The Wrecking Crew (studio musician)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Wrecking Crew was the name of studio musicians of varying composition who played in particular in the California recording studios of Los Angeles between 1961 and 1976 as the accompaniment of famous artists.

Emergence

The wrecking crew
General information
Genre (s) Folk rock , pop music , surf music
founding 1961
resolution 1976
Important members
guitar
Glen Campbell , Barney Kessel , Al Casey , Billy Strange
bass
Carol Kaye , Joe Osborn , Larry Knechtel , Chuck Berghofer , Lyle Ritz
Keyboards / piano
Larry Knechtel , Don Randi , Leon Russell
Drums
Hal Blaine , Earl Palmer
saxophone
Steve Douglas , Jay Migliori , Plas Johnson

The many recording studios based in Los Angeles always had a need for studio musicians. In addition to Bill Putnam's studios United Recording Corporation / Western Recorders , competitors - Master Recorders, Radio Recorders, RCA and Gold Star Studios - were also interested in session musicians. Most of the members of the later Wrecking Crew had many years of musical experience, often in jazz, and appeared more or less by chance on the Los Angeles music scene.

Drummer Hal Blaine was on January 5, 1959 with the recording of I Ain't Getting Rid of You for Tommy Sands as a member of his backing group Sharks . He was also involved in the recording for Baby Talk by surf duo Jan & Dean in May 1959. Jan & Dean were also the ones who needed the use of studio musicians for their subsequent singles, because they did not have sufficient command of their instruments. Guitarist Tommy Tedesco took part in the recordings of The Great Impostor by the Piltdown Men on December 14, 1960 , in which he played a six-string electric bass . Blaine, in turn, was recommended for Elvis Presley's album Blue Hawaii (recorded March 21-23, 1961) in 1961, on which he played snare drum with a broom. Blaine's first number one hit was Presley's Can't Help Falling in Love (March 23, 1961) from that album.

It can be seen that at least two of the later studio musicians met for a sound recording for the Richie Valens titles La Bamba and Now You're Gone in the Gold Star Studios on September 23, 1958. In La Bamba, Ernie Freeman (piano), René Hall ( danelectro bass), Buddy Clark (double bass), Carol Kaye (rhythm guitar) and Earl Palmer (drums) played.

Collaboration with Phil Spector

Older session musicians were surprised at the little preparation time their young colleagues had in the recording studio and feared that the young musicians would ruin the music industry (English: to wreck ). Hal Blaine heard this and ironically asked the secretary in the studio to call The Wrecking Crew together - the name was born. The ambitious studio musicians needed fewer rehearsals, could improvise better and were musically more flexible than their older colleagues.

When Phil Spector first entered the Gold Star Studios as a producer in July 1962 (and subsequently became a permanent guest there), he brought together a group of studio musicians who were jointly responsible for the Wall of Sound . There were also arranger Jack Nitzsche and the sound engineer Larry Levine employed in the recording studio . The Crystals (who actually sang The Blossoms) recorded the track He's a Rebel on July 13, 1962 with Howard Roberts and Tommy Tedesco (both guitars), Ray Pohlman and Jimmy Bond (both electric bass; until then, popular music was never used recorded with two basses), Steve Douglas (tenor saxophone), Al DeLory (piano) and Hal Blaine (drums). Released on Philles Records in August 1962, Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans recorded Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah on August 24, 1962 ; the session musicians were Billy Strange (electric guitar), John Anderson (acoustic guitar), Jimmy Bond (double bass), Carol Kaye (danelectro bass), Al De Lory and Nino Tempo (both piano), Steve Douglas (tenor saxophone), Jay Migliori (baritone saxophone) and Hal Blaine (drums). Billy Strange's electric guitar amplifier had inadvertently not been fitted with a microphone; and had only been recorded through the other eleven microphones scattered around the recording room, but Spector insisted that this was the right sound. Spector was able to perfect his sound further when he produced their song Da Doo Ron Ron for The Crystals in March 1963 .

From July 5th, 1963, the Wall of Sound 's best product was recorded - Be My Baby by the Ronettes. With Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer there were two drummers present, Carol Kaye and Ray Pohlman played bass, four guitars (Billy Strange, Tommy Tedesco, Barney Kessel and Bill Pitman) and four keyboards ( Leon Russell , Larry Knechtel , Al De Lory and Don Randi ). Completed with castanets and maracas , the song is the first in which Spector also used a full violin section. It took 42 takes in a four hour session to keep Spector happy. The B-side Tedesco and Pitman mentions the names of two guitarists who played the Wrecking Crew . After its release in August 1963, the hit sold more than two million records in 1963 alone.

