Twistin' the Night Away

The Wrecking Crew: Part 3

Alright, it's about time I get back to writin' and continuing our fabulous series on the Wrecking Crew musicians (which is not even close to over)! First off, we're featuring American country music singer Glen Campbell, who was actually a regular guitarist amongst the first-call "Wrecking Crew" studio musicians before embarking on a highly successful solo career (something like releasing over 70 albums and selling over 45 million records, no biggie). In the mid-60s, he filled in for Brian Wilson as a touring musician on Beach Boys tours, and played guitar on the revolutionary Pet Sounds album. After the success of "Wichita Lineman" (featured here during the Country Crossovers series), Campbell scored a big hit with another Jimmy Webb song, "Galveston," which reached #4 on the Billboard charts and #1 on the country chart. Although it's widely considered an anti-Vietnam protest song, Campbell (a Republican) performed it up-tempo, conveying a more general message in a patriotic way, and it's considered the official anthem of Galveston, Texas. Other Wrecking Crew musicians included in this recording are Hal Blaine on drums (as usual), Al Casey on acoustic guitar, and Joe Osborn on bass. Here's a live performance of "Galveston" (with a studio backing track) on Campbell's own series The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.

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Joining the likes of The Beach Boys as vocal "surf music" pioneers, Los Angeles duo Jan & Dean used the Wrecking Crew musicians on their recordings too, and found peak success during the surf rock craze just prior to the British Invasion. Amongst their biggest songs like "Surf City" (featured way back here) and "Dead Man's Curve" was their #3 hit "Little Old Lady from Pasadena" released in June 1964. Based on a folk archetype of the widowed ladies in this East L.A. city, this comic song's twist was that not only did this little old lady drive a hot car, she was also a street racer. The top-notch WC musicians used on this recording are drummers Hal Blaine and Earl Palmer, pianist Leon Russell, guitarists Tommy Tedesco, Billy Strange, and Bill Pitman, and bassist Jimmy Bond, among a few others. The coolest part is that I found out this recording's personnel by looking at copies of actual contracts provided online by the Musician's Union (American Federation of Musicians; my husband was in that same union back in his professional musician days). You can check out some of these contracts for these legendary recording sessions on the official Wrecking Crew website here. Anyway, introduced by singer Lesley Gore, here's a live vocal performance by Jan & Dean.

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You've probably heard of the popular New York girl group The Crystals (pictured left) who released huge hits in the early 1960s like "Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me." But you may not know that their most-enduring success, "He's a Rebel," was only credited to The Crystals but was actually recorded by singer Darlene Love and her backing group The Blossoms (pictured right). Legend has it that when the real Crystals were unable to travel fast enough to L.A. from New York to record "He's a Rebel" (written by singer Gene Pitney), record producer Phil Spector had Love and her L.A.-based group record the single under the banner of The Crystals. The real Crystals had to add the song to their live repertoire, even though lead singer Barbara Alston's soft voice could not mimic Love's hearty deliver. While The Crystals are considered one of the defining acts of the girl group era of the first half of the '60s, this recording is among the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is considered one of the definitive examples of the Spector-produced girl group sound. Including all WC musicians on this song, here's a lip-synced performance by The Crystals of the original recording.

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While the Wrecking Crew may have its origins with studio musicians dating back to the late 1950s, the Crew was definitely at work with hits in the early '60s, playing for stars like the King of Soul himself, Sam Cooke. With his distinctive vocal abilities, Cooke's "Twistin' the Night Away" is among his most popular songs, reaching #9 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B chart after its release in January 1962. Written by Cooke, it was even successful overseas as well, reaching #6 in the UK. The recording includes WC members Tommy Tedesco and Clifton White on guitar, and Earl Palmer on drums, as well as a swingin' horn section. Haven't figured where this footage comes from, but here's a great performance by the extremely talented Sam Cooke with a live band in December 1963 (one year before his untimely death).

