Wrecking Crew Series: Part 1
Well, I think it's high time we look more into the awesomeness known as "The Wrecking Crew." A nickname given by drummer Hal Blaine for a group of L.A. session musicians, The Wrecking Crew played anonymously on dozens of hit records during the 1960s. Backed by numerous popular singers, they are one of the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history. These highly versatile musicians were "first call" players, used for nearly every style recording, including TV theme songs, film scores, commercial jingles, and almost every genre of American pop music. From The Beach Boys to Frank Sinatra, you'll be amazed at the variety of hits this group played on, and over the next several posts, we'll attempt to mention most of those hit albums.
And before we plow forward, I'd like to make a quick plug for the awesome documentary, "The Wrecking Crew," directed by Denny Tedesco, son of Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco. Completed in 2008, this film has been shown at several festivals and screenings, but is still trying to raise money to pay for the numerous song rights. Check out the website here to find out how you can help get this film released onto DVD.
So in no particular order, we begin with a popular girl group from New York City, The Ronettes, and their best-known/most enduring song of the era, "Be My Baby." Utilizing producer Phil Spector's "wall of sound" production technique (a layered and reverberant sound that came across well on AM radio and jukeboxes), this song is recognized as one of the most influential songs of all time, and is described as a "Rosetta stone for studio pioneers such as The Beatles and Brian Wilson [of The Beach Boys]." Using many Wrecking Crew musicians, Spector recorded a large range of instruments including guitars, saxophones, multiple pianos, horns, and a full orchestra with innovative studio mixing and dubbing. Featuring Hal Blaine's highly influential drum opening, as well as guitarists Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman, singer Sonny & Cher and Darlene Love were part of the group of guests that provided additional background vocals. This classic tune was also a commercial success, reaching #2 on the Billboard chart and #4 in the UK, selling over two million copies in 1963. It's now ranked #22 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
Speaking of Brian Wilson, he tirelessly worked to recreate that "wall of sound" himself on Beach Boys albums, and didn't do too bad considering, in 1966, the group released one of the most influential records in the history of pop music and one of the best of the 1960s. Including songs like "Wouldn't It Be Nice" and "God Only Knows," Pet Sounds featured the elaborate layers of The Beach Boys' vocal harmonies on top of complicated backing tracks played by members of the Wrecking Crew, like jazz guitarist Barney Kessel and bassist Carol Kaye. Exploring the emerging psychedelic rock style and revolutionary baroque instrumentation, the backing tracks were recorded over a four-month period, using major L.A. studios, with Wilson (like Spector) becoming a pioneer of 'the studio as an instrument' concept. From the album, the single "Sloop John B." was the fastest Beach Boys seller to date, peaking at #3 in the US in May of '66, and even hit #1 in several countries including Germany, Norway, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand (to name a few). Originally a West Indies folk song (and introduced to Wilson by Al Jardine), here's another memorable tune from one of the greatest albums of all time (#2 according to Rolling Stone).
The top-notch Wrecking Crew also played on most Simon & Garfunkel songs, with Bridge Over Troubled Water being probably the greatest album credited to the folk rock duo. Featuring critically and commercially acclaimed songs like "The Boxer" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water," this final album topped the charts in over 10 countries and received two Grammy Awards, plus four more for the title song. Recorded in late 1969 and released as a single in January 1970, WC musicians included on this title song were Hal Blaine (who also played the memorable, heavily-reverbed drum on "The Boxer"), Joe Osborn on bass, and Larry Knetchel on piano, who won a Grammy for his "gospel sound" piano arrangement. Part of the song was first heard by a national audience in Nov. '69, when it was included in a one-hour special TV special by Simon & Garfunkel on CBS called"Songs of America." You can hear the studio recording here, however, the footage below is a studio rehearsal cut for that TV special and is a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the guys working their craft. Definitely one of the best duos out there!
Another album amongst the greatest of all time, The Mamas & The Papas' If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears featured the WC rhythm section on every track. Including fantastic folk rock and sunshine pop songs like "California Dreamin'" and "Monday, Monday," the magic of this 1966 debut album was a combination of the group's distinct vocal harmonies, John Phillips' excellent musical arrangements, and the tight backing by the WC, all creating this "genuinely new sound" at the time. Reaching #1 on the album pop charts after its release that March, this album (and the group's subsequent albums in the '60s) used those same 'first call' musicians as Bridge Over Troubled Water, including Larry Knetchel, Joe Osborn, and Hal Blaine (oh yeah, have we mentioned yet that Blaine in particular played on 50 #1 hits? Yeah, this guy is one of the most prolific drummers in history!). Since this album's hit singles were previously featured (see links above), here's another feel-good, classic Mamas & Papas' tune, "Go Where You Wanna Go." And random side note, this original album cover is a collector's item now, since some stores felt the toilet was indecent, and alternate covers were made to cover up that corner of the picture (I own the one with a scroll/box over the toilet listing the hit songs on the album, too funny).
