Rhythm Sections
• (2002) Beyond Basics: Funk Guitar Rhythm Chops

External links