The Wrecking Crew

Hey, marketers at Coca-Cola, Geico, Pepsi-Cola and any other company trying to reach 70 million baby boomers. Here's a golden opportunity: Denny Tedesco, director of The Wrecking Crew, a new documentary about the Hollywood studio musicians who recorded thousands of hit singles in the '60s and early '70s, needs just $250,000 to pay off the licensing for songs used in his film. Then the DVD can be released.

Here's the opportunity: In trade, you can probably negotiate an ad at the front of the documentary, signage on the DVD box and lots of other branding placements related to the film. You'll have to take it all up with  him. The best part is the DVD is all ready to go. It just needs to clear the licensing hurdle (there's a trailer at the bottom of this post to give you a sense of how good this thing is).

I've watched the film and it's the best piece of documentary work I've seen in some time. The film was made with pure love. These were the musicians who created a generation's soundtrack. They recorded on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water, the Mamas and the Papas' If You Can Believe Your Eyes and so many other albums and singles.

The Wrecking Crew documentary is that good, and it's not fair that something like licensing is holding up something this creative and interesting. One or more corporations will surely realize what they have here and will sign an exclusive. Those that didn't act fast will be kicking themselves.

As I wrote yesterday, the Wrecking Crew was made up of an ad hoc group of about 30 Hollywood studio musicians. These elite instrumentalists included Hal Blaine, Glenn Campbell, Leon Russell, Plas Johnson, Earl Palmer and others. Whatever you think of pop-rock of the '60s, one thing is clear: the Wrecking Crew helped make those songs hits.

How so? Think about all the records you've passed up over the years because they didn't snap. I'm not talking about poor engineering or poor placement of mikes and recording. I mean poor playing, lackluster drums or dull guitars and bass. I know that I gravitated toward singles that really bounced. That's what that music was all about, which is why these musicians were called in to play on them.

Phil Spector, Dennis Wilson, Lou Adler and so many of the record company people on the West Coast scene during this period were great music visionaries who were obsessed with a big, catchy sound.

Now their story has been captured in The Wrecking Crew. But it's stuck in a licensing pen.

Mind you, I'm not making a dime off of this movie. I just dig great stuff and I hope that some company out there sees the opportunity and that this film will make it out into the marketplace. It's a touching look at the director's father (Tommy Tedesco) and all of the major Wrecking Crew members who have been anonymous for decades. The film both informs and chokes you up.

JazzWax note: If you want to get in touch with the folks behind The Wrecking Crew documentary, go here.

JazzWax Clips: Here's the trailer to The Wrecking Crew documentary...



Here's Carol Kay, the only female Wrecking Crew member, on Slick Cat...



Here's a behind-the scenes recording of the Beach Boys' Sloop John B. with Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew...



And here's Leslie Gore from the T.A.M.I Show in 1964 with Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew playing behind her...