The Wrecking Crew, Kent Hartman
The Wrecking Crew, Kent Hartman
2 Rating(s)
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The Wrecking Crew
The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret

Author: Kent Hartman

Narrator: Dan John Miller

Unabridged: 9 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 06/18/2012

Categories: Nonfiction, History, Music, Rock


Synopsis

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 &  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.

About Kent Hartman

Kent Hartman is the author of the Los Angeles Times bestseller The Wrecking Crew, which won the Oregon Book Award for General Nonfiction. A longtime music industry entrepreneur, he 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 the Portland Tribune. Kent teaches marketing at Portland State University and for several years produced the Classic Comedy Break, a nationwide radio feature. He lives in Portland, Oregon.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jay

What is your favorite song from the 1960s-1970s? If it was recorded in Los Angeles, and most songs were, it is very likely the music was played by "studio" musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. But "wait!" you say, "why would Simon & Garfunkel hire someone to play the grand piano in Bridge Over Trou......more

Goodreads review by Dale

Having read the original magazine article (American Heritage, 2007) and watched the film documentary, I was expecting to enjoy this. Even though different people were highlighted to some extent than in the film, it was still just a very fun read, especially for someone who listened to nearly everyth......more