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This sound we're going
to record with a tape recorder.
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00:00:17,351 --> 00:00:18,781
- Brad?
- Here we go.
4
00:00:18,786 --> 00:00:20,016
- Brad?
- Yes.
5
00:00:20,021 --> 00:00:21,191
Do you want me
to lay out again
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00:00:21,188 --> 00:00:22,318
after that instrumental break,
7
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and then come back in
with the fours
8
00:00:23,758 --> 00:00:25,418
t oward the end of the, uh--
like, before "C"?
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00:00:25,426 --> 00:00:27,426
We'll have you wail on
that baby, for the instrument...
10
00:00:27,428 --> 00:00:28,858
Here we go!
This'll be what?
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00:00:28,863 --> 00:00:30,133
Okay, take two.
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00:01:05,699 --> 00:01:08,169
- Alvin!
- Okay!
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It's 5:00 in Los Angeles!
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The Wrecking Crew was
the focal point of the music.
15
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They were the ones
with all the spirit,
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00:01:38,899 --> 00:01:41,269
and all the know-how,
17
00:01:41,268 --> 00:01:43,138
especially for rock and roll
music.
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In the hardcore
producing area,
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everybody knew
what went on there.
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00:01:55,316 --> 00:01:57,716
I mean, everybody knew
that the best musicians
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played on all the sessions,
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but we as the general public
didn't know.
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00:02:01,288 --> 00:02:03,818
I had no idea
that certain people
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00:02:03,824 --> 00:02:06,464
didn't play their own records
until The Monkees came along.
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They played so well, and
they played so well together.
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00:02:16,837 --> 00:02:20,337
I think they were so into that.
They all respected each other,
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and they all would
sit and hang--
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00:02:22,476 --> 00:02:25,376
You know, talk
in between takes and hang.
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I mean, it was like--
it was a social event
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for these guys too.
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What was nice
about that unit
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was that they played
together a lot.
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And so they were
an established groove machine.
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They knew each other.
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So you could really count on
what they had to offer.
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We played on everybody's.
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The Lazy-Crazy-Hazy Days
of Summer album
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with Nat King Cole,
it was the same guys doing that
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that was doing The Beach Boys.
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The musicians were really
the unsung heroes
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of all those hit records.
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When I listen
to the records,
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it is so apparent
that these guys
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were just really so good.
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And you can see why
everybody used 'em, you know?
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Because they were so tight.
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They were the stone cold
rock and roll professionals,
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and there may never, ever be
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a group of rock and roll
musicians
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00:03:24,171 --> 00:03:25,901
of that caliber again.
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The chances are,
you didn't know his name.
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But it's likely you sang and
hummed along with his music.
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Famed studio guitarist
Tommy Tedesco has died.
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I'm Kurt Loder
with an MTV news brief.
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Tommy Tedesco was arguably
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the king of Los Angeles
session guitarists.
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You've probably never
heard his name
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00:03:53,968 --> 00:03:55,998
or heard him speak,
but listen.
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He is someone
you've heard before.
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00:04:00,975 --> 00:04:03,405
He was featured
in the theme to Bonanza ...
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00:04:04,778 --> 00:04:05,878
in Batman.
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The chores!
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The stores!
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Tedesco died of cancer Monday
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at his home
in Northridge, California,
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at the age of 67.
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While his name may not be
immediately familiar
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to everyone, some aspect of
his music almost certainly is.
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Here's the irony.
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You spend your whole life
playing guitar,
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creating guitar licks
that people
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all around the world recognize.
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But nobody knows your name,
until you're dead.
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And then, even in the end,
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they misspell your name
and call you...
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- " Tony Tedesco."
- . .. instead of Tommy.
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Tommy was not only
a legendary guitarist.
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He was my father.
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And he was also a member
of an elite group
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of studio musicians.
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So what follows
is the story of my father
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and his extended family,
The Wrecking Crew.
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Hondells, Marketts,
Routers--
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00:05:01,502 --> 00:05:03,642
We'd cut the tracks
and the records,
85
00:05:03,637 --> 00:05:06,237
and then they'd form a group
to be that group.
86
00:05:06,240 --> 00:05:08,640
People were really
not focused
87
00:05:08,642 --> 00:05:14,382
on the long, drawn-out album
recording sessions.
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Four songs in three hours.
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It's only a certain group
of guys can do that.
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A lot of the recording
came out here.
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00:05:21,789 --> 00:05:24,859
That's when you had an influx
of a lot of New York musicians.
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That was in the mid-'60s,
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when they started
flowing out here.
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Then it became a flood
around that time.
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This led to a surge of work
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00:05:34,468 --> 00:05:36,068
for the L.A. studio musicians.
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Not all of 'em,
but a small group,
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00:05:37,604 --> 00:05:40,114
who later became known
as The Wrecking Crew.
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It wasn't an organized band
of musicians
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00:05:49,717 --> 00:05:51,547
that set out
to take over rock and roll.
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00:05:51,552 --> 00:05:54,022
And I can't tell you
exactly who was part of this
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hit-making machine.
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Even the musicians
that were part of this scene
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couldn't come to an agreement.
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Twelve, 15 people.
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Maybe what, 20 of us?
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00:06:02,062 --> 00:06:03,332
Thirty, maybe?
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00:06:03,330 --> 00:06:05,100
It was probably
20 musicians,
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00:06:05,099 --> 00:06:06,399
or maybe a few more,
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00:06:06,400 --> 00:06:08,100
counting the string players,
of course.
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They were doing
all the sessions.
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They were a product
of the '40s, '50s, and '60s.
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And they were great musicians
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who came of age
when rock and roll came of age.
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And here they are at the height
of their physical powers
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with all of this talent.
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And they're in the right place.
And it's the right time,
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and so they get to do this.
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On the first day of shooting,
I brought
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00:06:51,345 --> 00:06:53,975
four of L.A.'s greatest
session players together.
