Results tagged “Nashville” from Blogway Baby

THE WRECKING CREW on Hollywood's RockWalk!

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wreckingcrew

According to "International Musician"(Official Journal of the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada),

"The legendary group of Los Angeles-based studio musicans known as The Wrecking Crew was inducted into Hollywood's RockWalk June 25, 2008. The RockWalk is the only sidewalk dedicated to honoring artists whose work has made a significant impact and lasting contribution to the fields of rock and roll, blues, and R&B music. Members of The Wrecking Crew had their handprints, faces, and signatures forever etched into the sidewalk among inductees that include Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, and Bonnie Raitt. The Wrecking Crew backed dozens of popular performers in Southern California during the 1960s and can be heard on television theme songs, film scores, popular hits, and even commercial jingles. Earlier this year, the group was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame, in Nashville, Tennessee."


There is a great documentary film on this group of musicians by Denny Tedesco (son of Tommy Tedesco, member of "The Wrecking Crew") called, of course, The Wrecking Crew.


From an interview with Denny Tedesco on the website:

"The Wrecking Crew were a group of Studio Musicans in Los Angeles in the 60s who played on hits for the "Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, Sonny and Cher, Jan & Dean, The Monkees, Gary Lewis and the Playboys, Mamas and Papas, Tijuana Brass, Ricky Nelson, Johnny Rivers, and were Phil Spectors Wall of Sound."


It's amazing not only that one group of musicians (including one woman, Carol Kaye on bass) could produce and influence so much great music, but that the general public hasn't any idea how important they were to the sounds, feel, emotion and signature riffs of a song. Based on my experience in Nashville, I know that if you get a great set of studio musicians together, who regularly play together, and give them only a number chart of a song, they will create fabulous intros, riffs, and rhythms and help bring a song to life. In fact, it's pretty much business as usual, that if there is a great intro, or solo on a demo, the record label will reproduce that when the star artist records the song.

The Wrecking Crew Rocks!

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By Suzy Conn on July 9, 2008 12:48 PM | | Comments (1)

You Know It's a Tough Business When...

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Jimmy Webb

I met the songwriter Jimmy Webb ("Wichita Lineman", "Up Up and Away", "By The Time I Get To Phoenix") back in the '90s in Nashville during one of the Tin Pan South events held by the NSAI. That was back in the days of Executive Director Pat Rogers (now atSESAC). Those really were the good old days when every Tin Pan South week would begin with a Songwriting Legends Concert. And not just country songwriters either. I remember seeing Charles Fox, Cy Coleman, Marilyn and Alan Bergman among other luminaries, sing and tell about their songs. Thrilling, just thrilling. But I digress...

It was a special Jimmy Webb concert, where he sat at a piano and played and talked and played and talked. I could have sat there listening forever. He was pushing his new bookTunesmith a combination anecdotal/how to songwriting book which I was more than happy to buy. We stood in line, waiting for a signature.

When it was my turn at bat, I screwed up enough courage to admit to Jimmy that actually I was working on writing a musical (Plane Crazy, of course!).

It was then that Jimmy said "Wow, that's a tough business". Boy, oh boy, when a songwriter tells you something is a tough business, it's TOUGH! He then said he had his own musical, Tuxedo, that was giving him problems.

Needless to say, I felt supercool at that moment, to be working in the same genre as one of my songwriting heros.

I always wondered what became of Jimmy's Tuxedo musical so the other day I googled it.

Turns out it was never produced (tough biz!). However Michael Feinstein has recorded a new CD "Only One Life -- The Songs of Jimmy Webb" on which is a song "These are All Mine" which is from the score of the unproduced Tuxedo!

Not only that but apparently Jimmy has written the music and lyrics to a new musical based on the movie A Bronx Tale. Feinstein recorded a doo-wop-flavored song from the show,Belmont Avenue. The show is being readied for a pre-Broadway tryout next fall. Fingers crossed!

I found Tunesmith on my shelf and flipped it open to the signature. It read "Suzy, the road to paradise is paradise". In this tough business, that is so true...

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By Suzy Conn on March 28, 2005 9:17 PM | | Comments (0)