The Wrecking Crew (music)
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The Wrecking Crew, also known as the Clique and the First Call Gang, was a loose collective of American session musicians based in Los Angeles who played on many studio recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including hundreds of top 40 hits. The musicians were not publicly recognized at the time, but were viewed with reverence by industry insiders. They are now considered one of the most successful and prolific session recording units in history.
Most of the players had formal backgrounds in jazz or classical music. The group had no official name in its early years, and when the name the Wrecking Crew was first used is a subject of contention. Hal Blaine is quoted using the name "Wrecking Crew" in High Fidelity magazine in July of 1977, saying that in the early 1960s "they used to call us the Wrecking Crew in those days".<ref name=hidef>Template:Cite magazine</ref> The name was in common use by April 1981 when Blaine used it in an interview with Modern Drummer. The name became more widely known when Blaine used it in his 1990 memoir, attributing it to older musicians who felt that the group's embrace of rock and roll was going to "wreck" the music industry.
The unit coalesced in the early 1960s as the de facto house band for Phil Spector and helped realize his Wall of Sound production style. They became the most requested session musicians in Los Angeles, playing behind recording artists including Jan and Dean, Sonny & Cher, the Mamas and the Papas, the 5th Dimension, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Sinatra. The musicians were sometimes used as "ghost players" on recordings credited to rock groups, such as the Byrds' debut rendition of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965), the first two albums by the Monkees, and the Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds.
The Wrecking Crew's contributions went largely unnoticed until the publication of Blaine's memoir and the attention that followed. Keyboardist Leon Russell and guitarist Glen Campbell became popular solo acts, while Blaine is reputed to have played on more than 140 top-ten hits, including approximately 40 number-one hits. Other members included drummer Earl Palmer, saxophonist Steve Douglas, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, and keyboardist Larry Knechtel, who became a member of Bread. Blaine and Palmer were among the inaugural "sidemen" inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and the Wrecking Crew was entirely inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007. In 2008, they were the subject of the documentary The Wrecking Crew.
Historical context
Recording practices in the 1960s
In the era when the Wrecking Crew was in demand, session players were usually active in local recording scenes concentrated in cities such as New York City, Nashville, Memphis and Detroit, as well as Los Angeles, the Wrecking Crew's base of operations, and smaller specialist recording locations such as Muscle Shoals.<ref name="Savona (Producers)">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Memphis/Nashville/Muscle Shoals">Source A: Template:Cite web Source B: Template:Cite web Source C: Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn Each local scene had its circle of "A-list" session musicians, such as the Nashville A-Team that played on numerous country and rock hits of the era, the two groups of musicians in Memphis, the Memphis Boys and Booker T. & the M.G.s with the Memphis Horns, the musicians who backed Stax/Volt recordings, and the Funk Brothers in Detroit, who played on many Motown recordings.<ref name="Memphis/Nashville/Muscle Shoals"/>Template:Sfn
At the time, multi-tracking equipment, though common, was less elaborate, and instrumental backing tracks were often recorded "hot" with an ensemble playing live in the studio.<ref name="NAIM (60s recording)">Template:Cite web</ref> Musicians had to be available "on call" when producers needed a part to fill a last-minute time slot.<ref name="Andrews (Session Musicians)">Template:Cite web</ref> Los Angeles was then considered the top recording location in the United States; consequently, studios were constantly booked around the clock, and session time was highly sought after and expensive.<ref name="JazzWax (Byrds/studio expense)">Template:Cite web</ref> Songs had to be recorded quickly in the fewest possible takes.Template:Sfn<ref name="Farber (Wreck Crew)">Template:Cite news</ref> In this environment, Los Angeles producers and record executives had little patience for needless expense or wasted time and depended on the service of reliable standby musicians who could be counted on to record in a variety of styles with minimal practice or takes, and deliver hits on short order.Template:Sfn<ref name="Andrews (Session Musicians)"/><ref name="Laurier (Wreck. Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref>
Musical backgrounds
