There's high chance you've never heard of them before, even though you've very likely heard what they do, but the musicians nicknamed The Wrecking Crew are without question some of the most important members of musical history thanks to their extensive collection of works from the late 50's through to the 70's.
Session artists that were like the A-Team of up for hire musicians, The Wrecking Crew were a part of so many pop culture hits and legendary pieces of music that it's highly likely one of your favourite old school songs has a member or two of the crew on it.
From The Beach Boys (whose famed album Pet Sounds was almost entirely recorded with Wrecking Crew members), Frank Sinatra, Glen Campbell (who was himself a member of the Crew before branching out into a solo career), Sonny and Cher, The Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel and the Monkey's are but a few of the celebrated artists that members of The Wrecking Crew played with and often influenced with their extensive and skillful knowledge of music and a variety of instruments.
A labour of love for filmmaker Denny Tedesco whose father Tommy was a key member of the group with his outstanding guitar playing (a frequently used player whose tunes can be heard all over popular TV shows even e.g. Bonanza's main theme), The Wrecking Crew was filmed over a number of years and completed with help from a successful Kickstarter campaign (finished in 2008 the film was not released until last year), whose supporters wanted the world to know more about these unsung musical heroes and there's little doubting the care and effort that's been put into this production even though it at times remains a little rough around the edges and certain members don't get ample enough airplay.
This is a must watch for anyone who calls themselves music fans and an insightful look into the creation of many of the eras greatest hits plus the rise of popular music of that time. The Wrecking Crew is documentary entertainment at its most fun, un-preachy and easy to digest and should be mandatory viewing for those that grew up surrounded by these musicians works, even if they didn't know it at the time.
3 ½ Glen Campbell bowl cuts out of 5
