The Wrecking Crew (music)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Wrecking Crew was a nickname (coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact) given to a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. They backed dozens of popular singers, and were one of the most successful "groups" of studio musicians in music history.
The Wrecking Crew's members typically had backgrounds in jazz or classical music, but were highly versatile. The talents of this group of 'first call' players were used on almost every style of recording, including television theme songs, film scores, advertising jingles and almost every genre of American popular music, from The Monkees to Bing Crosby. Notable artists employing the Wrecking Crew's talents included Bobby Vee, The Partridge Family, The Mamas and the Papas, The Carpenters and Simon and Garfunkel.
The figures most often associated with the Wrecking Crew are producer Phil Spector (who used the Crew to create his trademark "Wall of Sound"), and Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, who utilized the Crew's talents on many of his mid-Sixties productions including the songs "Good Vibrations" and "California Girls" and the acclaimed album Pet Sounds.
Members
Notable members of 'The Wrecking Crew' included:
- guitar: Glen Campbell, Barney Kessel, Tommy Tedesco, Al Casey, Carol Kaye, Billy Strange, Don Peake, Howard Roberts, James Burton, Jerry Cole
- saxophone: Steve Douglas, Jay Migliori, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson Gene Cipriano
- trumpet: Tony Terran, Ollie Mitchell
- keyboards: Leon Russell, Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John), Mike Melvoin, Don Randi, Larry Knechtel, Al Delory, Mike Rubini
- bass: Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn, Max Bennett, Chuck Berghofer, Ray Pohlman, Larry Knechtel, Lyle Ritz, Jimmy Bond (007)
- drums: Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Jim Gordon
- percussion: Julius Wechter, Gary Coleman , Frank Capp
- conductor/arranger: Jack Nitzsche
- The Ron Hicklin Singers often performed backup vocals on many of the same songs on which The Wrecking Crew had played instrumental tracks.
Glen Campbell later achieved solo fame as a singer-guitarist in the 1960s and 1970s, and Leon Russell and Mac Rebennack (as Dr. John) both went on to be a successful songwriters and had hit singles and albums. Otherwise, the best-known 'members' of this unofficial group are bassist/guitarist Carol Kaye (one of the few women instrumentalists to achieve success in the recording industry at the time) and drummer Hal Blaine, who has played on tens of thousands of recording sessions, and is believed to be the most recorded drummer in history. Among his vast list of recordings, Blaine is credited with having played on at least forty U.S. #1 hits and more than 150 Top Ten records. Al Casey worked for many years as a session musician.
Guitar Player magazine cites Wrecking Crew member Tommy Tedesco as "the most recorded guitarist in history".
The Wrecking Crew worked long hours and 15-hour days were not unusual, although the rewards were great — Carol Kaye has commented that during her peak as a session musician, she earned more per year than the President.
The Wrecking Crew were featured in the 95-minute 2008 film The Wrecking Crew directed by Tommy Tedesco's son, Denny Tedesco. The film has screened at several festivals, but has not yet been commercially released.
See also