The Wrecking Crew were the "go to" session musicians in Los Angeles during this era.Template:Sfn<ref name="Ashlock (Wreck. Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref> Its members were musically versatile but typically had formal backgrounds in jazz or classical music, and were exceptional at sight reading.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The talent of this group of "first call" players was used in almost every style of recording, including television theme songs, film scores, advertising jingles and many genres of American popular music from the Monkees to Bing Crosby.<ref name="overture" /><ref name="Audio Works (Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref> Several of the Los Angeles recording studios in which the Wrecking Crew regularly appeared were Gold Star Studios, United Western Recorders built by Bill Putnam, Capitol Records' studios located at their tower on Vine Street, Columbia Records' Los Angeles complex, and the RCA recording facility, which was located on Sunset Boulevard near Wallichs Music City, a music store that often supplied instruments for L.A. session players.Template:Sfn<ref name="Kubernik (Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref> Like all session musicians who worked in Los Angeles, the Wrecking Crew's members belonged to the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Local 47, which represented their interests in areas such as pay scale and enforcement of regulations.Template:Sfn
Name
The name "Wrecking Crew" was popularized by drummer and member Hal Blaine in his 1990 memoir, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew.Template:Sfn<ref name="R & R Hall of Fame (Blaine)">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Drummer Cafe (Blaine)">Template:Cite web</ref> Though the unit did not have an official moniker during their years of activity, Blaine has stated that the term was sometimes used disparagingly in the early 1960s by members of the industry's old guard of "coat and tie" session players, who felt that, with their penchant for wearing "t-shirts and jeans" to sessions and their embrace of rock and roll, they were going to "wreck" the music industry.Template:Sfn<ref name="overture">Template:Cite web</ref> According to biographer Kent Hartman, "Some of the studio musicians I interviewed swear they heard it applied to themselves as early as 1963; others say it was later. One says it was never used at all."Template:Sfn Blaine's memoirs, and the attention that followed, cast new light on the Wrecking Crew's role in many famous recordings.Template:Sfn
Guitarist and bassist Carol Kaye has disputed Blaine's account of the name and stated, "We were never known as that. Sometimes we were called 'the Clique', but "the Wrecking Crew" is a Hal Blaine invented name for his own self-promotion in 1990 ..." Songfacts stated: "We couldn't find any references to 'The Wrecking Crew' in any publications from the era."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An article from the July 1977 issue of High Fidelity magazine, quotes Blaine stating that the term was in use in the 1960s.<ref name=hidef /> In response to Kaye's contention, Blaine denied that anyone had ever heard the name "The Clique".<ref name=Uncut2012>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
Formation of unit: 1957–1962
The beginnings of the group can be traced to session musicians of the late 1950s including Irv Cottler, Earl Palmer, Howard Roberts, Hal Blaine<ref name="Perrone (Palmer)">Template:Cite web</ref> and a group headed by bassist and guitarist Ray Pohlman, sometimes referred to as the "First Call Gang".<ref name="Unterberger (Kaye)">Template:Cite web</ref> Earl Palmer was originally from New Orleans and had recorded with many of the Crescent City's rhythm and blues musicians, such as Fats Domino.<ref name="Perrone (Palmer)" /> He moved to Los Angeles in 1957, and in the 1960s played on hit records by artists such as Ike and Tina Turner, Glen Campbell, Jan and Dean, the Righteous Brothers, the Beach Boys, the Ronettes, the Everly Brothers, and Sonny & Cher.<ref name="Perrone (Palmer)" /> Pohlman was one of the first session musicians in Los Angeles to use an electric bass in recordings, and by the early 1960s became highly sought after in rock recordings, playing on many records by Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys.<ref name="Album Notes.com (Pohl)">Template:Cite web</ref>
