The Wrecking Crew

[thrillhammer 684]

Anyone see this documentary last night on PBS?  I never heard of these guys.  What an interesting story.  So this group of 10-20 studio musicians is behind hundreds (maybe closer to 1000) songs that are practically the soundtrack of America, songs you've heard so often you know them like the back of your hand.  The Beach Boys?  They never played on a Beach Boys record.  It was always the Wrecking Crew.  The Monkees, Sonny and Cher, the Mamas and the Papas, Herb Alpert.  The list goes on and on.

So two travesties strike me about how this all went down.  First of all, it's a sham to us as music lovers that the actual band we thought we loved were not the musicians we thought they were.  There was a borderline Milli Vanilli situation going on with hundreds of acts.  So that makes it sad for the actual act that they didn't get to record on their own albums (some of them actually practiced and thought they were good enough so were insulted when studio musicians were brought in to do the recordings instead).  But it's also sad for this fantastic group of studio musicians, because they get absolutely no credit.  They were paid scale apparently, and do not get royalties.  I'm not sure how that worked out but you can tell they are bitter that they don't get the credit they deserve, and all the love and adoration goes to the act itself.    Apparently, the Grammy for song of the year 7 years in a row, went to a Wrecking Crew recording, yet they won no Grammy's and no one ever heard of them.   

If these guys aren't deserving of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame I don't know who is.

[BearSchlong 8140]

It's been out for a few years.

What I find interesting is that all of a sudden the most popular acts of the late 60s decided to play their own music in the recording studio.

The morph from ultra-produced 60s sounding songs to a much rawer product was noticeable.

Interesting Read - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Sound

 

 

Edited August 21, 2018 by BearSchlong

[phdhorn 6224]

Well, sorry, but the Wrecking Crew is no secret - they're one of the most notable and famous groups assembled in pop music history.

I don't get those readings at all - most of the time famous acts loved to play with them, and they with the acts.  

These musicians were studio musicians from the outset - most of them never sought to be a "big" act and tour or anything - this is what they did. The didn't just play rock'n'roll, they had TV work, films especially, radio, backing at concerts, classical, jazz, etc.  They were professional musicians.  It's really no different than hiring a symphony cellist for a rock record - the cellist does his part, gets paid, and goes off to the next gig.

There are probably a good bunch of them that are a little miffed at getting "scale" (mostly the B and C teams - I can tell you that the "A" team (also known as "First Call") got some damn good money.)

Of course some musicians like Leon Russell and Glen Campbell went on to be stars in their own right - but most of them didn't want to be.

If there were some acts who resented them, they were few.  Likewise a few of them are naturally resentful for not getting their names on record credits, but most of them were contracted to not have that, and didn't particularly care.  Few of them were jilted out of money, because like I say, 80% of their work was not in rock'n'roll.  But they were such good musicians that they could easily swing from film scores to TV themes to commercial jingles to whatever.  They are the premier utilitarians.

Brian Wilson completely consciously worked with them just before Pet Sounds was created, as his styles expanded, but he never hid anything, it's well-known that they played o his later albums after 1966 - and he wanted them to experiment... but on the earlier "surf" records, there might have been a studio musician mixed in here and there, but that was the group playing all the early stuff.

Anyway, this isn't some sad tale of exploitation.  It was the opposite - most of them were grateful to work with big stars, for them it was a welcome treat from the mundane world of Ivory Soap tunes or whatnot.  But they got good money for the most part.  And they all were inducted into the R&RHoF in 2007 as "the Wrecking Crew" (and a few of them have actually been inducted into the R&RHoF. individually - the greatest travesty right now is that Carol Kaye has not - but she damn well will be soon).  And certainly they were never self-consciously hidden, if they weren't necessarily credited.

[thrillhammer 684]

Did not realize they were in the HOF.  That is comforting.  Yes, the documentary showed bitterness on both sides (both Mickey Dolenz and David Crosby were miffed that studio musicians were brought in to record their albums).  

8 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

They were professional musicians.  It's really no different than hiring a symphony cellist for a rock record - the cellist does his part, gets paid, and goes off to the next gig.

This is all fine and dandy except the cellist will have his or her name mentioned in the album credits.  The Wrecking Crew often did not.  That's why I think they are not getting royalties.   The Pink Panther Theme you've heard a thousand times?  That was the Wrecking Crew.  That saxophonist is apparently not mentioned, or credited, at all.  

[Mole 4336]

That's kind of the nature of studio work. And it's really good work. It's also mostly dried up. There was a time when there was work in LA, New York, Dallas, and so on that paid really well, was musically diverse and mostly interesting, and steady. 

You interact with all sorts of music (theme songs, commercials, etc.) every day and much of it is more or less anonymous. Did James Jamerson and the rest of the Funk Brothers get credit for all the great music they played at the time? Do you know who the musicians are for your favorite movie? If you dig around and find someone in the know, you can sometimes piece it together, but it's sometimes just guesswork.

As for the documentary, is it the same one that's on Netflix? I didn't get a negative vibe from that at all. 

[DougO 5257]

It's a great doc. They were badasses.

I don't think the Monkees were upset that they used the Wrecking Crew on their music. They were upset the they weren't allowed to play a single note on their early albums under DK's orders. They had no delusions of being their equals. They have been greatly appreciative and in awe of them in interviews I have seen, as well as the many songwriters that wrote hits for them.

As far as Crosby, I've always heard he's an asshole. But I don't remember that part of the doc.

Edited August 23, 2018 by DougO

[HiggyBaby 2563]

Pfft. Over-rated defense.