Tuesday Tunes 162: A Wrecking Crew Encore

Posted on by

A couple of weeks ago I expanded on my Song Lyric Sunday post by sharing some more of the songs I had found, in Muscle Shoals. It seemed to work well, and this week’s SLS has given me another opportunity to do this: it featured songs on which the Wrecking Crew played and they were on so many great records that I felt the need to play some more of what they had done. For those who, like me, weren’t aware of the Wrecking Crew before they became the subject for SLS, they were a whole host of session musicians who were ubiquitous through the Sixties and into the Seventies. They weren’t a band as such, just a collection of wonderfully talented musicians, several of whom went on to have solo careers, including Glen Campbell, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John, that is), Leon Russell, Andrew Gold and others. Their list of credits is fantastic, and I’m playing you just five of the songs they worked on: believe me, there were many more I could have chosen! I’m straying a little from my usual path of giving you videos of live performances, as those often don’t have the same backing, and I want to play the original recordings. Apologies for a set of static image, audio-only videos this week, but the songs stand up on their own, I think.

Let’s get things going with a huge hit, though it may surprise you to know that only one of the band played on the record – the rest was done by the Wrecking Crew:

I hope that didn’t shatter too many illusions! The Byrds were newly formed and their manager employed the Wrecking Crew to supplement Jim (later Roger) McGuinn’s guitar work, which gave the song its instantly recognisable jangly hook and which has since proved so influential. Mr Tambourine Man was their debut single, released in April 1965 and hitting #1 in both the US and the UK. The band did however play on the other tracks of their first album, also called Mr Tambourine Man, which came out in June 1965 and reached #6 in the US and #7 in the UK. I loved their records from the beginning and still do: you tend to look fondly on a band who has given you such musical enjoyment for 58 years!

I thought about including this next one in my SLS post, but decided against it, for an obvious reason:

Mason Williams first released Classical Gas on his album The Mason Williams Phonograph Record in February 1968. Wikipedia is a bit light on details for the album, noting a chart peak of #16 in Canada but nowhere else, apparently. Things took off for him when the song was released as a single in April of that year: it reached #2 in both the US and Canada, #9 in the UK, and went on to win three awards at the 1969 Grammys. It wasn’t unusual for instrumentals to make our charts: The Shadows had been doing it for several years, and later that same year Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac had a UK #1 with Albatross, but there was something about Classical Gas which gave it a unique feel. I’ve always liked it.

The Wrecking Crew contributed a lot to Phil Spector’s ‘Wall of Sound’ approach, so it seems only right that I should include one of those. This seems a good one to play:

The Righteous Brothers, who were Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield, released You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling in November 1964, and it reached #1 in the US, the UK and Canada. The song also featured on their album of the same name, which got to #4 in the US in 1965. There have been several cover versions of the song, but none of them comes even close to the original, in my view. In particular, I would advise you to stay away from the Cilla Black version which somehow made #2 here in 1965; it takes shrieking to a whole new level! The original is a classic pop record, and stands the test of time nearly sixty years on.

My next selection is a bit of an oddity, a one hit wonder by a guy known more for his acting than singing, though he had previously performed on some movie soundtracks. One of the most overblown single hits ever, and it is quite remarkable:

MacArthur Park was written by Jimmy Webb, who was already well known as a songwriter at the time. He met Richard Harris at a fundraiser in Los Angeles late in 1967: Harris suggested that he wanted to make a record, and they got together to do just that. The song was recorded in December 1967 in Hollywood, and several of the Wrecking Crew played on it. Released as a single in April 1968, it topped the charts in Australia and Canada, whilst peaking at #2 in the US and #4 in the UK. As the video shows it was also included on Richard Harris’s album A Tramp Shining in May 1968: this got to #4 in the US but wasn’t a hit in the UK. Maybe seven minutes of him was enough for us? I must admit I did enjoy hearing it again when I was compiling today’s set list, though. It was later covered by Donna Summer, who got a US #1 and UK #5 with it: for me, it didn’t work as a disco song – but then again not much did, really.