In 1962, Phil Spector started a new label, Philles Records, and recorded the song "He's a Rebel", which would be credited to the Crystals.Template:Sfn He enlisted the aid of his high-school friend, saxophonist Steve Douglas, who was also working as a contractor in charge of recruiting musicians for recording sessions.Template:Sfn Douglas helped him corral the backing unit, which included Pohlman, guitarists Roberts and Tommy Tedesco, pianist Al De Lory, upright bassist Jimmy Bond, and Hal Blaine on drums.Template:Sfn They booked Studio A at Gold Star Studios, known for its deeply reverberant echo chambers, which became the preferred recording facility for Spector.Template:Sfn The unit became an essential component in developing his "Wall of Sound" style,Template:Sfn starting with "He's a Rebel" and a series of several more hits by the Crystals ("Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me") and other girl groups, such as the Ronettes ("Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You").Template:Sfn It was on these recordings that the Wrecking Crew emerged in their most recognizable form and became the most coveted session players in Los Angeles's thriving recording scene.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn With them, Spector went on to produce other records by the Righteous Brothers ("[[You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'|You've Lost That Lovin' FeelinTemplate:'-]]", "Ebb Tide", and "Unchained Melody") and Ike and Tina Turner ("River Deep – Mountain High").Template:SfnTemplate:Refn Template:Clear
Peak years: 1963–1971
After Spector, the Wrecking Crew worked with dozens of producers, such as Brian Wilson, Terry Melcher, Lou Adler, Bones Howe, Jimmy Bowen, and Mike Post.Template:Sfn As side players, they were teamed with artists as diverse as Jan & Dean, Bobby Vee, Nancy Sinatra, the Grass Roots, Simon & Garfunkel, Glen Campbell, the Partridge Family, David Cassidy (in his solo work), the Carpenters, John Denver and Nat King Cole.<ref name="Niesel (Scene/Artits/Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref> During this heady period, the unit worked long hours—15-hour days were not unusual—and were paid exceedingly well.<ref name="Elder (Wreck. Crew)"/><ref name="Jagger (Crew/15-hrs)">Template:Cite web</ref> Carol Kaye commented, "I was making more money than the President."<ref name="Elder (Wreck. Crew)"/>
Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys produced and co-wrote many of his band's most famous tracks and used the Wrecking Crew's talents extensively in the mid-1960s, including on songs such as "Help Me, Rhonda", "California Girls", and "Good Vibrations" as well as the albums Pet Sounds and Smile.Template:Sfn<ref name=Uncut2012/><ref name="Hartman (Beach Boys/Crew/Esquire)">Template:Cite web</ref> Some reports falsely claim that the Wrecking Crew replaced the Beach Boys on record after their first few hits;<ref name="SlowMyth"/><ref name="Stebbins"/><ref name="wong">Template:Cite web</ref> however, this misconception derived from incomplete written documentation of the recording sessions.<ref name="SlowMyth"/><ref name="wong"/> After audio documentation surfaced, it was revealed that the Beach Boys' first ten albums leading up to Pet Sounds and Smile were, by and large, self-contained efforts, and the band members played instruments on most of their singles and key album tracks.<ref name="SlowMyth">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Stebbins">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Refn It was not until the 1965 album The Beach Boys Today! that Wrecking Crew musicians began to figure heavily on the band's studio recordings, an arrangement that lasted until 1967.<ref name="Stebbins"/><ref name="SlowMyth"/>
Members of the Wrecking Crew served as "ghost players" on the first single by the Byrds, "Mr. Tambourine Man", because Columbia Records—namely, producer Terry Melcher—did not feel that the group (except for Roger McGuinn, who played guitar on the single) were seasoned enough to deliver the kind of perfect take needed, particularly in light of the limited time and budget allocated to the newly signed and unproven group—on a label that was only just beginning to embrace rock.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Lou Adler was one of Los Angeles' top music executives and produced records by acts such as Jan and Dean and the Mamas & the Papas, which were often backed by the Wrecking Crew, as on "[[California Dreamin'|California DreaminTemplate:'-]]" and "Monday, Monday".Template:Sfn Bones Howe had worked as an engineer under Adler and used the Wrecking Crew when he produced hits by the Association (including "Windy", "Everything That Touches You", and "Never My Love") and the 5th Dimension (including "Up, Up and Away", "Stoned Soul Picnic", and "Aquarius").Template:Sfn<ref name="Elder (Wreck. Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref>
Sonny and Cher recorded several Wrecking Crew-backed hits including "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On", which were produced by Sonny Bono, who had previously worked as Phil Spector's aide.Template:Sfn Many of Cher's solo records in the 1960s and early 1970s featured the backing of the Wrecking Crew, such as "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" produced by Snuff Garrett in 1971.Template:Sfn<ref name="Niesel (Scene/Artits/Crew)"/> Jimmy Bowen produced Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night" in 1966 and Mike Post produced Mason Williams' 1968 hit "Classical Gas", both of which were backed by members of the Wrecking Crew.Template:Sfn
