Perhaps Don Henley sang it best ...
"There's three sides to every story, baby ...
There's yours and there's mine
And there's the cold hard truth."
Do any of us really care WHEN The Wrecking Crew became "The Wrecking Crew"? Does the date really matter? Fact is, it's what they've come to be known and recognized as ... something they DIDN'T achieve when all these great records were being made and the artists with their pictures on the album covers were getting all the credit and glory. (These studio musicians rarely even found their names in the liner notes! They were a well-guarded secret ... a "secret weapon" if you will ... a band of musicians who could come into a session and create pure musical magic.)
It's a story that NEEDED to be told ... the volume of music this "Band Of Brothers" placed on the charts is unheard of ... and should NOT be unheralded.
I've watched the film at least six times and NEVER got a sense that Hal Blaine or Denny Tedesco or anybody else for that matter was taking any kind of claim or glory for leading this group of extraordinary musicians. As such, I find it hard to recognize just what Carol Kaye's beef really is. She was part of a landmark group of artists who recorded a landmark LIBRARY of great music! Accept your place in music history. (Quite honestly, I never heard ANYBODY in this film be anything other than complimentary to Carol as both a musician and a human being!) Embrace your legacy ... and let the rest of the world know about it!
This is a film that NEEDS to be seen. (I expected, after the runaway success of the "Standing In The Shadows Of Motown"/ Funk Brothers documentary, that this would have been a no-brainer ... a smash hit ... and, in all fairness, "The Wrecking Crew" has played to RAVE reviews everywhere it's been shown ... but licensing this wealth of material has been prohibitive in allowing the film wide release ... or DVD release, too, for that matter.)
As such, see it whenever and wherever you can. (The Wrecking Crew website runs constant updates regarding where the film is being shown, most often as a fundraiser to front these exorbitant licensing fees.) You can check it out here:
(You'll also find GREAT outtakes from the film, most of which will hopefully make it to the DVD release once all the legal details can be worked out.)
The only upcoming screening currently scheduled on the website is tomorrow afternoon at 1 PM in San Francisco ... it's being shown as part of "Social Media Week" at The Ninth Street Independent Film Center, 145 9th Street, in San Francisco. Check the website often for updates as to showings in your area. (Forgotten Hits typically runs updated screening lists, too.)
The only upcoming screening currently scheduled on the website is tomorrow afternoon at 1 PM in San Francisco ... it's being shown as part of "Social Media Week" at The Ninth Street Independent Film Center, 145 9th Street, in San Francisco. Check the website often for updates as to showings in your area. (Forgotten Hits typically runs updated screening lists, too.)
For more of Carol Kaye's perspective, here is a link to her website, too: Click here: The Official Carol Kaye Web
Site
Finally, a brand new book on The Wrecking Crew has just been released this week. Written by Kent Hartman, it promises to tell "the inside story of rock and roll's best-kept secret". I haven't seen a copy of this book yet so cannot comment in any fashion on its content ... hoping to pick up a copy soon. Hopefully it, too, tells the story behind this amazing group of musicians ... and lists their many, many recording credits, properly crediting and acknowledging their unparalleled legacy of recordings. You can check it out here:
And, for those interested in reading Hal Blaine's take on all of the above, HIS book is still readily available through Amazon.com, too ...
Click
here: Amazon.com: Hal Blaine and The Wrecking Crew: 3rd Edition (9781888408126):
Hal Blaine, David Goggin, David M. Schw
For more of our take on the film, be sure to read these Forgotten Hits articles from the vault ... you'll find our original movie review, an interview with Producer Denny Tedesco and a little more history on The Wrecking Crew and their musical legacy ... in which WE pointed out (YEARS ago!) that they were not actually known as "The Wrecking Crew" at the time this great music was first being created. However, thanks to icons like Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, they have come to be known this way internationally ever since. Read on ...