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Carol Kaye,
Plas Johnson
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00:06:56,617 --> 00:06:58,947
and Hal Blaine,
along with my father.
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It was probably the first time
that all four
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00:07:01,488 --> 00:07:03,288
had been in the same room
in about 20 years.
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00:07:03,290 --> 00:07:05,420
Do you recognize me--
You've lost weight!
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And all you have to do is
just get sick.
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Rolling.
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- Rolling.
- Okay, the question is--
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This is not, uh--
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You know, if all the guys
that had been in the studios--
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God bless 'em all--
For 20, 30 years,
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00:07:25,045 --> 00:07:27,745
they all wore the blue blazers,
the neck ties,
133
00:07:27,748 --> 00:07:30,718
and there was no talking,
no smoking, and no nothing.
134
00:07:30,717 --> 00:07:33,447
And we came in there
with Levis and t-shirts,
135
00:07:33,454 --> 00:07:35,424
smoking cigarettes,
whatever we're--
136
00:07:35,422 --> 00:07:36,992
Yeah.
- And the older guys
137
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were saying, "They're gonna
wreck the business."
138
00:07:38,926 --> 00:07:41,156
You know, "They are gonna wreck
the music business."
139
00:07:41,161 --> 00:07:43,431
We didn't have the respect
that the older guys had.
140
00:07:43,430 --> 00:07:44,800
Remember the older
studio players,
141
00:07:44,798 --> 00:07:47,068
Barney Kessels,
and the Lloyd Elliots,
142
00:07:47,067 --> 00:07:48,967
- all these people?
- Yeah, exactly.
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00:07:48,969 --> 00:07:50,939
Well, that's how that whole
wrecking crew thing came in.
144
00:07:50,938 --> 00:07:52,768
Even though the term
"The Wrecking Crew"
145
00:07:52,773 --> 00:07:55,343
gained popularity
with rock historians,
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00:07:55,342 --> 00:07:57,312
many of these musicians
never heard the term
147
00:07:57,311 --> 00:07:58,941
until years later.
148
00:07:58,946 --> 00:08:02,046
I think Hal Blaine was
the first one I heard it from.
149
00:08:02,049 --> 00:08:03,279
- Yeah, it--
- He probably
150
00:08:03,283 --> 00:08:04,483
came up with the name.
151
00:08:04,485 --> 00:08:06,485
I think it kind of evolved
really.
152
00:08:06,487 --> 00:08:07,787
- There was--
- The first time I heard
153
00:08:07,788 --> 00:08:09,188
the name, I think
was at The Baked Potato,
154
00:08:09,189 --> 00:08:10,459
where they had
that get-together.
155
00:08:10,457 --> 00:08:11,757
They used the expression
"the wrecking crew."
156
00:08:11,758 --> 00:08:13,328
Well, it was used before that.
157
00:08:13,327 --> 00:08:16,187
It was used
while we were recording.
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00:08:16,196 --> 00:08:18,756
And the definition of who was
a member of The Wrecking Crew,
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there really isn't
any definition.
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00:08:20,601 --> 00:08:22,531
Between the engineers,
producers
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00:08:22,536 --> 00:08:24,096
and musicians themselves,
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each has their own take
on how this all went down.
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00:08:27,407 --> 00:08:29,607
Together, they form
a snapshot of a time
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00:08:29,610 --> 00:08:32,880
that will never be repeated.
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Anybody could do
five or six different things
166
00:08:36,450 --> 00:08:38,650
on as many different
instruments also.
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00:08:38,652 --> 00:08:40,352
There were a lot of producers
at that time
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00:08:40,354 --> 00:08:41,754
that were not really musicians,
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00:08:41,755 --> 00:08:43,955
so these guys were able
to decode--
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00:08:43,957 --> 00:08:45,887
He's talking about me,
by the way, so--
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No, I mean, there were
some producers
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00:08:47,294 --> 00:08:48,834
that really just, you know,
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00:08:48,829 --> 00:08:50,529
didn't really know
the musicians' language,
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00:08:50,531 --> 00:08:53,471
and these guys were able
to just quickly interpret it.
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The people
we're talking about
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played for so many people
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in so many
different styles.
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That's a fascinating thing.
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00:08:59,540 --> 00:09:04,280
They could walk into, uh,
a pop sound, and play it.
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00:09:04,278 --> 00:09:05,378
They could do
rhythm and blues.
181
00:09:05,379 --> 00:09:07,049
They could do
soul music.
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00:09:07,047 --> 00:09:09,307
I guess they could have done
classics if they'd had to,
183
00:09:09,316 --> 00:09:10,646
but they had
the magic touch.
184
00:09:10,651 --> 00:09:13,291
We injected
a lot of ourself into it,
185
00:09:13,287 --> 00:09:14,847
because we were
experts at doing it.
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We were doing it
all the time.
187
00:09:16,290 --> 00:09:18,460
A guy would give us
a lead sheet or something,
188
00:09:18,458 --> 00:09:19,788
and we'd know
what the song was.
189
00:09:19,793 --> 00:09:21,433
We made up a lot
of arrangements and so forth
190
00:09:21,428 --> 00:09:24,758
on that set,
ourselves on those things.
191
00:09:24,765 --> 00:09:27,225
Here's the way
that The Beat Goes On sounded
192
00:09:27,234 --> 00:09:28,434
when we first heard it.
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00:09:41,815 --> 00:09:43,175
I said, "Uh-oh,
we need to pull
194
00:09:43,183 --> 00:09:44,983
a rabbit out of a hat
for this one," you know?
195
00:09:44,985 --> 00:09:47,685
It was our job to come up
with riffs and stuff,
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00:09:47,688 --> 00:09:50,858
so about the third line
I came up with was:
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00:09:58,865 --> 00:10:01,365
And Sonny loved it
and he gave it to Bob West,
198
00:10:01,368 --> 00:10:03,998
the bass player, to play it.
And both of us are playing it
199
00:10:04,004 --> 00:10:06,814
throughout the tune.