Wrecking Crew members backed the Everly Brothers on their "The Hit Sound of the Everly Brothers" (1967) and "The Everly Brothers Sing" (1968) albums.<ref>Down in the Bottom, The Everly Brothers, The Country Rock Sessions 1966-1968, CD, Cherry Red Records, London, England, liner notes, 2020</ref>
Rick Nelson used many Wrecking Crew members in various combinations, mostly during the mid-1960s, including Earl Palmer, Joe Osborn, James Burton, Tommy Tedesco, Howard Roberts, Billy Strange, Al Casey, Dennis Budimir, Glen Campbell, Don Randi, Mike Melvoin, Ray Pohlman, Chuck Berghofer, Victor Feldman, Frank Capp, and Jim Gordon.<ref>Nelson, Rick, Rick Nelson: Legacy, Box set, Capitol Records Inc., 72435-29521-2-0, Hollywood, CA, 2000, liner notes</ref>
Musicians
Bass, drums, and percussion
Carol Kaye provided an exception to the predominantly male world of Los Angeles session work in the 1960s.Template:Sfn Originally a guitarist, she began doing session work in Los Angeles in the late 1950s, playing behind Ritchie Valens on "La Bamba" and in the 1960s becoming a regular contributor on Phil Spector's recordings as well as on Beach Boys songs, such as "Help Me, Rhonda" and their subsequent Pet Sounds and Smile LPs.Template:Sfn<ref name="Bright (Kaye)">Template:Cite web</ref> Ray Pohlman, who had assumed an early leadership position in the Wrecking Crew, became the musical director for the Shindig! TV show in 1965, resulting in reduced studio work from that point on.<ref name="Unterberger (Kaye)"/><ref name="Album Notes.com (Pohl)"/> After Pohlman's move to television, Kaye increasingly concentrated on the electric bass, becoming one of the few female "first call" players on the L.A. scene.Template:Sfn She supplied the signature bass line in Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On" released in 1967.Template:Sfn<ref name="Song Facts (Beat)">Template:Cite web</ref> Kaye was often teamed with Pohlman on pop music sessions (e.g. those for the Beach Boys) since it was a common practice at that time to reinforce the sound by "doubling" certain instruments like the bass, and producers and arrangers often recorded the bass parts with an acoustic and an electric bass playing together. Kaye would become known as one of the most prolific and widely heard bass guitarists, playing on an estimated 10,000 recordings in a career spanning more than 50 years.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Joe Osborn played bass on numerous Wrecking Crew-backed songs, such as Glen Campbell's "By the Time I Get to Phoenix", the Mamas & the Papas' "California DreaminTemplate:'", Richard Harris' "MacArthur Park", and the 5th Dimension's "Up, Up and Away".Template:Sfn Other notable electric bassists who played with the Wrecking Crew were Bill Pitman, Max Bennett, Red Callender, Chuck Rainey, and Bob West, as well as Jimmy Bond, Lyle Ritz, and Chuck Berghofer, who played acoustic upright bass.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Lloyd (Wrecking Crew)">Template:Cite news</ref>
Drummer Earl Palmer contributed to a handful of hits in the 1960s with the Wrecking Crew, including Phil Spector-produced tracks such as Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' FeelinTemplate:'" in 1964, and Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep – Mountain High" in 1966.<ref name="Noland (Earl Palmer)">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Pop History Dig (Lovin' Feelin')">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Ruhlmann (River Deep)">Template:Cite web</ref> Hal Blaine, with his abundance of musical skills, personality, and charisma, is also mentioned as having a prominent role in the Wrecking Crew's success during their heyday.Template:Sfn<ref name="Drummer Cafe (Blaine)"/><ref name="Miller (Blaine/Palmer)">Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Refn Though he had played primarily big band and jazz, he took a job in Tommy Sands' rockabilly group in the late 1950s, discovering a newfound appreciation for rock and roll, which by the beginning of the new decade led to session work in Los Angeles studios, where he became acquainted with Earl Palmer and saxophonist Steve Douglas.Template:Sfn Blaine played on Elvis Presley's 1961 hit "Can't Help Falling in Love".<ref name="R & R Hall of Fame (Blaine)"/> Shortly thereafter, he began playing on sessions for Phil Spector, quickly becoming the producer's preferred drummer, and, along with Earl Palmer, became one of the two top session drummers in Los Angeles.Template:Sfn Blaine is reputed to have played on over 140 top ten hits including approximately 40 No. 1 hits, such as "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher, "Mr Tambourine Man" by the Byrds, and "Strangers in the Night" by Frank Sinatra, and he has been mentioned by Drummerworld as perhaps the most prolific recording drummer in history.<ref name="R & R Hall of Fame (Blaine)"/><ref name="Drummerworld (Blaine)">Template:Cite web</ref> Jim Gordon began as an understudy of Blaine, but with the passage of time emerged as a first call player in the Wrecking Crew, playing on parts of the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds album and on hits such as "Classical Gas" and "Wichita Lineman".<ref name="R & R Hall of Fame (Blaine)"/>Template:SfnTemplate:Refn