Spector produced symphonic ballads for the Righteous Brothers . You've Lost That Lovin 'Feelin' was recorded between August and November 1964, Unchained Melody followed on March 2, 1965; both recordings are among the Wall of Sound's most important productions . Spector's production method, but also the wrecking crew involved, were the basis for the Wall of Sound . Not a single Spector recording has been made that did not involve at least one member of the session musicians. Due to the large number of Phil Spector productions, the Wrecking Crew managed to make a name for itself in the music scene. They played for The Beach Boys , The Mamas and the Papas , Scott McKenzie and developed a style of music known as the West Coast sound .

Collaboration with other performers

The around 30 members of The Wrecking Crew always played in changing constellations, so they weren't formally a band. The session musicians also offered their services to other recording studios in Los Angeles. This is how Sam Cooke's Twistin 'The Night Away came about on the 18th and 19th. December 1961 with Tommy Tedesco (guitar) and Earl Palmer (drums) at RCA Studio 1 in Hollywood . Elvis Presley was assisted by Hal Blaine (drums) and Barney Kessel (guitar) on radio recorders between March 26 and 30, 1962 . Tommy Tedesco and Ray Pohlman (bass) were involved in the April 26, 1962 recording session for Bring it on Home to Me by Sam Cooke. Blaine played on Sam Cooke's Another Saturday Night (February 28, 1963).

Nat King Coles Rambling Rose was recorded on June 19, 1962 with Capitol Records , Surf City followed on March 20, 1963 with Jan & Dean in the Western Recorders Studios, on March 21, 1964 Little Old Lady From Pasadena for the duo. The Beach Boys imitation Hondell followed with Little Honda on September 12, 1964. Sonny and Cher were supported by the Wrecking Crew on I Got You Babe on June 7, 1965 at Gold Star ; the distinctive oboe comes from Warren Webb, with Barney Kessel and several other guitarists, Don Randi (piano) and Frank Capp (drums). The Beat Goes On followed on December 13, 1966 again at Gold Star Studios with the famous bass intro by Carol Kaye . Herb Alpert was supported with two hits ( Whipped Cream on January 21, 1965; A Taste of Honey with Blaine's distinctive bass drum intro on March 10, 1965).

The Monkees were known to not play the instruments themselves in the studio; they were therefore considered an "artificial" pop group that relied on the help of the wrecking crew or other session musicians. The first two albums ( The Monkees, recorded in July 1966; More of the Monkees, June to November 1966) brought the single hits Last Train to Clarksville (July 25, 1966 with guitars: Wayne Irvin, Garry McGee and Louis Shelton, the also plays the guitar solo in the hit Valleri ) and the million seller I'm a Believer (October 15 and 23, 1966 with Mike Deasy - guitar - and Carol Kaye on bass, the organ riff comes from a Hammond organ B-3) emerged.

The Beach Boys have had the musical support of the Wrecking Crew since the beginning of their careers. Fun Fun Fun (January 1, 1964 with a guitar intro by Glen Campbell ), I Get Around (May 20, 1964), and California Girls (Columbia Studios June 4, 1965 with Carol Kaye) are early examples. The concept album Pet Sounds was created between November 1, 1965 and April 13, 1966 with the accompaniment of the Wrecking Crew, from which Sloop John B and God Only Knows were released as singles . Good Vibrations was created on February 17, 1966 in the Gold Star Studios with Larry Knechtel on the organ.

The entire album Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds was produced under the influence of the record company with studio musicians from the Wrecking Crew , because the record company distrusted the playing skills of the band members. Jerry Cole (guitar), Larry Knechtel and Hal Blaine can be heard on the title song, which was composed on January 20, 1965 and was released as a single . Nancy Sinatra's greatest hit These Boots Are Made for Walkin ' (November 19, 1965) is accompanied by a characteristic double bass by Chuck Berghofer . Frank Sinatra's world hit Strangers in the Night (April 11, 1966 on United Recorders) was created with the help of Chuck Berghofer (bass), Al Casey , Bill Pitman, Glen Campbell, Tommy Tedesco (guitar) and Hal Blaine (who recorded the same beat plays like in Be My Baby ). The Soft Rock Formation Association also resorted to the services of the session musicians ( Never my Love June 3 and June 27, 1967, LP Windy March 28, 1967 to April 23, 1967 on Western Recorders). Between December 26 and 28, 1967, the hit Valleri for the Monkees was created there (number 3 in the pop charts). The line-up of this song shows the Monkees' low artistic contribution to their hits. Only Davy Jones of the Monkees sings, accompanied by Gerry McGee and Louie Shelton (both guitar), Joe Osborn (bass), Roy Caton and Ollie Mitchell (both trumpet), Lew McCreary (trombone), Jim Horn and Jay Migliori (saxophone) and Billy Lewis (drums). Simon & Garfunkel were accompanied by Mrs. Robinson (February 1-2, 1968) and Bridge over Troubled Water (November 2, 1969 with Blaine and Knechtel; Knechtel got a Grammy for his intro, Blaine beat against it rhythmically with snow chains at the end Concrete). Richard Harris ' symphonic epic MacArthur Park was composed between December 27, 1967 and January 6, 1968 at Sound Recorders under the direction of Jimmy Webb : Al Casey, Michael Deasy, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn, Tommy Tedesco, supplemented with violin and wind sections, a total of 88 musicians took part. The basic track was created in just one take. Tommy Roe's hit Dizzy (August 22, 1968) catches the eye with Hal Blaine's drum breaks.

