Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret
The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret
The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret
Audiobook9 hours

The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret

Written by Kent Hartman

Narrated by Dan John Miller

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

()

About this audiobook

If you were a fan of popular music in the 1960s and early '70s, you were a fan of the Wrecking Crew-whether you knew it or not.On hit record after hit record by everyone from the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees to the Grass Roots, the 5th Dimension, Sonny nbsp; Cher, and Simon Garfunkel, this collection of West Coast studio musicians from diverse backgrounds established themselves as the driving sound of pop music-sometimes over the objection of actual band members forced to make way for Wrecking Crew members. Industry insider Kent Hartman tells the dramatic, definitive story of the musicians who forged a reputation throughout the business as the secret weapons behind the top recording stars.Mining invaluable interviews, the author follows the careers of such session masters as drummer Hal Blaine and keyboardist Larry Knechtel, as well as trailblazing bassist Carol Kaye, who went on to play in thousands of recording sessions. Listeners will discover the Wrecking Crew members who would forge careers in their own right, including Glen Campbell and Leon Russell, and learn of the relationship between the Crew and such legends as Phil Spector and Jimmy Webb. Hartman also takes us inside the studio for the legendary sessions that gave us Pet Sounds, Bridge Over Troubled Water, and the rock classic "Layla," which Wrecking Crew drummer Jim Gordon cowrote with Eric Clapton for Derek and the Dominos. And the author recounts priceless scenes such as Mike Nesmith of the Monkees facing off with studio head Don Kirshner, Grass Roots lead guitarist (and future star of The Office) Creed Bratton getting fired from the group, and Michel Rubini unseating Frank Sinatra's pianist for the session in which the iconic singer improvised the hit-making ending to "Strangers in the Night."The Wrecking Crew tells the collective, behind-the-scenes stories of the artists who dominated Top 40 radio during the most exciting time in American popular culture.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 18, 2012
ISBN9781452678061
Author

Kent Hartman

KENT HARTMAN is a longtime music industry entrepreneur who has worked with dozens of well-known artists, including Three Dog Night, Steppenwolf, Hall & Oates, Counting Crows, and Lyle Lovett. He has written for American Heritage, The Oregonian, and Portland Tribune. Hartman teaches marketing at Portland State University and for several years produced The Classic Comedy Break, a nationwide radio feature. He lives in Portland.

Related to The Wrecking Crew

Related audiobooks

Music For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for The Wrecking Crew

Rating: 4.266666666666667 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

30 ratings12 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Engrossing stories about the small group of musicians who helped create much of popular music in the 1960s,
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As a session player who came in after The Wrecking Crew left the building, I think Kent’s book is possibly the most real and accurate account of what went on in those magic places called recording studios. Ain’t nothin’ like the real thing, baby.
    Wish he’d do a follow up with more, maybe even using chunks of the real words from the interviews. Thanks, Kent, for a valuable addition to the canon of American music history. We need it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Let's get this out of the way, right off the bat: Kent Hartman is a pedestrian writer at best.

    That being said, he does an obviously good job at researching, and recreating certain events—if from more of a high-level view—during that phenomenal period of time when the Wrecking Crew could truly do no wrong, and were blasting out of our speakers on so many of the songs I loved, and still love, back in the Sixties and Seventies.

    Along the way, he also does give a glimpse into the timeline of some of those songs (god, what I wouldn't give for a song-by-song breakdown of who played and what happened).

    So, lots of stars for the subject matter and giving us some glimpses into key events, but dismally few stars for the banal attempts at suspense (the songs he hints at before revealing are hilariously obvious) and workmanlike prose.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very interesting read that really shows what really went on behind the scenes of a number of (perhaps the majority of) pop songs of the 60's & 70's. And that would be enough, the book then goes in depth into the background and personality of the people who'd made the music that topped the charts. I got confused with all the names at certain points and sometimes it felt a little repetitive but still interesting.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The Wrecking Crew was a core group of talented session musicians who played on an astounding number of top 40 hits from the early 60s to the early 70s. While band members of groups like The Byrds, The Monkees, The Mamas and The Papas, and The Beach Boys played live concerts to adoring fans, these session musicians provided the actual instrumentation on the recordings. It was a big secret and often a source of contention between the band members, who were not allowed to play on their own songs, and the producers, who wanted the recorded performances to be perfect.I found the anecdotes fascinating and often had to stop the audio book to listen to the songs being described - a fun little trip down memory lane since a lot of this music was the soundtrack of my childhood/early teens. The story deserved to be told. The writing is pretty dreadful (I kept thinking of Stephen King: the adverb is NOT your friend), and the narrator grated on my nerves, but if you can give that a pass, and if the subject interests you, this is worth a listen.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Stories about the studio musicians who helped create many rock and roll hits back in the day. I enjoyed the many stories behind many of the big hits.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fun read, well told story.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I enjoyed this a lot. It tells the story of the LA session musicians circa 1962 - 1974. Born in 1950, I've always just listened to music and never thought a whole lot about the musicians. Until recently. I couldn't believe how these amazing musicians contributed so greatly to the "birth of rock & roll" and never got the credit. At least they got paid well. An interesting read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a rollicking saga of the LA studio musicians who ruled the 1960s and 1970s, backing up every big hit we all still love today. The stories of the producers (Phil Spector and Sonny Bono), bands (Beach Boys, Carpenters, Mama and Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, Ronettes, Byrds, Righteous Brothers, Frank Sinatra, Monkees, Barbra Streisand), and the players (Leon Russell, Glen Campbell) are detailed and fascinating. The most astounding portrayal is of the unknown bassist Carol Kaye, responsible for the aching tone of "Wichita Lineman" and the "dum-dum-dum-dum-DUM-dum-dee-dum-dum" bass line of "The Beat Goes On". The primary premise is that these bands were on the road playing their own instruments but in the studio, the pros took over. The wool was pulled over our eyes and it's great that these outstanding players finally get their due credit. Similar to "20 Feet From Stardom" and "Standing In The Shadow of Motown", "The Wrecking Crew" movie is coming soon to a theatre near you.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    While I was aware for a long time about the "pre-fab" nature of a lot of the popular music of the 1960s (someone had to be playing the actual instruments for those "vocal groups" after all) the virtue of this book is that it shows how deep the phenomena went, before improved recording technology somewhat undermined the need for session musicians who could knock out tunes quickly as a combo and as "authenticity" became a virtue. As for this particular gang of players they basically came together as Phil Spector's house band when he was creating his "wall of sound" and remained in demand from that point on; eventually gaining the credibility that if you needed saving from yourself in regards to musical arrangements you were wise to take their advice! That said, having looked at some of the negative reviews at Amazon, the author might be guilty of imposing more of a narrative then actually existed on his material.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Just really interesting stuff, boots on the ground insight.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Well researched, compelling narrative, great development of each character. The author gives an in depth understanding of the people and music industry of the 60s and 70s. Excellent narration.