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Sideline crew that created the sound of the '60s



By Michael Ordoña
March 19, 2015 Updated: March 19, 2015 2:25pm


A number of recent documentaries — including the new "The Wrecking Crew" — have turned over the gilded bricks of the shiny castle of '60s pop music to reveal what was holding the whole thing up. Many viewers will experience the soundtrack of their lives in new ways by learning about some unsung heroes who were truly behind the music.

These expert players and singers worked in a star-making industry that would use their artistry and professionalism as the rock on which others' careers were built. Often the "groups" that the record companies would promote were really just a photogenic singer or two, covering someone else's material, recorded over backing tracks tightly crafted by the same session musicians who were also behind countless other "groups" (often people who looked good holding guitars).

Hal Blaine

One of the best-known members of the loose association of musicians called the Wrecking Crew, drummer Hal Blaine, was on more than 150 Top 10 hits. Blaine was in the inaugural class of "sidemen" inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000; the entire Wrecking Crew was among the first to join the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2007.

In Hollywood's Professional Drum Shop, where Blaine, 86, is treated like royalty — he had one of the store's first-ever charge accounts — the drummer recently sat with confederates Don Randi (78, keyboards) and Emil Richards (82, percussion) and filmmaker Denny Tedesco, son of guitarist Tommy Tedesco, to promote the new documentary.

These storied players breezily reminisced, shared lascivious laughs and mercilessly ribbed one another. But they had to pause when asked how many sessions they played on.

Randi said, "Around 4,000 for me."

Blaine said musicologists are compiling his lists now, and "we're approaching 6,000 single songs, not counting TV or movies." He is estimated to have recorded more than 35,000 pieces of music.

'Around 50'

Tedesco said, "We have around 50 of just Hal's songs in the movie."

These aren't just any songs: A very thin slice of their discography includes Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night," Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas," Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" and the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations."

And they were the house band in the "T.A.M.I. Show," in case anyone doubted their versatility.

But they were far from the only studio talents to form the backbone of '60s pop music. "20 Feet From Stardom" (2013) won the best documentary feature Oscar for pulling back the curtain on voices most listeners could easily recognize but not likely identify. Some — notably Darlene Love — have gained notoriety in their own right, but most are known only to those who bother to read liner notes.

That incendiary female voice that set the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" ablaze, for instance, was Merry Clayton, after having sung for the likes of Ray Charles, Burt Bacharach and Pearl Bailey. But even Love suffered the indignity of having several hit tracks she sang lead on released under other artists' names.

"Standing in the Shadows of Motown" (2004) concerns the Funk Brothers, Motown's iconic house band. The documentary boasts that these men played on more No. 1 hits than Elvis, the Stones and the Beatles combined, and treats viewers to surviving members' hilarious anecdotes. Although the film is somewhat jumbled, the personalities of the musicians and their fondness for one another come through.

Likewise, in "Wrecking Crew," Tedesco's father, Tommy, looms large. Tommy's diagnosis of terminal cancer in the late '90s spurred Denny to make the documentary — and the father shines as a clown prince in the son's film, "prince" being the operative word.

"Chuck Rainey, the great bass player, comes into town for a TV session, which is different from doing records," said Denny, telling one of his favorite stories about his guitarist father that he learned while making the film.

'I'm nervous'

"Chuck said, 'I'm there, I'm nervous — all of a sudden, my bass-line changes time signature, and I get lost on the take. Your father comes in with a big, huge BANG on his guitar. They asked him if he was OK. He said, "I'm fine. Let's do it again." They roll the film back, and I'm lost again, and your father comes in louder — BAM. They're really looking at him: "Tommy, what's up?" "I lost my pick. Let's go again." Then he turns to me and says, "You're on your own now."' Chuck said, 'I'd never even met your dad.'"

"Muscle Shoals" (2013) chronicles the explosion of Southern pop — first R&B, then rock — that came out of a little Alabama town. A small group of mostly white musicians, the Swampers, ended up being key to the careers of Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin, and their playing drew the likes of the Stones, Cream and Bob Seger to the bayou.

Taken together, these documentaries create a much deeper sonic picture of songs millions thought they knew well, and form webs where the players' paths cross. Love, for instance, sang on Phil Spector's Wall of Sound signature song, "Be My Baby," which was played by the Wrecking Crew and credited to the Ronettes.

Leonard Skynyrd

Clayton sang on Lynyrd Skynyrd's Southern-rock classic "Sweet Home Alabama," which, apart from taking shots at Neil Young (for whom Clayton also sang), also name-checks the Swampers. And why shouldn't it? They played together, as Skynyrd recorded much of their music in Muscle Shoals.

Even the players had no idea just how significant their contribution to American pop music was at the time — not even Blaine, who played on six straight Grammy-winning records of the year.

Randi said, "None of us realized it. We didn't have time until you look back on it — 'We really did that much work.' We were too busy. We didn't know it was amazing then."

Blaine, who once played on seven sessions in one day, said, "I was no different than a guy putting the doors on a refrigerator at General Electric. I did my job, and I went to the next one. That was it."

Michael Ordoña is a Los Angeles freelance writer. E-mail: sadolphson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaelordona

The Wrecking Crew (PG) opens Friday in Bay Area theaters.

To see a trailer, go to www.wreckingcrewfilm.com.

What the

Wrecking Crew built

The loose association of musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew," many of them keystones in the soundtrack of the '60s, played on hundreds of sides throughout the decade.

"The Age of Aquarius" — The 5th Dimension

"Be My Baby" — The Ronettes

The Beach Boys — Many, many tracks, including the "Pet Sounds" album

"The Beat Goes On" — Sonny and Cher

"By the Time I Get to Phoenix" — Glen Campbell

"C'mon Get Happy" — The Partridge Family

"California Dreamin'," "Monday Monday" — The Mamas & the Papas

"Close to You" — The Carpenters

"Da Doo Ron Ron" — The Crystals

"Different Drum" — The Stone Poneys

"Everybody Loves Somebody" — Dean Martin

"The Guitar Man" — Bread

"Happy Together" — The Turtles

Herb Albert & the Tijuana Brass — Many tracks

"MacArthur Park" — Richard Harris

The Monkees — Many tracks

"Mr. Tambourine Man" — The Byrds

"The Pink Panther Theme" — Henry Mancini

Elvis Presley — Many tracks, including "Viva Las Vegas" and "Return to Sender"

"River Deep, Mountain High" — Ike and Tina Turner

Simon & Garfunkel — Many tracks, including "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Mrs. Robinson"

Frank Sinatra — Many tracks, including "Strangers in the Night" and "My Way"

"Suicide Is Painless" ("M*A*S*H" theme song)

"These Boots Are Made for Walkin' " — Nancy Sinatra

"You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' " — The Righteous Brothers


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Topic - Sideline crew that created the sound of the '60s - LWR 06:17:48 03/26/15 (4)

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