John W. Says This Book Is "pure gold for those who love the music and history of popular music."

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—the only female in the bunch—who went on to play in thousands of recording sessions. Readers 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.

John says:
"The Wrecking Crew is a surprising look into the behind-the-scenes stories of many of the most famous pop tunes of the '60s.  It unearths the stories of the mostly obscure studio musicians in Los Angeles called on to play by producers from Phil Spector to Brian Wilson.

The Crew were a floating group of skilled, creative players who provided the music behind most of the Beach Boys hits, Simon & Garfunkle, The Monkees and scores of others.  They were a closely-kept secret at the time, as it was considered uncool for most musicians not to play on their own records.  Fantastic players like Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye remained obscure despite their work on hundreds of songs you may have heard, ranging from Herb Alpert to 'Mr.Tambourine Man' by the Byrds to most of the Monkees albums, the Grass Roots, up to 'Love Will Keep Us Together' in 1975.     

The only member to emerge from the studio shadow was Glen Campbell, who has a surprising musical background.  His work on Frank Sinatra's 'Strangers in the Night' is the source of one of many hilarious stories contained in these pages.

I found this a fascinating read.  Hartman has done a thorough job of research, though the format he's come up with is needlessly fragmented and at times confusing.  It's still a worthwhile read and pure gold for those who love the music and history of popular music."