page_title: The Wrecking Crew (music)
section_title: Formation
hierarchical_section_title: The Wrecking Crew (music) / Origins / Formation
caption_attribution_description: Barney Kessel
context_page_description: The Wrecking Crew was a loose collective of session musicians based in Los Angeles whose services were employed for thousands of studio recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including several hundred Top 40 hits. The musicians were not publicly recognized in their era, but were viewed with reverence by industry insiders. They are now considered one of the most successful and prolific session recording units in music history.
  Most of the players associated with the Wrecking Crew had formal backgrounds in jazz or classical music. The group had no official name in its active years, and it remains a subject of contention whether or not they were referred to as "the Wrecking Crew" at the time. Drummer Hal Blaine popularized the name in his eponymous column in Mix magazine in the 1980s, attributing it to older musicians who felt that the group's embrace of rock and roll was going to "wreck" the music industry. Some of Blaine's colleagues corroborated his account, while guitarist/bassist Carol Kaye contended that they were called "the Clique".
context_section_description: The beginnings of the group can be traced to session musicians of the late 1950s including Earl Palmer, Hal Blaine and a group headed by bassist and guitarist Ray Pohlman, sometimes referred to as the "First Call Gang". Earl Palmer was originally from New Orleans and had recorded with many Crescent City rhythm and blues musicians, such as Fats Domino.  He moved to Los Angeles in 1957, and in the 1960s played on hit records by artists such as Ike and Tina Turner, Glen Campbell, Jan and Dean, Righteous Brothers, the Beach Boys, the Ronettes, the Everly Brothers, and Sonny & Cher. Pohlman was one of the first session musicians in Los Angeles to use an electric bass in recordings, and by the early 1960s became highly sought after in rock recordings, playing on many records by Jan and Dean and the Beach Boys.  
  In 1962, Spector started a new label, Philles Records, and recorded the song "He's a Rebel", which would be credited to the Crystals. He enlisted the aid of his high-school friend, saxophonist Steve Douglas, who was also working as a contractor in charge of recruiting musicians for recording sessions.  Douglas helped him corral the backing unit, which included Pohlman, guitarists Howard Roberts and Tommy Tedesco, pianist Al De Lory, upright bassist Jimmy Bond, and Hal Blaine on drums.  They booked Studio A at Gold Star Studios, known for its deeply reverberant echo chambers, which became the preferred recording facility for Spector.  The unit became an essential component in developing his "Wall of Sound" style, starting with "He's a Rebel" and a series of several more hits by the Crystals ("Da Doo Ron Ron" and "Then He Kissed Me") and other girl groups, such as the Ronettes ("Be My Baby" and "Baby, I Love You").  It was on these recordings that the Wrecking Crew emerged in their most recognizable form and became the most coveted session players in Los Angeles's thriving recording scene.  With them, Spector went on to produce other records by the Righteous Brothers ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'", "Ebb Tide", and "Unchained Melody") and Ike and Tina Turner ("River Deep – Mountain High").
caption: Guitarist Barney Kessel was an early member of the Wrecking Crew
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