And without a good bass line,
200
00:10:06,807 --> 00:10:08,567
the tune doesn't pop,
you know,
201
00:10:08,575 --> 00:10:10,605
it doesn't snap, you know,
like a big hit record.
202
00:10:15,148 --> 00:10:17,778
I've always said,
"They put notes on paper.
203
00:10:17,784 --> 00:10:19,624
They put notes on paper,
204
00:10:19,620 --> 00:10:21,920
but that's not music."
You make the music.
205
00:10:21,922 --> 00:10:23,362
What do you do with the notes?
206
00:10:23,357 --> 00:10:24,757
- Right.
- What you do with the charts?
207
00:10:24,758 --> 00:10:26,058
- Absolutely.
- What you do with the chords?
208
00:10:26,059 --> 00:10:27,689
Other than that,
they can call the union
209
00:10:27,694 --> 00:10:29,264
- for a guitar player.
- That's right, so--
210
00:10:29,262 --> 00:10:30,762
So it's what
you put into it,
211
00:10:30,764 --> 00:10:32,664
because how many days are,
in fact, we're all here.
212
00:10:32,666 --> 00:10:34,726
And it's what you put into it
that's not written.
213
00:10:34,735 --> 00:10:37,265
Yeah, well, in fact, everybody
can-- that's sitting here,
214
00:10:37,270 --> 00:10:39,070
I remember doing
different things
215
00:10:39,072 --> 00:10:40,972
that weren't
ever even thought about.
216
00:10:40,974 --> 00:10:43,014
And then, all of a sudden,
become part of the record,
217
00:10:43,010 --> 00:10:44,780
and part of signature
of the record.
218
00:10:44,778 --> 00:10:46,538
We all used to produce our own
parts. It's that simple.
219
00:10:46,546 --> 00:10:48,176
- Oh, yeah, yeah.
- To make it swing, yeah.
220
00:11:00,126 --> 00:11:02,156
You know, the first thing
that I ever did
221
00:11:02,162 --> 00:11:04,132
that smacked of any kind
of rock and roll
222
00:11:04,131 --> 00:11:06,061
was some kind of date,
which I don't even know
223
00:11:06,066 --> 00:11:09,166
who the artist was.
There wasn't a minor 7th chord
224
00:11:09,169 --> 00:11:12,469
in the bushel, you know?
It was all pretty vanilla.
225
00:11:12,472 --> 00:11:14,212
That's when I knew
something was different.
226
00:11:14,207 --> 00:11:16,467
At the time, I was doing
the Ozzie And Harriet TV show.
227
00:11:16,476 --> 00:11:17,906
- Ah.
- Then all of a sudden,
228
00:11:17,911 --> 00:11:19,811
you know, I'm doing this show.
And then, they--
229
00:11:19,813 --> 00:11:22,013
One day, they come up with--
Well, Jimmie Haskell comes up...
230
00:11:22,015 --> 00:11:23,845
- with Ricky Nelson.
- And with Ricky Nelson, said...
231
00:11:23,850 --> 00:11:25,220
- It's rock and roll.
- "We're doing
232
00:11:25,218 --> 00:11:26,518
this rock and roll stuff."
233
00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:27,820
I don't know
what they're talking about.
234
00:11:27,821 --> 00:11:29,151
Just laid out a chord sheet,
and says,
235
00:11:29,156 --> 00:11:30,686
- "Play behind Ricky Nelson."
236
00:11:30,691 --> 00:11:32,421
So pretty soon,
you've ended up--
237
00:11:32,426 --> 00:11:34,226
We were starting
to get involved in this.
238
00:11:41,634 --> 00:11:44,374
That's what took me to L.A.
in-- In 196--
239
00:11:44,371 --> 00:11:48,171
Summer of 1960, uh, to play
in the Ricky Nelson band.
240
00:11:49,276 --> 00:11:51,006
Working with those people
like that
241
00:11:51,011 --> 00:11:54,081
was a perfect showcase
for what would happen later.
242
00:11:54,081 --> 00:11:57,181
Which I had no idea
that I would ever be
243
00:11:57,184 --> 00:12:00,054
the "session" player.
244
00:12:00,053 --> 00:12:02,353
I didn't even know
what that meant.
245
00:12:02,355 --> 00:12:04,585
We learned how to play
rock and roll
246
00:12:04,591 --> 00:12:05,861
right there on the job.
247
00:12:05,859 --> 00:12:07,159
Hey, you know,
if they want this...
248
00:12:09,029 --> 00:12:10,759
I can do that.
249
00:12:10,764 --> 00:12:12,704
You know, that's Latin--
That's Latin music.
250
00:12:16,470 --> 00:12:18,700
That's nothing, you know.
251
00:12:18,705 --> 00:12:20,665
You can do that
all day long.
252
00:12:20,674 --> 00:12:23,214
There were some purists,
like there is
253
00:12:23,210 --> 00:12:26,880
in every way of life,
some people will not compromise.
254
00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:29,850
Not that they couldn't.
They wouldn't, most of the time,
255
00:12:29,850 --> 00:12:32,180
permit themselves
to, you know--
256
00:12:32,185 --> 00:12:34,715
They felt that they were
at a certain level.
257
00:12:34,721 --> 00:12:36,591
And playing rock and roll
258
00:12:36,590 --> 00:12:38,160
was perhaps a little bit
beneath them.
259
00:12:38,158 --> 00:12:39,818
And they didn't want
to get into it,
260
00:12:39,826 --> 00:12:42,986
whereas, our guys,
we welcomed the rock and roll.
261
00:12:42,996 --> 00:12:45,496
They didn't play that shit.
they didn't know about it.
262
00:12:45,499 --> 00:12:46,929
They didn't like it.
263
00:12:46,933 --> 00:12:50,943
And I started out
playing demos mainly,
264
00:12:50,937 --> 00:12:54,237
you know, $10 a song,
and I got to eat that day, and--
265
00:12:54,241 --> 00:12:57,211
I had three kids to earn
a living, and that's it.