Other drummers who played in the Wrecking Crew were Frank Capp, John Clauder, Forrest Draper<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Joe Porcaro.Template:Sfn<ref name="Lloyd (Wrecking Crew)"/><ref name="NAMM (Clauder)">Template:Cite web</ref> Gary Coleman played vibraphone and a variety of percussion instruments and contributed to works such as the soundtrack of the musical Hair and Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water album.Template:Sfn Some of the other Wrecking Crew percussionists were Julius Wechter, Milt Holland, Gene Estes, and Victor Feldman.Template:Sfn<ref name="Lloyd (Wrecking Crew)"/> Drummer Jim Keltner is sometimes mentioned in connection with the Wrecking Crew, because he befriended Hal Blaine in the 1960s and would later play with the Wrecking Crew on John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album recorded in 1973, but he is more often associated with the later generation of session players who eclipsed the Wrecking Crew in terms of popularity during the 1970s.Template:Refn
Guitars and keyboards
Guitarist and sometimes bassist Bill Pitman factored prominently in much of the Wrecking Crew's work.Template:Sfn For a brief time in the late 1950s he provided guitar lessons for a young Phil Spector, before Spector formed the Teddy Bears, who went on to record the surprise hit "To Know Him Is to Love Him" in 1958.Template:Sfn Pitman ended up playing on Spector-produced records in the 1960s such as "Be My Baby" by the Ronettes.Template:Sfn He can be heard on numerous hits from the period such as "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)" by Jan & Dean, and "Mr. Tambourine Man" by the Byrds.Template:Sfn Tommy Tedesco, born in an Italian family in Niagara Falls, New York, was another one of the Wrecking Crew's most renowned guitarists, playing along with Pitman on "Be My Baby" and "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)", as well as on the Champs "Limbo Rock".Template:Sfn He provided the flamenco-influenced guitar licks in the 5th Dimension's "Up and Away" as well as the guitar intro to the popular M*A*S*H theme.Template:Sfn<ref name="Leonard (Tedesco)">Template:Cite web</ref> Billy Strange was one of the top guitarists with the Wrecking Crew and played on hits such as "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)" and the Beach Boys' version of "Sloop John B".Template:Sfn In addition to playing sessions in Memphis, guitarist James Burton often recorded with the Wrecking Crew in Los Angeles in the 1960s.<ref name="Roberts (Burton)">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn<ref name="Bosso (Wreck. Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref>
Though Glen Campbell became better known as a highly successful country music artist in his own right, he played guitar in the Wrecking Crew during the 1960s and appeared along with them on several of the Beach Boys' classics of the period such as "I Get Around" and "Help Me Rhonda".Template:Sfn He and Hal Blaine appeared as members of Steve McQueen's character's band in the film Baby the Rain Must Fall (1965) featuring an extremely clear moment of Campbell standing behind McQueen, but both Campbell and Blaine were uncredited in the film. In 1965 he toured with the Beach Boys, and in 1966 he and the Wrecking Crew played on the Pet Sounds album.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn Campbell enlisted the Wrecking Crew as a backup unit on many of his own solo records during the 1960s, such as on "Gentle on My Mind", and on two songs written by Jimmy Webb, "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and his single "Wichita Lineman".Template:Sfn
The Wrecking Crew's ranks included a circle of keyboardists who contributed piano and organ parts to many of the famous songs of the era. Al De Lory was part of the original crew assembled by Phil Spector and recorded for many artists including The Beach Boys and Tina Turner; he was inducted as part of the Wrecking Crew to the Musicians Hall of Fame.<ref>Musicians Hall of Fame 2007 Inductees - The Wrecking Crew</ref> Larry Knechtel, later in Bread, was a multi-instrumentalist who played keyboards on "California DreaminTemplate:'", "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Classical Gas", as well as upright bass on "Eve of Destruction" and electric bass on Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man".Template:Sfn Mike Melvoin, a classically trained pianist with an English degree from Dartmouth College, played organ and piano on many tracks on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, played organ on "Good Vibrations", and performed on keyboards on many of the sessions for the Beach Boys' never-completed SMiLe album.Template:Sfn Don Randi contributed the piano part on Barry McGuire's 1965 hit "Eve of Destruction".Template:Sfn Before becoming a solo artist, Leon Russell was a regular member of the Wrecking Crew and played on the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", and Jan & Dean's "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)".Template:Sfn New Orleans' Mac Rebennack (later Dr. John) did session work with the Wrecking crew while living in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s.