I’m closing today with another pop classic, quite possibly the most complicated record ever made to have achieved the level of success that it did:

Good Vibrations was written and produced by Brian Wilson, with lyrics by Mike Love. It took seven months to record, in several locations, from February to September 1966, and was released as a single in October 1966, peaking at #1 in both the US and the UK. In addition to the six band members, the cast list of session musicians is extensive: I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many names listed as having been involved with a single track! It is a great song, though, and to my mind a work of art and musical beauty. 1966 was a busy year for the Beach Boys and the Wrecking Crew together, as it also saw the release (in May) of the Pet Sounds album, which has become a classic in its own right. Had it not taken so long to record to Brian Wilson’s satisfaction, Good Vibrations might have been on that album, but instead it had to wait more than a year to be included on the follow up, Smiley Smile, which came out in September 1967. Both of these are great albums, which have been in my collection since then.

That’s all for this week. There were some pretty stellar contributions there, from a bunch of guys – and one woman – whose names are probably unknown to most of us. Their talents shine through, though, and it is no surprise that they were part of so many huge hit records.

Have a great week, and I’ll see you again soon 😊

53 thoughts on “Tuesday Tunes 162: A Wrecking Crew Encore”

  1. Pingback: The First Day After August | Take It Easy

  3. All great song choices, Clive I’m so glad you didn’t play Cilla’s version I used to have Surprise Surprise on for my mother in law and my eldest son would run and hide he hated her voice- I didn’t know good vibrations took that long to record but it was worth it as its such a great song xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Glad you liked them, Carol. We seem to be in good company in our view of Cilla, more a national earache than a national treasure, for me. Brian Wilson was a perfectionist and wouldn’t release records until he felt they were right. Given his later mental health problems it’s a good bet that he had OCD at that time – but it did make for some wonderful records! xx

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. 100% today on your choices, Clive. I have to admit I didn’t even know who Mason Williams was when I saw the introduction. Of course, I instantly recognized the song. I suppose that’s more likely to happen with instrumental songs, though I recognize the artist on Santana’s instrumental songs instantly even if I’ve never heard them before. Gosh, I was only six when Mr. Tambourine Man came out. I love Bill Medley’s voice!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I’m pleased to have scored so highly this week, Pete, but choosing a set of pop classics probably helped! I think you can be forgiven for not recalling Mason Williams’ name – very much a one hit wonder. I was 11 going on 12 when Tambourine Man came out, and very much into pop music since the Beatles took us by storm in 1962. You’re right about Bill Medley, too.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Good write-up. Mason Williams is an oddity, but there always one instrumental hit back then; I think I recall ‘Love Is Blue’/Paul Mauriat Orchestra being a reasonable hit around the same time?
    Cilla-wise; I didn’t mind her on ‘Alfie’ and a few others but her twisted intonation on ‘Surround Yourself With Sorrow’ makes me wince even now.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you. You’re right about Love Is Blue which was a #1 in the US but I don’t think it was a hit here. It was an instrumental version of Luxembourg’s entry in the 1967 Eurovision Song Contest, sung by a Greek, in French! I much preferred Classical Gas, to be honest. If you see the comments between Di and me on this one you’ll see the depths of my dislike for Cilla Black’s ‘singing.’

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. I know you’ve referred to Wrecking Crew several times but I didn’t know all that. I’m not a fan of MacArthur Park but loved all the others. I still have the single ‘Good Vibrations’. It’s my favourite Beach Boys’ after ‘God only knows’.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I think I’ve only referred to them twice: on Sunday and today. I hadn’t heard of them before they were the subject for SLS but they were a very talented bunch. MacArthur Park can divide opinion so I’m not surprised at that, but I’m pleased the others hit the mark for you. The Beach Boys made a lot of very good records!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    • It came as a surprise to me too! The Wrecking Crew were Americans, mostly, and Jimmy Page didn’t play with them. As you say, he played on loads here, before managing to fit in the Yardbirds and Led Zep 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Please leave a reply, I'd like to know what you think