And we'll conclude today's "tip of the iceberg" post with another fantastic vocal group, The 5th Dimension and their Grammy Award-winning Record of the Year. Released in May 1969, The Age of Aquarius was the quintet's fourth album, and as usual for the group, the WC played all the instruments, including the musicians just previously mentioned as well as guitarist Tommy Tedesco (you may remember his fabulous Flamenco guitar-picking in the group's '67 hit "Up, Up And Away"). After the success of the "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" single, a San Diego DJ began playing "Wedding Bell Blues" from the album, and upon the seeing its potential, their record label put it out as a single as well. Featuring the lead vocals of Marilyn McCoo (who would sing parts of the song to group member and fiance' Billy Davis, Jr. during TV performances like this), this Laura Nyro-penned tune soared to #1 on the pop charts and easy listening charts, even becoming a hit in Canada and the UK. Gotta love the pure talent from all these superb singers and musicians in this entire post!
And stay tuned for many more posts featuring the Wrecking Crew!
Flower Power: Part 7 (Final)
One of the ultimate Flower Power songs would be The Beatles' "All You Need Is Love," but since that love anthem was already featured here, we'll take a look at another Beatles' song, a classic of psychedelia. Written mainly by John Lennon (credited to Lennon/McCartney), "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" comes from biggest-selling album of the 1960s, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. After its release at the beginning of the Summer of Love in June 1967, the BBC banned this song suspecting its title was referencing drugs (LSD), however, Lennon always denied that claim. Lennon's son, Julian, had inspired the song with a drawing of his school-friend Lucy, floating "in the sky with diamonds." The lyrics are a surreal and lavish daydream, accompanied by a complicated arrangement featuring a tamboura (stringed instrument) played by George Harrison, and a counter melody on organ by McCartney. In 1974, Elton John released a cover version of this tune (discreetly featuring John Lennon on backup vocals and guitar), and it is the only Beatles cover song to reach #1 on the Billboard chart. From The Beatles' 1968 animated feature film Yellow Submarine, here's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamond."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next up, this light-hearted, groovy tune comes from the classic American folk duo, Simon & Garfunkel. About the Queensboro Bridge in New York City, "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" comes from their third album Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme released in October 1966, which reached #4 on the album charts and is considered on of the greatest albums of all time (I even recently purchased it at a used record store!). Written by Paul Simon and featuring musicians from the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the message of this folk rock song is delivered right in the first verse of the song: "Slow down, you move too fast." A popular cover version was recorded by Harpers Bizarre the following year, making it into sunshine pop arrangement. From the Smothers Bros. Comedy Hour, here's Simon & Garfunkel, with a little "accompaniment" by Tommy and Dick Smothers.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Known for venturing into a wide variety of musical genres, Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan was one of the first British pop musicians to adopt a flower power image. Influenced by US West Coast bands (like Jefferson Airplane and The Grateful Dead), he recorded one of the first examples of psychedelia at Abbey Road Studios in January of 1966. Released later that summer in the U.S., "Sunshine Superman" was a psychedelic folk song that reached #1 on the US Billboard charts (#2 in the UK), selling over 800,000 copies in just the first six weeks, eventually earning a gold disc. Written for his future wife, Donovan's lyrics mention two DC Comics superheroes, Green Lantern in addition to Superman. The eclectic arrangement was quite innovative with the prominent use of the harpsichord and sitar, combined with a funky, conga-like back-beat. Described as " the quintessential bright summer sing along," here's a Donovan classic.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ And for our final band of Flower Power Month, it's American blue-eyed soul group from New Jersey, The Young Rascals. These guys found themselves with one of their biggest hits at the beginning of the Summer of Love when "Groovin'" spend four weeks at #1 on the charts in May of '67, earning a certified gold record by June. Written by group members Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati with lead vocals by Cavaliere, this classic tune is a slow, relaxed groove and has become one of the group's signature songs. Based on Cavaliere's newfound interest in Afro-Cuban music, the instrumentation features a conga, harmonica, and a Cuban-style bass line. Resulting in a different sound from The Rascals' white-soul origins, the head of their record label originally did not the song released, however, the song (and the group) proved to have crossover appeal when "Groovin'" hit #3 on the Billboard Black Songs chart. Considered one of the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll (by Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), it is also a recipient of a Grammy Hall of Fame Award. Great tune, but to be honest, as a kid, I always misheard the line, "life would be ecstasy, you and me endlessly" as "you and me and Lesley!" (wait, who the heck is Lesley?).
