You have heard these guys play without knowing their names – The Wrecking Crew profiles the legendary Hollywood studio band that played on (perhaps literally half of) the pop music of the 60s. These musicians were extremely skilled and creative – and they were fast, too, which put their services at a premium among music producers with limited studio time. As a result they played on the recordings of Frank Sinatra (and Dino and Sammy), the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, Sonny and Cher, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, ad infinitum. Plus the Hawaii Five-O theme.
You already know about The Monkees not playing their own instruments, but The Association didn’t play on a single track of their first two albums – those were all played by the Wrecking Crew. And Roger McGuinn was the only Bird to play on Mr. Tambourine Man, with the Wrecking Crew knocking out two tracks in three hours; the Birds themselves played on Turn, Turn, Turn, but it took them 77 takes.
Filmmaker Danny Tedesco, made this film to salute his dad, Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco. Glen Campbell and Leon Russell were members of the band (and we get to see a rare photo of the early 1960s Leon without long hair, beard, hat and tinted glasses). Surprisingly, the electric bass player was female – Carol Kaye. In The Wrecking Crew we get to hear the backstories of the standup bass intro in These Boots Were Made for Walking, the El Paso guitar lick in Something Stupid, the bass drum intro for The taste of Honey and the sax part in the Pink Panther Theme.
The Wrecking Crew isn’t a Must See, but I recommend it for those with an interest in the music of the 1960. The Wrecking Crew is now in theaters and is also streaming on Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play and Xbox Video. If you like The Wrecking Crew, I’d also recommend these recent films about other unknown musicians:
- Twenty Feet from Stardom (Netflix DVD, Redbox, Netflix Streaming, Amazon, YouTube and Google Play);
- Muscle Shoals (Netflix DVD, Netflix Streaming, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video); and
- Standing in the Shadows of Motown Netflix DVD, Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, YouTube, Google Play, Xbox Video).