“The Wrecking Crew” film spotlights studio session players
The documentary film “The Wrecking Crew” has been a labor of love in production for years, and has finally gotten it’s time in the light. Released last month, the film is a feature length movie taking the viewer behind the scenes of some of the top studio recording session players on the planet. Back in the 1960’s, hot studio musicians were called in to support big name artists and give their producers some peace-of-mind, knowing the tracks would be recorded by the best and most reliable musicians in the business. These players grew their names in the back rooms of these sessions, and had mighty respect from the artists and recording engineers alike, yet not many people in the general public were even aware of their existence.
From the film distributors themselves, you can get the essence of what this work is about:
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 1960s and early 1970s, 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 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.
This film is a wonderful watch, and gives us great behind-the-scenes stories and viewpoints on the importance of these players to the songs we all know and love. Not only were they the ones laying down those instantly recognizable melodies and chords, but they were often there to replace the band members so the recordings could be the best possible takes on their tunes. This film uses actual footage as well as a huge group of A-lister artists and music business kingpins to tell their story. It’s well worth watching for anyone that loves to listen to great music.
