Due to a friend of mine I got tipped off for checking out the ‘Wrecking Crew’. Nobody knows them, but everybody’s heard them. They were the guys in the ’60 that were doing all the studiowork in L.A., multiple sessions in one day, sometimes even a whole record in a day. To name just a few: drummers Earl Palmer and Hal Blaine (who recorded 35000 tracks in twentyfive years), guitarist Tommy Tedesco and Howard Roberts, saxophonist Plas Johnson and many more. And where we know bands as the Beach Boys, the Monkees, the Mamas and the Papas etc, they were not always the ones playing on their own albums..
In 2008 a documentary was made about the Wrecking Crew. Unfortunately it was never released, but luckily I could get hold of a copy. It’s great hearing the guys talk about those days, about the hits, and finding out what great musicians they were. They were incredible sightreaders, but a lot of times the only thing they got was a leadsheet with chords. And to find out that most of the famous riffs and hooks that really made a song happen were created on the spot – incredible!
So if you ever by any chance run into this documentary – GO AND WATCH IT!
