The Wrecking Crew

The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret

By: Kent Hartman

Narrated by: Dan John Miller

Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Winner, History, 2013

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.

©2012 Kent Hartman (P)2012 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[ The Wrecking Crew] has the...potent excitement of a collection of greatest hits. It makes good music sound better." (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)

An interesting book.

Lots of information about music from the early days of rock. Recommended for anybody interested in the music and acts from the era.

Fasinating history of 60 and 70 rock'n roll

What made the experience of listening to The Wrecking Crew the most enjoyable?

The information of the different bands was fascinating and a real eye opener to the music business in the 60's and 70's. Interesting to find out who controlled the business and the caliber of musicians at that time.

What other book might you compare The Wrecking Crew to and why?

Me the Mob and the music by Tommy James although a different story, studio muscicians played a huge roll in the outcome of the music.

Have you listened to any of Dan John Miller’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I will view all my rock idols differently after listening to this book. Especially the Beach Boys.

Any additional comments?

Great listen for anyone interested in rock history. I wish I could see the film that was made about the same group of musicians. Check out Carol Kaye on utube.

Love music? You'll love this book!

I love rock n roll history so this was a very easy listen! I appreciated the background stories about the different players in addition to the great content about the in studio experiences. No complaints about the narration either. Very interesting and entertaining!

Who Knew? Fascinating!

Even for someone who only casually listened to rock music in the 60s and 70s, this is a fascinating book. Who knew that studio musicians, who were generally much better musicians, played on the records of many of our favorite bands. It was hard to stop listening to this as every story was interesting.

Great reading of a great story

What a find. This is the story of the band of unsung heroes who basically provided the soundtrack of my youth. I could barely wait for my drives to and from work so I could keep listening. Well written and well read, it was one of the best listening experiences I have had.

Outstanding historical account!

Absolutely fascinating subject, expertly told and performed. Thanks for bringing these players' lives and achievements to light!...

Wow!!!

This is a fantastic book. If you like 60's Rock&Roll music and grew up listing to to Rock idols of tat era this is a must read. I was blown away!!! Now when I listen to "classic rock" as they call it these days I have a whole new perspective and appreciation for the music. Don't miss this one. I only wish there had been a few snippets of the music added in, that would have made for an unbelievable experience. As it was I just popped over to YouTube and had a quick listen.
Thanks for putting down this awesome history and giving credit to all those studio musicians and the Wrecking Crew for making fabulous music.

Very well done, paints a vivid picture for us.

I was born in mid-1964 to a musical family on one side, my father owned a nightclub & hosted a local television show in a Midwestern town in the late 1960's to early 1970's so I was familiar with a lot of the soul music scene from that era but, I was always curious of the pop era particulars from that era. This account is entertaining & almost presented in an educational way which is in my opinion the best way to educate folks like me who were basically toddlers or not born yet in this era of popular music in our country. I feel that this went into much more detail than the fabulous documentary on the same subject. Nice job!

The soundtrack of my life

I can remember when and where I heard all the songs mentioned in this book. What astounds and amazes me is the fact that they were all done by essentially the same band! The singers may have changed but the band remained the same.

I now have a folder of music on my MP3 players entitled "The Wrecking Crew" which contains songs I know they played on. Just about everyone who has listened to it loves it, including kids who were born a quarter century after the demise of The Wrecking Crew. I've had to compile a printed playlist of my folder because so many people ask me for one. I wish the author would compile a definitive list for us if he'd be so kind because he has access to contracts and other documents.

Entertaining, inspiring and informative

This was such a great read. Puts you inside the studio at the moments when so much music history was made!