The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact for a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. The talents of this group of ‘first call’ players were used on almost every style of recording, including television theme songs, film scores, [...]
The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine after the fact for a group of session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. The talents of this group of ‘first call’ players were used on almost every style of recording, including television theme songs, film scores, advertising jingles and almost every genre of American popular music, from The Monkees to Bing Crosby. Notable artists employing the Wrecking Crew’s talents included Nancy Sinatra, Bobby Vee, The Partridge Family, The Mamas & the Papas, The Carpenters, John Denver and Simon & Garfunkel.
Members of ‘The Wrecking Crew’ included:
guitar: Glen Campbell, Barney Kessel, Tommy Tedesco, Al Casey, Carol Kaye, Billy Strange, Don Peake, Howard Roberts, James Burton, Jerry Cole, Bill Aken, Mike Deasy, Ray Pohlman
saxophone: Steve Douglas, Jay Migliori, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson, Nino Tempo, Gene Cipriano
trumpet: Roy Caton (contractor), Tony Terran, Ollie Mitchell
trombone: Lou Blackburn, Dick Hyde, Lew McCreary
keyboards: Leon Russell, Mac Rebennack (aka Dr. John), Mike Melvoin, Don Randi, Larry Knechtel, Al Delory, Mike Rubini
bass: Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn, Max Bennett, Chuck Berghofer, Ray Pohlman, Larry Knechtel, Lyle Ritz, Jimmy Bond (007)
drums: Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, Jim Gordon
percussion: Julius Wechter, Gary Coleman, Frank Capp (contractor)