<ref name="New Yorker (Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref> Mike (Michel) Rubini was the son of Jan Rubini, a classical violinist, and initially played concert piano, but later became enamored with R&B and switched to playing popular music, eventually becoming a member of the Wrecking Crew and playing on hits such as Sonny & Cher's "The Beat Goes On" and Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".Template:Sfn
Brass, woodwinds, harmonica, and backing vocals
Saxophonist Steve Douglas, who attended Fairfax High School with Phil Spector in the 1950s, got a call in 1962 to play on Spector's debut recording as a producer, "He's a Rebel", and would, from then on, become a regular fixture with the Wrecking Crew.Template:Sfn<ref name="Rock Hall (Douglas)">Template:Cite web</ref> Years later, in 1978, Douglas played on Bob Dylan's 1978 "Street-Legal" album and accompanied Dylan on tour that year as part of his eight piece backing band.<ref name="Rock Hall (Douglas)"/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Jim Horn played both saxophone and flute, and contributed parts to numerous tracks with Wrecking Crew, such as in the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' FeelinTemplate:'" and Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".Template:Sfn<ref name="Matt Wardlaw (Horn)">Template:Cite web</ref> He played flute in the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" and would later become a member of John Denver's backing band.<ref name="Matt Wardlaw (Horn)"/> Plas Johnson provided the saxophone line in "The Pink Panther Theme" in the Champs' 1962 instrumental version of "Limbo Rock".Template:Sfn Nino Tempo, who along with his sister Carol (under her stage name April Stevens) had scored a U.S. number 1 hit song in 1963, "Deep Purple", was also a member of the Wrecking Crew and played saxophone in the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" and later appeared on John Lennon's Rock 'n' Roll album.Template:Sfn<ref name="Ruhlmann (Tempo)">Template:Cite web</ref>
Other saxophonists who played sessions with the Wrecking Crew were Jackie Kelso, Jay Migliori, Gene Cipriano, Bill Green, and Allan Beutler.Template:Sfn On trombone were Richard "Slyde" Hyde, Lew McCreary, and Dick NashTemplate:Sfn<ref name="Varga (Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref> and on trumpet Bud Brisbois, Roy Caton, Chuck Findley, Ollie Mitchell, and Tony Terran.Template:Sfn<ref name="Cosper (Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref> Tommy Morgan played harmonica on Wrecking Crew-backed tracks such as "The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena)".Template:Sfn When backing vocals were needed the Ron Hicklin Singers were called in.<ref name="Cosper (Crew)"/>
T.A.M.I. Show (1964)
Several members of the Wrecking Crew played in the house band for 1964's T.A.M.I. Show, which was captured on videotape, transferred to film, and sent to theaters around the country.Template:Sfn Seen in camera shots showing the right-hand side of the stage are musical director Jack Nitzsche, Hal Blaine, Jimmy Bond, Tommy Tedesco, Bill Aken, Glen Campbell, Lyle Ritz, Leon Russell, Plas Johnson, among others, all providing incidental music and backing for many of acts such as Chuck Berry, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Lesley Gore.Template:Sfn<ref name="Remnick (T.A.M.I.)">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name=Vincent>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>
1970s–2010s
Diminished output
The Wrecking Crew's level of success could not be maintained indefinitely, and their services eventually fell out of demand.Template:Sfn Kent Hartman cites several factors in the Wrecking Crew's demise, beginning as far back as 1968 when the unit was at their peak of popularity: "By the middle of 1968, popular music was changing once again. In fact it was getting downright heavy. In the aftermath of the recent Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. slayings, the bloody Tet Offensive in Viet Nam, and the ever-growing level of campus unrest at universities around the country, Top 40 radio gradually began to lose step with the times."Template:Sfn Hartman mentions that the runaway success that year of Richard Harris' elaborate seven-minute epic hit, "MacArthur Park", written by Jimmy Webb and featuring the Wrecking Crew's intricate backing, might have been another seed in their eventual decline:
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Webb's creation additionally generated another unexpected consequence, one that would begin to subtly affect the Wrecking Crew's livelihood. Because the song had broken through the AM radio barrier, it had suddenly made it okay for lengthier songs to make the playlist. And the longer each song, the fewer minutes left during each hour for the station to play other songs. That was the unfair, mathematical irony of the whole equation; the Wrecking Crew had just played their hearts out on an all-time award-winning hit, yet its very success contributed toward a drop in the total number of songs making it on the air. And with fewer songs finding airtime, there gradually evolved a diminishing number of rock-and-roll recording dates for them to play on.Template:Sfn{{#if:|
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The Wrecking Crew remained in demand in the early 1970s, even enjoying several hits, but by the end of 1973 they began to experience a downturn in bookings, as a series of changes in the recording industry began to take hold.Template:Sfn Unlike earlier bands/artists such as the Monkees, the Grass Roots, the Partridge Family and David Cassidy that often utilized the Wrecking Crew for backing tracks (and as a backing band for Cassidy's earliest concert tours of America in 1971/2), rock groups in the early to mid 1970s began to stipulate in their recording contracts that they be allowed to play their own instruments on records.Template:Sfn Younger session players such as Larry Carlton, Andrew Gold, Danny Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, Russ Kunkel, Jeff Porcaro, Leland Sklar, and Jim Keltner had a more contemporary sound, better-suited to the changing musical tastes of the decade.Template:Sfn By the mid-1970s, technological advances such as 16-track and 24-track tape recording machines and automated large-format multi-channel consoles made it viable for instruments to be recorded, often close-miked, onto separate tracks individually, reducing the need to hire ensembles to play live in the studio.Template:Sfn<ref name="MPG (70s recording)">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Rumsey/McCromick (70s record. auto.)">Template:Cite book</ref> Synthesizers could approximate the sound of practically any instrument. Eventually, drum machines would become the norm, which could be specially programmed to keep beats in place of a drummer or be used for click tracks played in musicians' headphones, making it easier to overdub or re-record any part in-synch and achieve a more uniform and consistent tempo.Template:Sfn<ref name="Machinery (Click)">Template:Cite web</ref>
Post–Wrecking Crew careers
In 1969, after scoring hits as a solo artist such as "By the Time I Get to Phoenix" and "Wichita Lineman", Glen Campbell left the Wrecking Crew.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Carol Kaye, exhausted from the constant pressure of the L.A. recording scene, went on to other musical endeavors.Template:Sfn According to guitarist Bill Pitman, "You leave the house at seven o'clock in the morning, and you're at Universal at nine till noon; now you're at Capitol Records at one, you just got time to get there, then you got a jingle at four, then we're on a date with somebody at eight, then the Beach Boys at midnight, and you do that five days a week ... jeez, man, you get burned out."<ref name="New Yorker (Crew)"/> Campbell went on to become one of country music's most popular performers during the 1970s with hits such as "Rhinestone Cowboy" and the Allen Toussaint-penned "Southern Nights".<ref name="Erlewine (Campbell)">Template:Cite web</ref>
By the mid-1970s many of the Wrecking Crew's members scattered and drifted into different spheres. Some members, such as Carol Kaye, Tony Terran, Gary L. Coleman, Earl Palmer and Tommy Tedesco, switched to television and motion picture soundtrack work.Template:Sfn Leon Russell and Mac Rebennack (as Dr. John) both went on to become successful solo artists and songwriters, enjoying hit singles and albums during the 1970s.Template:Sfn<ref name="Unterberger (Dr. John)">Template:Cite web</ref> Jim Keltner went on to a successful career as a session drummer for much of the 1970s–90s; he played in Ringo Starr's All-Starr band and was the drummer on both albums by the supergroup Traveling Wilburys, where he is credited as "Buster Sidebury".<ref name="Band (All Starr)">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Drummerworld (Sidebury)">Template:Cite web</ref> Beginning in 1973 he hosted a regular weekly jam session at Los Angeles clubs called "the Jim Keltner Fan Club" frequented by many of the younger L.A. session musicians of the time (Danny Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, Waddy Wachtel, Leland Sklar, and Jeff and Steve Porcaro).<ref name="Flans (Keltner jam)">Template:Cite web</ref>