266
00:12:57,210 --> 00:13:00,710
And the money was important
to pay the rent.
267
00:13:00,714 --> 00:13:03,084
And so I did what
all the rest of the guys did.
268
00:13:03,083 --> 00:13:06,853
I got, uh,
a fender guitar
269
00:13:06,853 --> 00:13:09,493
and put the light gauge strings
where you could
270
00:13:09,489 --> 00:13:10,959
bend 'em from here
to Christmas.
271
00:13:10,957 --> 00:13:13,317
And listened to some of
the people that were doing this,
272
00:13:13,326 --> 00:13:16,926
and the rock groups, and I got
so I could play that stuff
273
00:13:16,930 --> 00:13:18,860
better than they could.
274
00:13:18,865 --> 00:13:22,125
The very first call
I had ever had at Disney,
275
00:13:22,135 --> 00:13:25,265
we got there a quarter to 12:00,
and all the blue blazers
276
00:13:25,272 --> 00:13:27,242
were leaving.
And we're all sitting there,
277
00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,940
and he makes a little speech
about, "Ladies and gentlemen,
278
00:13:31,945 --> 00:13:35,875
we brought you in here
because in this particular film,
279
00:13:35,882 --> 00:13:37,582
we're gonna do a little--
Some of your--
280
00:13:37,584 --> 00:13:40,354
- your rock and roll music."
- "Your rock and roll music"?
281
00:13:40,353 --> 00:13:42,423
"It is this"-- Yeah.
"There's a little scene here..."
282
00:13:42,422 --> 00:13:44,192
- It always happens to me.
- "...and we're gonna show it
283
00:13:44,191 --> 00:13:45,761
to you," And it was
a quick, little scene,
284
00:13:45,759 --> 00:13:48,659
so he says, "Now, we have
all the music for you.
285
00:13:48,662 --> 00:13:50,462
It's there in front of you.
286
00:13:50,463 --> 00:13:53,263
And we're gonna do this to what
we call a 'click track.'"
287
00:13:53,266 --> 00:13:54,966
Like, we didn't know
anything was going on.
288
00:13:54,968 --> 00:13:57,038
"We're gonna run
the click very slow
289
00:13:57,037 --> 00:14:00,567
so that you can all learn,
study, and memorize this music."
290
00:14:00,574 --> 00:14:04,644
And then he said, "Mary Anne,
play the click much slower."
291
00:14:04,644 --> 00:14:06,314
Well, she accidentally hit it,
292
00:14:06,313 --> 00:14:08,113
and the minute
we heard eight clicks,
293
00:14:08,114 --> 00:14:10,754
ding-ding-ding-ding-ding-
ding-ding-ding, we're in.
294
00:14:10,750 --> 00:14:13,080
And we play this thing
front to back.
295
00:14:13,086 --> 00:14:16,586
And when we finished,
this guy said,
296
00:14:16,590 --> 00:14:18,190
"How in the--
man, you did it perfect.
297
00:14:18,191 --> 00:14:20,631
- I wish we'd have made that."
- "Made it."
298
00:14:20,627 --> 00:14:23,387
"How in the world
could you do that?"
299
00:14:23,396 --> 00:14:26,526
And Tommy said, "We practice
a lot during the day."
300
00:14:26,533 --> 00:14:28,873
It was perfect, 'cause they--
301
00:14:28,869 --> 00:14:29,999
they thought you were
a complete idiot.
302
00:14:30,003 --> 00:14:31,303
I mean, it was unbelievable.
303
00:14:35,542 --> 00:14:37,482
Most of the music
and the money--
304
00:14:37,477 --> 00:14:39,777
I was about to say-- It was
a Freudian slip, but true--
305
00:14:39,779 --> 00:14:41,179
came out of the Brill building
in New York.
306
00:14:41,181 --> 00:14:43,051
It was New York-based,
New York writers,
307
00:14:43,049 --> 00:14:45,019
New York singers,
New York musicians.
308
00:14:45,018 --> 00:14:47,318
The music business was
in New York city,
309
00:14:47,320 --> 00:14:48,320
period, at that time.
310
00:14:48,321 --> 00:14:49,491
Rolling master "A."
311
00:14:49,489 --> 00:14:51,959
Master "A," take one.
Here we go, rolling.
312
00:14:56,129 --> 00:14:58,429
Say, Chess Records
back in Cincinnati.
313
00:14:58,431 --> 00:15:00,201
But there were only maybe
one guitar player,
314
00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:02,000
one bass player,
one piano player,
315
00:15:02,002 --> 00:15:04,672
so it could almost get held up
by those one or two guys.
316
00:15:04,671 --> 00:15:06,201
Well, they could come
to Los Angeles,
317
00:15:06,206 --> 00:15:07,836
and they-- It wouldn't
matter if they could call
318
00:15:07,841 --> 00:15:09,641
a matter of 10 or 12
different guitar players,
319
00:15:09,643 --> 00:15:11,043
all of them would be
equally as good
320
00:15:11,044 --> 00:15:12,344
to do what they wanted done,
321
00:15:12,345 --> 00:15:14,175
plus we had more studios
out here.
322
00:15:14,180 --> 00:15:17,350
A lot of the musicians
that were back east,
323
00:15:17,350 --> 00:15:19,650
and in Nashville,
a lot of 'em came out here
324
00:15:19,653 --> 00:15:21,393
to seek their fame
and fortune.
325
00:15:21,388 --> 00:15:23,148
This was
an untapped place for--
326
00:15:23,156 --> 00:15:25,086
for new artists
to record too.
327
00:15:25,091 --> 00:15:27,331
Lee Hazlewood told me
he went back to New York
328
00:15:27,327 --> 00:15:29,657
to do a session,
and he just kind of walked
329
00:15:29,663 --> 00:15:31,033
over to the guitar player,
and said,
330
00:15:31,031 --> 00:15:32,261
"Hey, could you play me
this little thing?"
