| Sonic Highways commemorates the Foo Fighters 20th anniversary by documenting the eight-city recording odyssey that produced their latest, and eighth, studio album. The Bert Berns Story Remembers A Forgotten Legend, Costume Face-Off: Different Versions of Batman, Myers-Briggs Personalities of Fictional Characters. [118][119] 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". The life and times of the super successful American soft-rock band, Eagles. The main suspect is Count Massimo Contini. Listening to rock and roll on jukeboxes and car radios created devoted fans of these groups, whose music communicated the optimism and sorrow of a generation contending with strong countercultural forces. Other musicians who formed the unit's ranks were drummer Earl Palmer, saxophonist Steve Douglas, guitarist Tommy Tedesco, and keyboardist Larry Knechtel, who became a member of Bread. [26], In 1962, Spector started a new label, Philles Records, and recorded the song "He's a Rebel", which would be credited to the Crystals. In fact it was getting downright heavy. ©2020 Denny Tedesco. [80][nb 5] 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". Cast. [32][23][33], 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) 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. Mobile site. Add the first question. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Never got a good feel for the people portrayed. This FAQ is empty. Lot of respect to Brian Wilson. I learned to appreciate names like Hal Blaine, Tommy Tedesco, Carol Kaye, and of course Glen Campbell. [20] Blaine's memoirs, and the attention that followed, cast new light on the Wrecking Crew's role in many famous recordings. If you have any appreciation for music, especially 1960s rock/pop, you need to go see this right now. [16], The name "Wrecking Crew" was popularized by drummer and member Hal Blaine in his eponymous column for Mix magazine in the 1980s, as well as in his 1990 memoir, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew. Plus, his dad’s relationships with the subjects and the high-profile musicians they played with (The Beach Boys, Cher, the Monkees, and many more) allow for maximal access to the story’s most essential personnel. Great interviews, music and photos make this a fun watch. 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. 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)". [23], The beginnings of the group can be traced to session musicians of the late 1950s including Earl Palmer, Hal Blaine[24] and a group headed by bassist and guitarist Ray Pohlman, sometimes referred to as the "First Call Gang". | Some are in full screen, while others are in wide screen. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? [27][nb 1], The Wrecking Crew proceeded to work with dozens of other producers, such as Brian Wilson, Terry Melcher, Lou Adler, Bones Howe, Jimmy Bowen, and Mike Post. These recordings resulted in the album Then and Now which was hugely successful internationally and went platinum in 2002. | But Tedesco’s personal connection to the subject matter also elevates this documentary, as he clearly wants to right the wrongs of history and cement the titular crew’s legacy for good. These just came to mind,…, The complete starting list for TSPDT's ranking of the 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films. Left out of the story was an important historical fact: the bands, in some, but not all, cases, did not play the instruments heard on their records. Also didn't have a firm grasp of who everyone was, felt the doc should have covered more background information. I work in a shop that buys and sells used CDs (among other things). Filming & Production The Wrecking Crew deserve a lot more attention than they have received over the years. [109][110][111] Synthesizers could approximate the sound of practically any instrument. View production, box office, & company info, Rated PG for language, thematic elements and smoking images, ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ Angers Bass Legend Carol Kaye: “My Life Is Not A Joke.”, Review: "Hornet's Nest" (1970) Starring Rock Hudson And Sylva Koscina; Blu-ray Release From Kino Lorber, SXSW 2016 Review: Bang! "[9] Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 94% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 71 reviews with a "Certified Fresh" rating and an average score of 7.13/10. The Wrecking Crew was a loose collective of session musicians based in Los Angeles whose services were employed for thousands of studio recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including several hundred Top 40 hits. [115] 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". In the era when the Wrecking Crew was in demand, session players were usually active in local recording scenes concentrated in places such as New York City, Nashville, Memphis, Detroit, and Muscle Shoals, as well as Los Angeles, the Wrecking Crew's base of operations. The Ultimate Film Canon: 21st Century (2001-2020), Documentaries That Rock!!! The Wrecking Crew! [2] It covers the story of the Los Angeles–based group of session musicians known as the Wrecking Crew, famed for having played on numerous hit recordings throughout the 1960s and early 1970s. A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew", a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys and Bing Crosby. TV show in 1965, resulting in reduced studio work from that point on. (2008) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. [66] 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. [68] 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. The names Hal Blaine, Plas Johnson, Carol Kaye, Earl Palmer, Don Randi and Tommy Tedesco may not mean much to most music fans, but nearly everyone has heard and loved their work. The Wrecking Crew's contributions to so many hit recordings went largely unnoticed until the publication of Blaine's memoir and the attention that followed. 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, as well as numerous others and has been mentioned by Drummerworld as perhaps the most prolific recording drummer in history. And the film is done well enough that you should enjoy it even if the subject matter doesn't fascinate you right off the bat.I first saw this film as a preview in Alameda when the director was showing it in private screenings to raise the money to pay the royalties. Director. [95][96], Other saxophonists who played sessions with the Wrecking Crew were Jackie Kelso, Jay Migliori, Gene Cipriano, Bill Green, and Allan Beutler. Originally intended as a love letter to Los Angeles session guitarist Tommy Tedesco by his son Denny, this documentary grew into a profile of the informal group of musicians who played on some of the greatest pop records of the 1960s. Report this film, Review by Jason the Feature Creature ★★★★. [107] 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. Il aura fallu 12 ans à Denny Tedesco pour que son documentaire voit réellement le jour. Kindof got off to an awkward start, so I wasn't sure what to expect - I ended up loving it, tho. La production de The Wrecking Crew a débuté en 1996 et s'est terminée en 2008. I feel like this would've worked better as an hour long TV special. The Wrecking Crew documents the work of studio players who recorded the tracks for such hits as "California Dreamin'", "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", "Be My Baby", "The Beat Goes On", and "Good Vibrations". 1960s Sound Good in 2011? Webmaster: billbonk.webdesignbillbonk.webdesign Eric and Calleigh guard William Campbell, crown witness against Miami's shortly released top mob capo Joseph 'Joey' Salucci, for the personal murder on AJ Watkins, who accidentally killed Joey's wife in a beach race. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. [86] New Orleans' Mac Rebennack (later Dr. John) did session work with the Wrecking crew while living in Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. Release Dates [101] 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.[101][102][103]. [108] 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. A Kickstarter campaign at the end of 2013 raised over three hundred thousand dollars to cover music licensing and final production costs. The film cast included the following musicians and performers, in live appearance and archived footage[5], Production began in June 1996 and was completed in February 2008.