The Wrecking Crew

I recently had the privilege to watch an advance of a film entitled The Wrecking Crew - an inspiring documentary that, unless you're already familiar with this story, bears no resemblance to anything the title could possibly bring to mind. For some, that might be a fictional team of Marvel Comics supervillains; for others, a 1968 comedic film staring Dean Martin; and for others still, a signature song by East Coast thrash metal band, Overkill.

No, this is a film about an unsung group of top Los Angeles studio musicians, a real life A-Team of the 60s, 70s and 80s. It has nothing to do with comic books, that is, until you consider that these are the musicians who played the unforgettable theme from the original TV version of Batman (and various other themes based on superheros). It has nothing to do with the Rat Pack, until you realize that these same folks recorded some of the most respected work of Frank Sinatra, as well as Frank's daughter Nancy and the Dino himself. And though the film may not have much to do with heavy metal, one must take these three things into consideration:

A. Some of those iconic melodies performed by The Wrecking Crew are forerunners to the types of intervallic patterns later to be found in metal riffs. For example, take a listen to "Batman", as well as their signature recordings of "The Pink Panther" and "Mission Impossible;"

B. One of The Wrecking Crew's hit recordings, Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'" inspired a cover by Megadeth.

C. The influence and impact The Wrecking Crew had on future generations of musicians - directly and indirectly - was profound, affecting players of every style and sub-genre of popular music, from the 60s to the present day.

The Wrecking Crew movie is the brainchild of Denny Tedesco, son of guitarist Tommy Tedesco. Realizing that his father had limited time to live, Denny Tedesco embarked upon a mission to capture the story of Tommy and his team of anonymously iconic musicians.

Having grown up learning many riffs and licks from the 60s through the 80s - popular songs, TV themes, jingles and other anonymously played guitar parts, I was, like many other guitarists, influenced by much of Tommy Tedesco's work, albeit unknowingly. More overtly, I'd regularly digest Tedesco's monthly column in Guitar Player magazine and was greatly inspired by his book, "For Guitar Players only."



Tedesco was someone who inspired guitarists to set the bar high, a musician of unlimited diversity and appreciation of all styles of music who combined a blend of theoretical knowledge and "street" playing skills. He was also extremely down to Earth, with a sense of humor and candor rarely found among musicians of his caliber. For example, in his book, Tommy freely admits that he'd been far from a child prodigy - a late bloomer as far as reaching a professional level - even going so far as to admit that his own guitar teacher couldn't believe this once struggling student had gone on to play guitar for a living. Such wisdom laced with straightforward honesty was quite reassuring for that certain breed of player who'd shown potential on the guitar but lacked the self-confidence to take on music theory and other advanced concepts at a young age (Picture me smiling and waving to you right now: "Hello!"). Tedesco's humor and wit come across strongly throughout the film, which includes a clip from his appearance on The Gong Show (a predecessor of America's Got Talent): "Requiem for a Studio Guitar Player," a performance that was both very funny yet deeply poignant, earning the admiration of his not-easily-impressed friend, Frank Zappa.

Although I'm most familiar with Tommy Tedesco, being a guitarist myself, I found some of the stories of the other Wrecking Crew members fascinating. For example, anyone whose image of female electric bassists was forged by rock groups like Sonic Youth and White Zombie needs to realize that Carol Kaye was laying down some of the most memorable bass lines of all time decades earlier. And many of us know Glen Campbell as the singer of such hits as Wichita Lineman and Rhinestone Cowboy. But who knew he'd gotten his start as one of those anonymous session musicians in the background, a core member of The Wrecking Crew?

It is refreshing to be reminded that popular music used to be made by musicians who could really play and never depended on technology based trickery (as is sadly the case with the majority of mainstream music today). These folks brought to every project a stamp of their own unique musical personality, along with a strong work ethic, high standards, respect for the classics (jazz) and openness for the new (rock'n'roll). The Wrecking Crew is an invaluable document of how things were before live musicians were largely replaced in the interest of lower costs, forsaking quality for the sterility that has plagued music in the 21st century.

Unfortunately, this film has hit a bit of a snag, mostly in terms licensing fees for the music. As a result there is now a Kickstarter project under way to help official release to the public, including a run of theatrical screenings, streaming and DVDs. Anyone wishing to contribute (and there are some very enticing incentives) can do so by clicking this link to the film's KICKSTARTER PAGE.

Support this project if you can, whether that's donating or helping spread the word. And either way, do yourself a favor by watching these clips and, most importantly, seeing the film when it comes out. By doing so, you'll not only relive some of the great popular music of the 20th Century, you'll find out the story behind how much of it was made and get to know some of these fantastic, influential and largely anonymous musicians, known as The Wrecking Crew.

Official trailer:



Beach Boys genius Brian Wilson discussing sessions with Wrecking Crew bassist Carol Kaye and drummer Hal Blaine



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