331
00:15:32,265 --> 00:15:34,725
And the guy said,
"Write it out."
332
00:15:34,734 --> 00:15:36,404
And the guy just refused
333
00:15:36,403 --> 00:15:39,443
to experiment and try anything.
Like, if it wasn't written out,
334
00:15:39,439 --> 00:15:41,539
he wasn't gonna play it.
You had young musicians
335
00:15:41,541 --> 00:15:42,811
who were willing to contribute
336
00:15:42,809 --> 00:15:44,379
and come up with ideas,
you know,
337
00:15:44,377 --> 00:15:46,907
and I think that
was the difference.
338
00:15:46,913 --> 00:15:48,353
I don't think
it's any secret.
339
00:15:48,348 --> 00:15:51,848
The '60s called
all of the music to the west.
340
00:15:51,851 --> 00:15:53,791
L.A. was the place to be.
341
00:15:53,787 --> 00:15:57,957
If you wanted the best, they
were right here, in Los Angeles.
342
00:16:07,701 --> 00:16:10,131
It was a rougher, looser sound
343
00:16:10,136 --> 00:16:12,236
than what was
coming out of New York,
344
00:16:12,238 --> 00:16:14,268
having a lot to do with,
I guess, the musicians
345
00:16:14,274 --> 00:16:17,244
that we were using, 'cause
they were fresh to the sound.
346
00:16:27,754 --> 00:16:29,324
Hal, you started
the surf
347
00:16:29,322 --> 00:16:32,562
and Earl started
that double time, you know.
348
00:16:39,532 --> 00:16:42,472
You know-- You know, we
doubled it up and made it sweet.
349
00:16:42,469 --> 00:16:46,269
Yeah, it was sort of like
east coast/west coast jazz.
350
00:16:46,272 --> 00:16:48,372
There was really
a distinct difference.
351
00:16:48,375 --> 00:16:51,275
And at-- for those years,
the record producers
352
00:16:51,277 --> 00:16:52,937
- chose the west coast.
- Yeah,
353
00:16:52,946 --> 00:16:55,106
and the hits started
coming out of here.
354
00:17:01,187 --> 00:17:02,547
This was where
the youthful movies
355
00:17:02,555 --> 00:17:04,555
were being made.
Everybody wanted to be a surfer.
356
00:17:04,557 --> 00:17:06,357
Whether you were white
or black or lived
357
00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:08,329
in the middle of the desert,
you wanted to have a surfboard.
358
00:17:08,328 --> 00:17:10,158
It was crazy.
And along with it
359
00:17:10,163 --> 00:17:13,203
came young music,
and it was created here.
360
00:17:13,199 --> 00:17:18,469
Beach beauties everywhere,
and art lovers willing to look.
361
00:17:18,471 --> 00:17:21,811
This is paradise for thousands
of sun worshipers,
362
00:17:21,808 --> 00:17:24,278
Californians by birth
or adoption.
363
00:17:24,277 --> 00:17:27,877
I remember the perfumed air,
the night-blooming jasmine,
364
00:17:27,881 --> 00:17:29,981
and all the kind of plants
that grow
365
00:17:29,983 --> 00:17:33,793
in Southern California,
and how dreamy it all was.
366
00:17:33,787 --> 00:17:35,287
It was the sound
of The Beach Boys
367
00:17:35,288 --> 00:17:38,658
kind of wafting through
from house to house,
368
00:17:38,658 --> 00:17:41,588
you know, almost the same record
just repeating,
369
00:17:41,594 --> 00:17:44,034
and the idea that,
"Hey, this is real.
370
00:17:44,030 --> 00:17:47,030
this is the culture here,
is this beach thing."
371
00:17:47,033 --> 00:17:50,203
- The Beach Boys!
372
00:17:50,203 --> 00:17:51,773
Thank you very much.
373
00:17:51,771 --> 00:17:54,141
Right now, we'd like to show you
how The Beach Boys
374
00:17:54,140 --> 00:17:56,010
go about making a record.
375
00:17:56,009 --> 00:17:58,709
We start with Denny Wilson
on the drums...
376
00:18:03,416 --> 00:18:06,876
...followed by Al Jardine
on rhythm guitar...
377
00:18:11,091 --> 00:18:14,191
...helped out
by Carl "lead guitar" Wilson...
378
00:18:18,531 --> 00:18:20,771
...and filled out instrumentally
by our leader,
379
00:18:20,767 --> 00:18:22,997
Brian Wilson on the bass.
380
00:18:28,475 --> 00:18:31,335
When we're ready to sing,
we step up to the microphones,
381
00:18:31,344 --> 00:18:33,044
and it comes out
something like this.
382
00:18:46,425 --> 00:18:48,085
I went
to Gold Star,
383
00:18:48,094 --> 00:18:51,504
and I met musicians' favorite,
Phil Spector,
384
00:18:51,498 --> 00:18:55,098
And I immediately had
Steve Douglas start booking,
385
00:18:55,101 --> 00:18:56,601
you know, the re--
They're called the regulars,
386
00:18:56,603 --> 00:18:59,243
The Wrecking Crew.
And he started booking them
387
00:18:59,239 --> 00:19:01,239
for me in my studio
in Western.
388
00:19:01,241 --> 00:19:03,641
Session players were
brought in by producers
389
00:19:03,643 --> 00:19:05,543
for a variety of reason.
390
00:19:05,545 --> 00:19:09,545
In fact, most of the mid-1960s,
beach boys backing tracks
391
00:19:09,549 --> 00:19:11,319
didn't feature
any of The Beach Boys.
392
00:19:11,317 --> 00:19:14,087
It was Brian Wilson's decision
to push the music
393
00:19:14,087 --> 00:19:16,217
to another level.
And to do that,
394
00:19:16,222 --> 00:19:18,362
he enlisted the best of L.A.
395
00:19:18,358 --> 00:19:21,128
We were on the road
150 days a year.
