The influential group that backed Motown stars such as Stevie Wonder [ tickets ], Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes and many others is on the road to support the release of a two-disc, special-edition DVD of the 2002 documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown."

During their tour, the Funk Brothers--featuring Joe Hunter, Johnny Griffith, Joe Messina, Eddie Willis, Bob Babbitt, Jack Ashford and Uriel Jones--will back guest vocalists Joan Osborne, Maxi Priest and Darlene Love. Bootsy Collins will also appear on select dates.

As the "house band" during Motown's golden era, the Funk Brothers played on more No. 1 hits than the Beatles, Beach Boys, Elvis Presley and the Rolling Stones combined. Among those well-known tracks are "My Girl," "Bernadette," "Tears of a Clown" and "Where Did Our Love Go."

The band's setlist on the tour will feature "Motown favorites interspersed with well known, and not so well known stories, taking the audience on a personal journey and the history of Motown's unsung heroes," according to a press release.

The "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" DVD hits stores on April 22. Its special features include a "Virtual Recording Studio" that allows viewers to rearrange the original music, and a DVD-ROM enhanced with Microsoft Windows Media 9 Series video that presents the movie in a high-resolution format for viewing on a Windows PC.

Earlier this year, the soundtrack to "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" picked up GRAMMY^® awards for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album as well as Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for a rendition of "What's Going On" fronted by Chaka Khan.