If you enjoyed Flower Power Week, be sure to revisit some past posts featuring other Flower Power-type songs such as The Turtles' "Happy Together", The Mamas & The Papas' "California Dreamin'" and The Byrds' "Turn! Turn! Turn!" both featured here, and Procol Harum' "A Whiter Shade of Pale".
American Response: Part 6
In 1961, The Cyrkle was a pop band formed by lead singers Don Dannemann and Tom Dawes while studying at college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Originally a garage rock group called The Rondells, they were later discovered and managed by Brian Epstein (The Beatles' manager) in 1965, renaming them The Cyrkle (John Lennon suggested the unique spelling). In the summer of 1966, the group joined The Beatles on their U.S. tour and performed as one of the opening acts, including The Beatles final concert at Candlestick Park. Earlier that year in April 1966, they had released their biggest hit, "Red Rubber Ball," co-written by Paul Simon (who offered this song to the group while they were on tour with Simon and Garfunkel) and Bruce Woodley (of The Seekers). Reaching #2 on the charts, this classic still receives lots of airplay on the 'oldies' station today, leading listeners to mistake them for another one-hit wonder, although they did have another Top-40 hit. After The Cyrkle disbanded, both Dannemann and Dawes went on to be professional jingle writers, with Dawes writing the famous "plop plop fizz fizz" Alka-Seltzer jingle and Dannemann penning the original 7Up Uncola song.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speaking of Simon & Garfunkel, this great American pop/folk duo is no stranger to The '60 Beat. Known for their vocal harmonies, singer-songwriter Paul Simon and singer Art Garfunkel released some of the most popular music in the 1960s and are ranked #40 of the 100 greatest artists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. Rising to fame with the folk rock movement that grew out of the British Invasion, the group gained further popularity in 1967 when their music was featured in the landmark film The Graduate. An early version of "Mrs. Robinson" appeared several times throughout the movie, while the complete song was recorded and released in 1968 on the album Bookends. The film's producer asked Simon to write three songs for the movie, but by the time it was nearly edited, the group had been too busy touring and Simon had only written one new song. The producer begged for more, so Simon just played him a different song he had been writing that had nothing to do with the movie, "about past times, Mrs. Roosevelt, Joe DiMaggio, and stuff." The director advised Simon, "It's now about Mrs. Robinson, not Mrs. Roosevelt." Here's a live performance of the song that earned the duo a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ In 1965, The Association formed in Los Angeles and went on to have several big hits, eventually becoming the lead-off band at the Monterey Pop Festival of 1967. With their music in the sunshine pop genre , they started out playing many gigs all over L.A., but had difficulty getting a record label contract due to their unique sound. After signing with Valiant Records, the group got their national break with the release of "Along Comes Mary" in 1966, followed by a string of hits, however, my absolute favorite song by these guys is "Never My Love," a great tune that hit #1 on the Cashbox chart in 1967. With dual vocals by Terry Kirkman and Larry Ramos, this baroque pop/sunshine pop classic is "laid-back and dreamy, [yet] sleek and sophisticated," and according to BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) in 1999, it was the second most-played song on American radio and television of the 20th century. After this song's release, the group become a top concert act in high demand by TV variety shows, specials, and talk shows, eventually performing this hit on about thirteen shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show (shown below). I have yet to tire of this beauty.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Union City, Indiana, The McCoys were a rock band that first formed in 1962 by guitarist Richard Zehringer (known as Rick Derringer) and his brother 'Randy Z' on drums. After adding a bassist, saxophonist, and keyboardist to their line-up, The McCoys scored a #1 hit with "Hang On, Sloopy" in October of 1965. It has since become the official rock song of the state of Ohio, the MLB team the Cleveland Indians, and Ohio State University, which carries on the Saturday tradition of playing this song at football games ever since the university marching band blasted this tune in 1965. Penned by songwriters Wes Farrell and Bert Russell, it was named for singer Dorothy Sloop, who used the name "Sloopy" on stage. Originally titled "My Girl Sloopy," this song was first recorded by The Vibrations in 1964, followed by several other groups including The Ventures, The Supremes, The Kingsmen, The Yardbirds, and Jan & Dean, however, The McCoys, with their 16-year-old leader, will always be remembered for making this tune a fun success.
Well, it looks like today's post will be a little lacking; not in musical quality, just quantity. I could only find one song with Wednesday in title, however, it's a beauty. Released in October of 1964, Wednesday Morning, 3 A.M. was the debut album for folk duo Simon & Garfunkel, which includes final track of the same name. The album was initially a flop as it was released in the shadow of Beatlemania that same year, resulting in the temporary split of the two singers. However, after the duo had found radio success with the re-mix of their acoustic/electric version of "The Sound of Silence" (the original on this album), the album was re-released in January 1966. Written by Paul Simon, this simple, yet moving tune is probably one of the saddest songs I've ever heard, a feeling Simon and Garfunkel could evoke so well in their music. Although there is no actual video footage, this recording was from a live performance at the Lincoln Center in New York City on January 22nd, 1967. EDITED: The original video I had posted was removed from YouTube, so this is the original recording.