396
00:19:21,127 --> 00:19:22,587
Brian was getting a little bit
more complex
397
00:19:22,595 --> 00:19:27,165
in his arrangements. And
it just got to be too difficult
398
00:19:27,167 --> 00:19:30,467
to-- to coordinate
our itineraries.
399
00:19:30,470 --> 00:19:33,040
And that's when
The Wrecking Crew stepped in.
400
00:19:33,039 --> 00:19:35,369
When I heard that
some of the guys sat in
401
00:19:35,375 --> 00:19:38,335
for some of The Beach Boys,
that surprised me.
402
00:19:38,344 --> 00:19:40,244
But in truth, at that point,
403
00:19:40,246 --> 00:19:41,946
The Beach Boys were
Brian Wilson.
404
00:19:41,948 --> 00:19:43,448
He created it all.
405
00:19:43,449 --> 00:19:45,619
He was very self-assured,
very much in control.
406
00:19:45,618 --> 00:19:48,318
He brought in the charts
that he wrote himself.
407
00:19:48,321 --> 00:19:53,291
And most of the time, I mean,
the music was entirely his.
408
00:19:53,293 --> 00:19:55,433
I mean, there were
very few times that we made up
409
00:19:55,428 --> 00:19:57,898
- licks on his stuff. Yeah.
- ...musically correct.
410
00:19:57,897 --> 00:19:59,897
He had in his head
what he wanted.
411
00:19:59,899 --> 00:20:02,169
First album,
it was--
412
00:20:02,168 --> 00:20:03,298
Summer Days
,
413
00:20:03,303 --> 00:20:04,743
The Beach Boy album.
414
00:20:04,737 --> 00:20:07,407
Ray Pohlman was a great
bass player, really good.
415
00:20:07,407 --> 00:20:10,167
Steve Douglas was,
like, so on-the-mark
416
00:20:10,176 --> 00:20:13,736
as a saxophone player.
He just blew my mind.
417
00:20:13,746 --> 00:20:17,176
He played with such finesse,
you know?
418
00:20:17,183 --> 00:20:19,283
And he used to get real close
to the microphone
419
00:20:19,285 --> 00:20:21,715
to get the best benefit
of his instrument.
420
00:20:21,721 --> 00:20:23,691
They were all-- The Wrecking
Crew-- They were just great.
421
00:20:36,169 --> 00:20:38,899
Brian was a genius.
I mean, he would just--
422
00:20:40,473 --> 00:20:43,343
He was just good
as I've ever seen, I believe,
423
00:20:43,343 --> 00:20:45,683
about putting things
together.
424
00:20:45,678 --> 00:20:49,108
Western studio,
and there was probably...
425
00:20:49,115 --> 00:20:51,975
fifteen, 20 guys in that studio.
426
00:20:51,985 --> 00:20:54,415
He'd start at the first guy...
427
00:20:54,420 --> 00:20:56,050
and he'd sing 'em their part
until they got it,
428
00:20:56,055 --> 00:20:57,685
and second guy,
he'd sing their part,
429
00:20:57,690 --> 00:21:00,490
and the third guy,
all the way around the room.
430
00:21:00,493 --> 00:21:01,833
Then he'd go back
to the first guy.
431
00:21:01,828 --> 00:21:03,998
Well, the first guy
had forgot his part
432
00:21:03,997 --> 00:21:06,457
and he'd sing it again,
sang a second--
433
00:21:06,466 --> 00:21:08,396
He taught the whole thing
by rote.
434
00:21:08,401 --> 00:21:09,731
And all of a sudden,
that whole band
435
00:21:09,736 --> 00:21:14,536
could play that shit.
I mean, Brian is--
436
00:21:14,540 --> 00:21:16,770
When you want to talk
about genius,
437
00:21:16,776 --> 00:21:20,406
he's-- There's not any more
like him that I know of.
438
00:21:20,413 --> 00:21:22,583
I mean, he's unbelievable.
439
00:21:22,582 --> 00:21:26,382
Pet Sounds was
an incredibly important record,
440
00:21:26,386 --> 00:21:30,756
and still stands there, like,
"Okay, top this," you know?
441
00:21:30,757 --> 00:21:35,187
George Martin told me
Sgt. Pepper was an attempt--
442
00:21:35,194 --> 00:21:37,634
It was an attempt
to equal Pet Sounds.
443
00:21:37,630 --> 00:21:41,500
So it was an incredibly
influential record
444
00:21:41,501 --> 00:21:43,931
and I think it had
an electromagnetic field.
445
00:21:43,936 --> 00:21:48,266
And people were drawn here,
and wanted to be a part of that,
446
00:21:48,274 --> 00:21:50,044
and wanted to make records
like that.
447
00:21:50,043 --> 00:21:53,413
Good Vibrations, we must have
done 25, 30 sessions.
448
00:21:53,413 --> 00:21:55,053
It might take
six months to do.
449
00:21:55,048 --> 00:21:56,678
Some days,
we worked five minutes.
450
00:21:56,683 --> 00:21:59,553
- Some days, four hours.
- Yeah.
451
00:21:59,552 --> 00:22:01,892
- On the same song.
- We just-- We experimented.
452
00:22:01,888 --> 00:22:03,548
And they would ask me,
"Well, what do you want?"
453
00:22:03,556 --> 00:22:05,356
And I'd say, "well,
I don't know," you know?
454
00:22:05,358 --> 00:22:06,958
and we'd go home, and
the next time we get together,
455
00:22:06,959 --> 00:22:09,189
then we would fall together,
and we'd do the thing.
456
00:22:09,195 --> 00:22:12,755
Three months,
two, three dates a week,
457
00:22:12,765 --> 00:22:15,095
but Capitol Records
was picking up the tab.
458
00:22:15,101 --> 00:22:16,671
And we liked
to work for him.
459
00:22:16,669 --> 00:22:18,299
The word was,
"Do you have the date
460
00:22:18,304 --> 00:22:19,604
with Brian Wilson
tomorrow?"
