Thomas “Beans” Bowles, 73, helped create Motown sound  

1926 – 2000

DETROIT The legendary Motown sound often was mixed with a bit of "Beans." Thomas "Beans" Bowles, who played saxophone or flute for several Motown hits, died Friday, Jan 28, 2000, after an eight-year battle with prostate cancer. He was 73. "He was the elder statesman of Motown," said his son, Thomas Bowles, Jr. "He touched a lot of people." Mr. Bowles, a tall, bony baritone saxophonist, moved to Detroit from his hometown of South Bend, Ind, in 1944 to study at Wayne State University.

Shortly afterward, he left school and played in a U.S. Navy band that performed nationally and internationally.

In Detroit, he worked at many jazz bars, including Sonny Wilson's Forest Club and the Flame Showbar, where he played with Billie Holiday and Billy Eckstine before landing a management job with Motown. Mr. Bowles contributed some of the classic Motown riffs that still have listeners rocking more than 30 years after they were recorded. The flute solos in Marvin Gaye's Stubborn Kind of Fellow and What's Goin' On are his, as are the funky baritone sax breaks in Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas and Baby Love by the Supremes.

Along with Berry Gordy's sister, Esther Gordy Edwards, Bowles created the Motortown Revue touring show, which helped to propel the small, obscure Detroit record label into national acclaim. "He left quite a legacy here," Motown pianist Teddy Harris said. "It's going to be a big hole left in the musical community. He's going to be quite missed around here." Mr. Bowles battled cancer since 1992, but continued to play his music.

"I didn't say why me?" Mr. Bowles said in 1993. "I said why not? After all, I've had a good life for a long time. I've enjoyed it." Mr. Bowles is survived by another son, Dennis; a brother, Calvin; a sister, Irma of South Bend, Ind.; and three granddaughters.

His funeral will be at Central United Methodist Church, 23 E. Adams, at a date to be announced

Sources: Ancestry.com and Newspapers.com

05/09/2024 EJS