Joe Messina, one of the original guitarists for Motown Records' in-house backing band the Funk Brothers, died on Monday at the age of 93. Born on Dec. 13, 1928, in Detroit, Messina began playing guitar as a child and dropped out of high school to pursue a career as a jazz musician. He gigged in local clubs and led a band, the Joe Messina Orchestra, before joining the house band for the daily children's television show The Soupy Sales Show, where he played alongside jazz legends such as Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane. In 1959, Motown founder Berry...