Folk Rock Week: Part 2
Deeper into the roots and legacy of folk rock, the amount of subgenres that have formed out of the initial genre of the 1960's is impressive.Some of these subgenres include Celtic rock, electric folk, folk metal, folk punk, Medieval folk rock, psychedelic folk, Indie folk, and so on. Realizing that going into any further detail about these could take all day, I'm just going to jump back into the classic folk rock of the 1960's.
Released as a single in January 1967, "For What It's Worth" is a great folk rock song by the American group Buffalo Springfield, and is another classic tune listed in Rolling Stones' 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Although the band only lasted for about two years, Buffalo Springfield was the springboard for the future careers of its members, Neil Young and Stephen Stills (both in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young), and Richie Furay and Jim Messina (in Poco). During the turbulent times of the Vietnam War, this song quickly became known as a protest-song, however, its writer, Stephen Stills, wrote it as a reaction to the riots of the young club-goers on Hollywood's Sunset Strip at that time (the same inspiration for The Monkees' "Daily Nightly"), e.i. "Stop, children, what's that sound?" As introduced by Peter Tork (Stills' roommate!), this is Buffalo Springfield's live performance at the Monterey Pop Festival in May 1967. EDITED 1/23/12: Rats, this video has been removed from YouTube, yet again! Here's a different performance from the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967:
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Known as the "quintessential folk rock release," the American folk duo, Simon and Garfunkel, was propelled into 1960's popularity with "The Sound of Silence" from September 1965. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel were close childhood friends from Queens, New York, and first found their success as a singing duo in the Greenwich Village folk music scene (along with musicians Stephen Stills and Peter Tork). Written by Paul Simon in the aftermath of President Kennedy's assassination, it was originally recorded in 1964 with just the acoustic guitar and the haunting vocal harmonies of Simon and Garfunkel, but it wasn't until months later, after hearing the release of Bob Dylan's "Like A Rolling Stone," an electric rock band was overdubbed to create the song's new folk rock sound. Also included in that list of the500 Greatest Songs of All Time, here's another wonderful live performance "The Sound of Silence" from that same Monterey Pop Festival in 1967.
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Next up is yet another group that has their founding roots in New York's Greenwich Village folk music scene as well before moving to L.A. (definitely the place to be for the folkies in the 1960's!). Written by John and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas, their 1967 autobiographical, folk rock hit, "Creeque Alley," describes the story of how the group formed. The song's lyrics directly mentions several musicians who were at the music scene with them, including the group's own Cass Elliot and lead singer Denny Doherty (formerly of The Mugwumps), plus John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky (of The Lovin' Spoonful), Jim McGuinn (of The Byrds), and Barry McGuire (known for the song "Eve of Destruction"). Now hearing this song with these musicians' names in mind will make a lot more sense! Although the group had generally "left the folk music behind" by the mid-60's, this is a fun homage to the roots of the beloved vocal group.
In the late 1960's, Scottish folk singer-songwriter Donovan (Leitch) was influential in the development of Celtic rock, one of those subgenres of folk rock that combines traditional Celtic instruments, as well as traditional vocal styles, in a rock band setting. In about 1968, the initially folk rock Donovan stripped his sound back from his pop and psychedelic explorations, dubbing this new sound Celtic rock. Based on a poem by author Lewis Caroll (Alice in Wonderland), "Jabberwocky" comes from his children's album HMS Donovan, and it is a wonderful, haunting gem from this genre.
Alright, so I've branched out a bit with a subgenre of folk rock, but more classic folk rock tunes are already queued up for the next post!
So in no particular order, we begin with a popular girl group from New York City, The Ronettes, and their best-known/most enduring song of the era, "Be My Baby." Utilizing producer Phil Spector's "wall of sound" production technique (a layered and reverberant sound that came across well on AM radio and jukeboxes), this song is recognized as one of the most influential songs of all time, and is described as a "Rosetta stone for studio pioneers such as The Beatles and Brian Wilson [of The Beach Boys]." Using many Wrecking Crew musicians, Spector recorded a large range of instruments including guitars, saxophones, multiple pianos, horns, and a full orchestra with innovative studio mixing and dubbing. Featuring Hal Blaine's highly influential drum opening, as well as guitarists Tommy Tedesco and Bill Pitman, singer Sonny & Cher and Darlene Love were part of the group of guests that provided additional background vocals. This classic tune was also a commercial success, reaching #2 on the Billboard chart and #4 in the UK, selling over two million copies in 1963. It's now ranked #22 on Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
