Motown Museum Honors Legacy of Musician-Songwriter Hank Cosby with New Exhibition

A legendary singer-songwriter is being honored for his contributions to music history at the Motown Museum.

A new exhibition, “Henry ‘Hank' Cosby: Tribute to an Original Funk Brother,” opened on May 22 at the West Grand Boulevard museum. The exhibit tells the story of one of Motown's most talented musicians whose work was largely behind the scenes.

As a saxophonist, Cosby, a Detroit native, was a part of Motown's earliest days during the late '50s. He helped establish the studio band that would ultimately become known as the Funk Brothers. As a horn arranger, he also contributed to multiple Motown hits, including “Dancing in the Street” by Martha and the Vandellas and “Baby Love” by the Supremes.

Cosby also collaborated with a young Stevie Wonder, working with the entertainer on hits such as “Fingertips,” “Uptight (Everything's Alright),” “I Was Made to Love Her,” and “My Cherie Amour.” After his death in 2002, Cosby was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

A two-wall exhibit inside the museum chronicles Cosby's life from his childhood in Detroit's Black Bottom and teen years at Northern High School, where he began honing his performance skills on the tenor sax. Jazz legend Julian (Cannonball) Adderly helped Cosby further develop his playing talent during Cosby's service in the U.S. Army.

Cosby played several Paradise Valley nightspots as part of the Joe Hunter Band, opportunities that eventually led him to the world of Motown.

Cosby's widow, Pat Cosby, was one of several individuals who attended the exhibition's opening. 

“I just don't have words for the appreciation,” she said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. “If anyone had told me in 1962 that I would see this day … I mean, this is just awesome.”