The unit did a brief, but ill-fated reunion session with Phil Spector in 1992. In 2001, members of the Wrecking Crew reunited in the studio with David Cassidy to recreate Cassidy's hit songs from the 1970s, both solo and with The Partridge Family. These recordings resulted in the album Then and Now which was hugely successful internationally and went platinum in 2002. More recently, they backed Glen Campbell in his song "I'm Not Gonna Miss You" taken from the soundtrack of the 2015 documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me.<ref name="Ayers (Campbell/Crew)">Template:Cite web</ref>
Legacy
The Wrecking Crew backed dozens of popular acts and were one of the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history.Template:Sfn<ref name = hartman-americanheritage>Template:Cite magazine</ref> According to Kent Hartman, "... if a rock-and-roll song came out of an L.A. recording studio from between about 1962 and 1972, the odds are good that some combination of the Wrecking Crew played the instruments. No single group of musicians has ever played on more hits in support of more stars than this superbly talented—yet virtually anonymous group of men (and one woman)."Template:Sfn According to The New Yorker, "The Wrecking Crew passed into a history that it largely created, imperfectly acknowledged but perfectly present in hundreds of American pop songs known to all."<ref name="New Yorker (Crew)"/> In 2008, the Wrecking Crew were featured in the documentary film The Wrecking Crew, directed by Tommy Tedesco's son, Denny Tedesco.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2014, its musicians were depicted in the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Two of their members, drummers Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer, were among the inaugural "sidemen" inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and the entire Wrecking Crew was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2010, Blaine was elected into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.<ref name="Mod. Drum. (Blaine)">Template:Cite web</ref>
List of members
Sources: Kent Hartman (The Wrecking Crew)Template:Sfn and Robert Lloyd ("Time of the Session"; LA Weekly)<ref name="Lloyd (Wrecking Crew)"/>
- Electric bass: Max Bennett, Carol Kaye, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn, Bill Pitman, Ray Pohlman, Chuck Rainey
- Double bass (upright bass): Chuck Berghofer, Jimmy Bond, Red Callender, Lyle Ritz
- Drums: Hal Blaine, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, Earl Palmer, Joe Porcaro
- Guitar: Vinnie Bell, Dennis Budimir, James Burton, Glen Campbell, Al Casey, Jerry Cole, Mike Deasy, Carol Kaye, Barney Kessel, Bill Pitman, Ray Pohlman, Howard Roberts, Louie Shelton, P.F. Sloan, Billy Strange, Tommy Tedesco
- Keyboards: Glen D. Hardin, Clare Fischer,<ref name="SDreTWC">Dorff, Steve; Freedman, Colette (2017). I Wrote That One, Too : A Life in Songwriting from Willie to Whitney. Montclair, NJ: Backbeat Books. pp. 65-66. Template:ISBN.</ref> Mac Rebennack, Al De Lory, Larry Knechtel, Mike Melvoin, Don Randi, Mike (Michel) Rubini, Leon Russell
- Percussion: Larry Bunker, Frank Capp, Gary Coleman, Irving Cottler, Victor Feldman, Milt Holland, Joe Porcaro
- Vibraphone & Marimba: Terry Gibbs, Julius Wechter
- Other Percussion: Jingle Bells and Tambourine Sonny BonoTemplate:SfnTemplate:Refn
- Saxophone: Gene Cipriano, Steve Douglas, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson, Jackie Kelso, Jay Migliori, Nino Tempo
- Trombone: Richard "Slyde" Hyde, Lew McCreary, Dick Nash, Lou Blackburn
- Trumpet: Bud Brisbois, Roy Caton, Chuck Findley, Ollie Mitchell, Tony Terran
- Flute: Jim Horn
- Harmonica: Tommy Morgan
- Vocals: Ron Hicklin Singers often performed backup vocals on many of the same songs on which the Wrecking Crew had played instrumental tracks.
- Conductor and arranger: Jack Nitzsche
Blaine, Osborn and Knechtel were often collectively referred to as the Hollywood Golden Trio.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Selected recordings
Compilations
- The Wrecking Crew (2015, RockBeat; 4-CD set)<ref name="Comp./Goldmine">Template:Cite news</ref>
See also
- Booker T. & the M.G.'s
- The Funk Brothers
- MFSB
- Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section
- The Nashville A-Team
- Salsoul Orchestra
- The Section
Explanatory notes
Citations
General and cited references
- Template:Cite book
- Template:Cite book
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External links
Template:Commons category Template:Library resources box
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- The Wrecking Crew!, 2008 documentary film produced and directed by Denny Tedesco, IMDb.
- Pages with broken file links
- The Wrecking Crew (music) members
- 1960s establishments in California
- 1970s disestablishments in California
- American session musicians
- Music of Los Angeles
- Musical backing groups
- Musical collectives
- Musical groups established in the 1960s
- Musical groups disestablished in the 1970s