Rare & Scratchy Rock 'N Roll_174

Rare & Scratchy Rock 'N Roll Podcast

R&SRNR_174 – “THEY PLAYED ON THE MOST HITS”

There’s one group of recording artists that played on more hits than anybody else in the history of rock, pop, and country music. It’s the Wrecking Crew – an amorphous collection of studio musicians based in Los Angeles from the late 1950s through the early 1970s.

They backed countless acts in a wide variety of genres, including rock, pop, folk, and jazz. You heard them supporting such stars as the Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Paul Revere & The Raiders, and the Mamas & Papas. Also, the Byrds, the Monkees, Gary Lewis & The Playboys, Ike & Tina Turner, and Simon & Garfunkel, among many others.

The Wrecking Crew remained mostly anonymous until a 2008 documentary film by Denny Tedesco, the son of the Wrecking Crew’s most prolific guitarist, Tommy Tedesco. Now, Denny Tedesco has even more Wrecking Crew history, and he shares it with our resident Rockologist, Ken Deutsch. We’ll sample 30 hit selections from the Wrecking Crew’s distinguished discography, along with more of the greatest rock and roll stories on record. Here it all here.