Elvis Presley, who actually had an excellent group of his own session musicians, made use of the wrecking crew . For the LP '68 Special , Western Recorders began recording on June 20, 1968 with Tommy Tedesco, Mike Deasy and Al Casey (guitars; Casey played a rare red Swedish Hagstrom Viking II, which Elvis played during the December 1968 live Show), Charles Berghofer and Larry Knechtel (bass), Don Randi (piano) and Hal Blaine. Paul Revere & the Raiders famous top hit Indian Reservation (The Lament of the Cherokee Reservation Indian) was created on December 3, 1970 with the participation of Arthur Butler, Carol Kaye, David Cohen and Gary Coleman. Carol Kaye played electric bass on Theme From Shaft by Isaac Hayes (with the distinctive wah-wah guitar intro by Charles "Skip" Pitts, released September 29, 1971). The wah-wah guitar solo on Guitar Man by Bread was made by Larry Knechtel (album recorded in October 1972), a soft rock ballad about a star's relationship with his fans. Barbra Streisand's hit The Way We Were was made in 33 takes (September 12, 1973), it was her first number one hit . Cher used Hal Blaine for her single Half Breed (May 21, 1973), Captain & Tennille's hit Love Will Keep Us Together (January 25, 1975) was one of the last big hits with the musical support of The Wrecking Crew .

Statistics and members

The more than 30 close members of The Wrecking Crew have been put together based on needs and availability. At Spector it was customary to use several guitars (up to four), basses and drums at the same time. In total, it is estimated that The Wrecking Crew has been involved in more than 40,000 studio productions. According to his own estimates, Blaine alone has worked on around 35,000 music tracks, including 150 top 10 singles, 41 of which reached first place and eight were named Record of the Year ( Grammy Awards ). He is the most recorded drummer in pop music and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2000 . Carole Kaye has participated in approximately 10,000 recording sessions. Most of the musicians remained unknown to the public because they were usually not mentioned in the liner notes of the records. Most music consumers therefore did not know how large the artistic contribution of The Wrecking Crew members were to many hit recordings. If you wanted the best studio musicians, you hired The Wrecking Crew . Not intended to attract public attention, the on-demand members made sure that most performers sounded better in studio recordings than they did in live performances. Roy Halee, the former co-producer of Simon & Garfunkel, praised the quality of the musicians when he talked about bassist Joe Osborn: "You don't have to stop the tape because of a mistake, because there is none." In 2008, a movie of the same name was made about The Wrecking Crew Directed by Denny Tedesco, son of studio guitarist Tommy Tedesco. The film presented the work of the anonymous session musicians to a broader public for the first time. There are 133 music clips in the film that cost around $ 300,000 in royalties .

The “golden trio” as the core of the group consisted of Larry Knechtel (piano, keyboards), Joe Osborn (bass) and Hal Blaine (drums).

Literature and web links

  • Kent Hartman: The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock & Roll's Best-Kept Secret, February 2012.
  • Wrecking Crew song list

Individual evidence

  1. Hal Blaine / David Goggin / David M. Schwartz, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew 2010, Discography
  2. Hal Blaine, Who Else Made More Hit Songs? ( Memento of the original from July 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , 2011 (PDF; 129 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.halblaine.com
  3. Classic Tracks: The Ronettes Be My Baby , SoundonSound from April 2007.
  4. Jack Doyle, Be My Baby , ThePopHistoryDig, January 2010.
  5. ^ A b The Wrecking Crew , American Heritage, February / March 2007, Volume 58.
  6. ^ A b Rockers With Low Profiles and Perfect Timing , The New York Times, February 19, 2012.