461
00:22:19,605 --> 00:22:21,165
I'd say, "Yeah, I do."
"Oh, good."
462
00:22:21,174 --> 00:22:23,244
Well, Carol played
on Good Vibrations
463
00:22:23,242 --> 00:22:26,112
and California Girls,
and she was, like,
464
00:22:26,112 --> 00:22:27,412
the star of the show.
I mean, she was
465
00:22:27,413 --> 00:22:29,653
the greatest bass player
in the world.
466
00:22:29,649 --> 00:22:31,349
And she was
way ahead of her time.
467
00:22:31,351 --> 00:22:33,151
She would play
a tonic in a fifth
468
00:22:33,152 --> 00:22:35,452
or a third instead of a fifth,
you know.
469
00:22:35,455 --> 00:22:36,545
She was one
of the first bass players
470
00:22:36,556 --> 00:22:38,186
to start playing that way.
471
00:22:38,191 --> 00:22:40,931
But he definitely wrote out
some neat lines on the bass,
472
00:22:40,927 --> 00:22:42,427
like, for instance:
473
00:22:44,097 --> 00:22:45,357
I'd never played that.
474
00:22:51,571 --> 00:22:53,001
I'll just go into this...
475
00:22:59,112 --> 00:23:01,152
Now, that's
a jazz walking line.
476
00:23:01,147 --> 00:23:04,747
You knew that this kid was into
something really, really great.
477
00:23:04,751 --> 00:23:08,021
The room had a spirit to it,
with Hal being the leader,
478
00:23:08,020 --> 00:23:09,420
you know,
and all the guys
479
00:23:09,422 --> 00:23:10,922
working together,
and thumping and pumping.
480
00:23:10,923 --> 00:23:13,323
He would get things
like he wanted to hear them.
481
00:23:13,326 --> 00:23:15,656
And when he got 'em that way,
it was good.
482
00:23:15,661 --> 00:23:18,361
When I heard G ood Vibrations
the first time on the radio,
483
00:23:18,364 --> 00:23:19,934
I just--
It just blew me away.
484
00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:49,289
Now.
485
00:23:49,295 --> 00:23:50,925
Very good.
486
00:23:50,930 --> 00:23:52,960
I remember Carol though.
I still have to remember,
487
00:23:52,965 --> 00:23:55,965
'cause your favorite thing,
no matter what day we went on
488
00:23:55,968 --> 00:23:59,338
after that, "Would you like me
to use my Beach Boy pick?"
489
00:23:59,338 --> 00:24:00,698
And so she'd
490
00:24:00,706 --> 00:24:02,966
impress the shit out of--
This one, and--
491
00:24:02,975 --> 00:24:04,575
She picked it up
on her way to the studio.
492
00:24:04,577 --> 00:24:06,037
And they're looking
at this pick,
493
00:24:06,045 --> 00:24:08,005
- and they're looking at her.
- You have to sell it,
494
00:24:08,014 --> 00:24:09,554
- you know.
- She was selling this shit
495
00:24:09,549 --> 00:24:12,179
like I couldn't believe.
One little pick made this girl
496
00:24:12,185 --> 00:24:13,545
hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
497
00:24:27,599 --> 00:24:29,669
I was very jealous
of the guitar
498
00:24:29,669 --> 00:24:31,939
when we were first dating
and got engaged,
499
00:24:31,938 --> 00:24:36,068
and he paid a lot more
attention to the guitar, I felt.
500
00:24:36,075 --> 00:24:39,635
So I gave him an ultimatum,
"It's me or the guitar."
501
00:24:39,645 --> 00:24:43,905
And he said, "Honey,
the guitar doesn't have legs.
502
00:24:43,916 --> 00:24:45,416
you do."
503
00:24:45,418 --> 00:24:47,618
I got so upset with him,
I took my ring
504
00:24:47,620 --> 00:24:50,550
and I threw it at him.
505
00:24:50,556 --> 00:24:52,016
Then I went looking for it.
506
00:24:52,024 --> 00:24:53,924
And I was one of these
late starters in life.
507
00:24:53,926 --> 00:24:56,686
I wasn't one of these guys that
you read about in the books.
508
00:24:56,696 --> 00:24:58,356
You know, you read
these articles
509
00:24:58,364 --> 00:24:59,564
in Guitar Player magazine,
the guy says,
510
00:24:59,565 --> 00:25:01,265
"Well, when I was
12 years old,
511
00:25:01,267 --> 00:25:03,967
I had the chops of a reindeer
and all this stuff, you know."
512
00:25:05,872 --> 00:25:08,472
When I was 12 years old,
I was playing marbles myself,
513
00:25:08,474 --> 00:25:10,844
I don't know, you know.
And when I was 24,
514
00:25:10,843 --> 00:25:13,083
I was at Douglas Aircraft,
you know, moving boxes
515
00:25:13,079 --> 00:25:15,379
- and trying to play guitar.
516
00:25:15,381 --> 00:25:17,881
I was 24,
I was still into this.
517
00:25:17,884 --> 00:25:20,784
"Wow, I'm in seventh position."
518
00:25:20,786 --> 00:25:22,686
And I finally learned
one hip chord.
519
00:25:22,688 --> 00:25:25,088
- Whoa.
520
00:25:25,091 --> 00:25:29,461
So I'm not one of them guys
you read about.
521
00:25:29,462 --> 00:25:31,962
We went to the prom,
and Ralph Marterie
522
00:25:31,964 --> 00:25:34,134
was playing the dance.
We found out
523
00:25:34,133 --> 00:25:37,373
that their guitar player
was leaving that night.
524
00:25:37,370 --> 00:25:39,770
And he tried out,
auditioned,
525
00:25:39,772 --> 00:25:41,972
and he was hired
right then and there.
526
00:25:41,974 --> 00:25:44,174
It was on a Friday night,
and the Saturday night,
527
00:25:44,176 --> 00:25:45,576
he left for New York city.
528
00:25:56,288 --> 00:25:59,958
Tell the truth.