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The WC didn't just play rock 'n' roll of the '60s but were also used for traditional pop standard recordings as well, like Wayne Newton's "Danke Schoen." First composed and recorded by Bert Kaempfert, the song was originally intended for singer Bobby Darin as a follow-up to "Mack the Knife." However, after seeing a 21-year-old Newton perform at the Copacabana, he decided to give it to Newton and transposed the key of the recording to fit Newton's high tenor voice (sometimes mistaken for a female!). Released in 1963, this recording reached #13 on the Billboard pop charts and #3 on the easy listening chart, becoming Newton's signature song. Before becoming one of the biggest (and longest-running) performers in Las Vegas, here's a very polished live performance by the young, self-assured Wayne Newton in 1968.

Vocal Surf Pop

Surf Music: Part 2
Although surf music started out as a purely instrumental form, it was vocal music that found the greatest commercial success in the genre. Always and forever, the first band that comes to mind in this category are the Southern Californian group, The Beach Boys, who formed in 1961. Made up of three brothers (Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson), their cousin (Mike Love), and a friend (Al Jardine), these Hawthorne High boys combined the sounds of instrumental surf rock with rock 'n' roll and doo wop, topped off with their close vocal harmonies, making them major pop stars with sixteen hit singles from 1962 to 1965. However, with the arrival of the British Invasion in 1964, especially Beatlemania, the surf craze and its soundtrack was almost completely wiped out. On the other hand, The Beach Boys continued their success as they became more inventive in the recording studio, producing fantastic hit albums (Pet Sounds in 1966) and singles ("Good Vibrations," featured on my post here). In fact, they were probably the only rock or pop group in America that could revival The Beatles. As a good portion of my childhood was spend with my family down at the beach, The Beach Boys were pretty much the first band I adored and related to as a kid (I mean, at about age 7, I thought "Surfer Girl" was written for me). Anyway, here are The Beach Boys giving a live performance of "I Get Around" and "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" (complete with false start) for the first time in the UK.


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The only other vocal surf pop act to achieve success was a rock 'n' roll singing duo from Los Angeles, Jan and Dean, who had a #1 hit with "Surf City" in 1963 (co-written with Beach Boy Brian Wilson, who was significant in their initial success). Unlike most rock 'n' roll acts of the time, Jan Berry and Dean Torrence did not give music their full attention as they were also serious college students. In 1964, the guys performed and hosted The T.A.M.I. Show, which was the first multi-act Rock 'n' Roll show edited into a motion picture, a groundbreaking feat as it was basically the first rock video. After this event, the duo became one of the major faces in 1960's music until Jan's serious car accident in 1966, from which he traveled a long but successful recovery from brain damage and partial paralysis. However, the team did return to the recording studios and Jan enjoyed the reputation as being one of the best record producers on the West Coast.

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And now for a total off-the-wall song from this era, it's the 1963 (odd) hit, "Surfin' Bird," by The Trashmen from Minneapolis, Minnesota. The song is a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons: "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow" and "The Bird's the Word," with a surf rock/garage rock sound. Although they did have a few other minor hits, The Trashmen are generally considered a one-hit wonder with "Surfin' Bird," which has had many covers, as well as appearances in many TV shows and movies over the decades. I did find a funny video of the group's drummer and vocalist, Steve Wahrer, performing this song live with an accurate introduction by a young Dick Clark, describing it as one of the strangest songs of that year, however, YouTube won't allowed me to post it (although if you're really curious, here's the YouTube link).

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And finally, I'll leave you with one of the last hit songs on the Billboard chart before the British Invasion hit. Considered a cross between surf rock and garage rock, The Rivieras, from South Bend, Indiana, are best known for their hit "California Sun" in 1964. Made up of teenagers from South Bend Central High, the group was originally named The Playmates, but because there was already a band with that name, they renamed themselves The Rivieras after the car, the Buick Riviera. Because of personnel changes (two members joined the Marines after this hit), personal reasons, and drastic changes in the pop music, the group split in 1966. However, this tune remains an enduring classic on "oldies" radio stations today.

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Well, looks like I need to call it a day, but if you're still interested in a few more vocal surf tunes, click on the links to hear other one-hit wonders like Ronny & the Daytonas' "G.T.O." and The Rip Chords' "Hey Little Cobra". Still to come this week will be a post about the surf rock sound in TV shows themes and movies of the 1960's!