What the Funk Brothers did for Motown...The Wrecking Crew did, only bigger, for
the West Coast Sound. Six years in a row in the 1960's and early 1970's, the
Grammy for "Record of the Year" went to Wrecking Crew recordings. And now, THE
WRECKING CREW tells the story in pictures and that oh, so glorious sound. The
favorite songs of a generation are all here, presented by the people who made
them for you. THE WRECKING CREW is a documentary film produced and directed by
Denny Tedesco, son of legendary late Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco. The
film tells the story of the unsung musicians that provided the backbeat, the
bottom and the swinging melody that drove many of the number one hits of the
1960's. It didn't matter if it was Nat "King" Cole, Frank Sinatra, Nancy
Sinatra, The Monkees, The Byrds or The Beach Boys, these dedicated musicians
brought the flair and musicianship that made the American "west coast sound" a
dominant cultural force around the world. The film is a fun and moving tribute
from Denny to his father and to the music, the times and to the secret
star-making machine known only as "The Wrecking Crew".
The Wrecking Crew is a 2008 American documentary film directed by Denny
Tedesco. 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. The film premiered at the 2008 South by
Southwest Film Festival.
Production began in June 1996 and was completed in February 2008. The film
played in film festivals in North America, and was the closing film at the
Nashville Film Festival on April 24, 2008. A Kickstarter campaign at the end of
2013 raised over three hundred thousand dollars to cover music licensing and
final production costs. The film opened in theaters across the United States on
March 13, 2015.
Seven years after its premiere gigs at the 2008 SXSW and Nashville film
festivals (when it was originally reviewed by Variety), “The Wrecking Crew”
finally has a fair chance to chart on theatrical and VOD turntables. Slightly
expanded with a handful of new interviews, not unlike an extra-added-tracks CD
edition of a classic LP, this nostalgia-drenched rockumentary remains a hugely
entertaining treasure trove of witness-at-creation anecdotes and enduringly
potent ’60s pop hits.
Stuffed with samplings of golden oldies, the movie is a well-nigh irresistible
treat for auds old enough to recall the era when acts like the Beach Boys,
Sonny and Cher, the Association, Nancy Sinatra and the Monkees loomed large on
AM radio-station playlists. But even younger folks more attuned to streaming
their favorite music may be fascinated by director Denny Tedesco’s examination
and celebration of the title subjects, a loose-knit group of largely unknown
(except by industry insiders) session musicians, many of whom supplied the
defining licks and backbeats — and, in some cases, actually played instruments
for band members — on legendary recordings.
Tedesco began work on the project shortly before the 1997 death of his father,
Tommy Tedesco, one of two dozen or so exceptionally versatile session musicians
known collectively during their mid-century heyday as the Wrecking Crew. Most
of these unsung heroes of the ‘60s L.A. music scene had jazz or classical
backgrounds before they started playing for rock, pop and R&B artists. (A few,
the movie pointedly notes, made the transition only with extreme reluctance.)
And all of them, judging from the testimonies of the elder Tedesco and other
interviewees, had the time of their lives while enjoying steady employment and,
occasionally, making musical history.
It is especially affecting to hear and see clips of an interview with Glen
Campbell, a Wrecking Crew regular who played for everyone from Frank Sinatra to
the Mamas and Papas, and eventually toured with the Beach Boys — as a temporary
replacement for Wilson! — before his solo stardom. The Rhinestone Cowboy sounds
hale and hearty during most of his time on screen. But there is a fleeting
moment when he pauses, visibly strains to recall a detail, and then casually
admits, “I forget what it was.” And that moment is all it takes to remind a
viewer that the Campbell of today is a man tragically incapacitated by
Alzheimer’s disease. There are more than a few similarly melancholy moments
throughout “The Wrecking Crew,” moments that emphasize that the past so
joyfully celebrated here is — well, past. But the beat goes on.
Archival footage, still photos and interviews shot in various formats over
several years are neatly assembled in a technically polished package.
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