Austin used to be the film capital of the world. Back in the 70's and early 80's, there was a film, a good film, showing on every corner. I'm taking back my town, so sit back down and shut back up.
The Wrecking Crew
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Last night's entry in my music documentary travels was The Wrecking Crew a 2015 film directed by Danny Tedesco. It took Danny a long time to finish this work of love for his father Tommy and the other Wrecking Crew band members who played on so many popular albums, mostly unacknowledged in the credits and financially. Besides being yet another comment on the smarmy side of the music business, the film is a well put together tribute to those sessions players who created those albums so many of us grew up with. What I took away was just like the work these people did whose love for the music overrode the injustices of low pay and no credit - the music in the film transcends. You can't help but be inspired by the end result...the songs. The documentary pays tribute to the studio musicians that made up the Wrecking Crew - listed here in Wikipedia. Tedesco, Carol Kay, Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Barney Kessel, Larry Knechtel (later in the band Bread,) Plas Johnson, Mike Melvoin, Don Randi, Al Casey, Al DeLory, Billy
Strange, Howard Roberts, Jerry Cole, Louie Shelton, Mike Deasy, Bill
Pitman, Lyle Ritz, Chuck Berghofer, Joe Osborn, Ray Pohlman, Jim Gordon,
Chuck Findley, Ollie Mitchell, Lew McCreary, Jay Migliori, Jim Horn,
Steve Douglas, Allan Beutler, Roy Caton, and Jackie Kelso. Yeah...and how about 16 year-old Leon Russell ... or Glen Campbell. Jack Nitzsche. There is so much rich information and you get to know the players.
I loved how the editing was done ... for instance, a song would play. A familiar song and then you might hear Carol Kay adding the bass line that made it the classic it became. I can see why Danny Tedesco took so long to get it right. It's really hard to secure the rights to music and believe me, I know. I've shed blood over simple quotes for my books and my own films. It's very complicated and sometimes you have to write and write and write to dozens of people who have publishing rights and other types of licensing. It's enough to make you want to throw in the towel, but you keep at it. It took Tedesco years to get The Wrecking Crew released, but he did it. And his dad. Tommy would be right proud. Highlights include Brian Wilson, Cher, Glen Campbell, Peter Tork and Mickey Dolenz, Nancy Sinatra and other favorites.
Watch on Hulu, Prime, YouTube, Apple, Google Play.
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