- Okay, you got to let go.
529
00:26:02,795 --> 00:26:07,525
Marterie was going to get
a guitar/singer,
530
00:26:07,533 --> 00:26:11,003
so that he could only pay
for one guy.
531
00:26:11,003 --> 00:26:13,443
He decided he knew
there was nothing there
532
00:26:13,439 --> 00:26:15,539
in Niagara Falls for him.
533
00:26:15,541 --> 00:26:18,611
He wanted to go
to California to play.
534
00:26:18,611 --> 00:26:21,211
While my father struggled
to find work playing guitar,
535
00:26:21,213 --> 00:26:23,883
he had to make ends meet
working in a warehouse.
536
00:26:23,883 --> 00:26:26,583
He always said it was
the best job he ever had.
537
00:26:26,586 --> 00:26:29,686
He hated it so much,
it made him practice every day.
538
00:26:29,689 --> 00:26:34,529
I was told by two guys
before we left,
539
00:26:34,527 --> 00:26:36,687
"He's never gonna make it."
540
00:26:36,696 --> 00:26:38,996
So after seven months
of struggling here,
541
00:26:38,998 --> 00:26:42,928
daddy wanted to go back,
and I said, "There's no way,"
542
00:26:42,935 --> 00:26:45,495
because I wasn't giving in
to those two guys.
543
00:26:47,073 --> 00:26:50,713
And that's why dad said,
"My stubborn Sicilian wife."
544
00:26:50,710 --> 00:26:54,680
In fact,
my wife was behind me 100%,
545
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,350
like, all the time I work.
And she's-- It was "You tour."
546
00:26:57,350 --> 00:26:59,220
She was working,
she took the calls,
547
00:26:59,218 --> 00:27:00,748
she didn't-- never complained.
548
00:27:00,753 --> 00:27:03,353
I would come in
at 11:00 or 10:00,
549
00:27:03,356 --> 00:27:04,956
I'd see my kids whenever.
550
00:27:04,957 --> 00:27:07,657
My wife accepted it,
this was our living,
551
00:27:07,660 --> 00:27:10,030
our whole family took it
exactly that way.
552
00:27:10,029 --> 00:27:11,799
Every once in a while,
a musician's wife
553
00:27:11,797 --> 00:27:13,557
would come
and complain to her,
554
00:27:13,566 --> 00:27:15,296
and she'd talk to them.
She'd say,
555
00:27:15,301 --> 00:27:16,871
"Well, look,
that's his living."
556
00:27:16,869 --> 00:27:19,669
Well, Carmie never talked
to Barbara the Barbarian.
557
00:27:19,672 --> 00:27:22,572
Whoa-ho-ho-ho.
558
00:27:22,575 --> 00:27:24,575
My father would say,
"There are only four reasons
559
00:27:24,577 --> 00:27:25,977
to take a gig:
560
00:27:25,978 --> 00:27:28,448
for the money,
for the connections,
561
00:27:28,447 --> 00:27:30,947
for the experience,
or just for fun."
562
00:27:30,950 --> 00:27:33,580
I got to tell you a story
about your dad.
563
00:27:33,586 --> 00:27:35,716
We were in Western studio
three there,
564
00:27:35,721 --> 00:27:38,621
and, uh, Jan Berry
of Jan and Dean,
565
00:27:38,624 --> 00:27:40,824
he counted the song,
"Everybody ready? Yeah. Okay."
566
00:27:40,826 --> 00:27:46,396
Tedesco started playing,
567
00:27:46,399 --> 00:27:49,129
and Jan says, "Stop, wait."
And he went over and looked,
568
00:27:49,135 --> 00:27:51,165
and he said, "Tedesco,
what are you doing?"
569
00:27:51,170 --> 00:27:52,440
He-- Tommy--
570
00:27:52,438 --> 00:27:53,698
The music was upside down,
571
00:27:53,706 --> 00:27:55,636
and Tommy was
reading it backwards.
572
00:27:55,641 --> 00:27:57,041
Now, that's a true story,
573
00:27:57,043 --> 00:27:59,243
but you talk about
getting a laugh out of it.
574
00:27:59,245 --> 00:28:00,735
Tommy was a cut-up.
575
00:28:16,228 --> 00:28:17,558
Hold it, cut it.
576
00:28:19,231 --> 00:28:21,131
There was an energy
that Phillip would get.
577
00:28:21,133 --> 00:28:25,243
I remember, Phillip would be
so excited about every session.
578
00:28:25,237 --> 00:28:29,067
There was just a vitality
in the room that was--
579
00:28:29,075 --> 00:28:30,705
would lift you
off of your feet.
580
00:28:30,710 --> 00:28:32,140
And also there'd be
so many players
581
00:28:32,144 --> 00:28:34,114
and the sound would be
so huge.
582
00:28:34,113 --> 00:28:37,723
I mean, it was definitely--
That wall of sound was really--
583
00:28:37,717 --> 00:28:38,777
It was really there.
584
00:28:38,784 --> 00:28:40,024
I never was in the studio
585
00:28:40,019 --> 00:28:41,919
that there were
any different guys.
586
00:28:41,921 --> 00:28:43,521
it was the same guys always.
587
00:29:00,406 --> 00:29:03,506
The "wall of sound" was
the Gold Star echo chambers,
588
00:29:03,509 --> 00:29:04,939
- mainly.
- Well, it was wall-to-wall
589
00:29:04,944 --> 00:29:06,814
- musicians first of all.
- Yeah, that's true.
590
00:29:06,812 --> 00:29:09,682
Most people'd use
a four-piece rhythm section.
591
00:29:09,682 --> 00:29:13,022
He had four guitars,
or six, or seven.
592
00:29:13,018 --> 00:29:14,748
There were four pianos always,
593
00:29:14,754 --> 00:29:17,964
one upright bass,
one fender bass.
594
00:29:17,957 --> 00:29:20,657
I mean, it was only
one drums, usually.
595
00:29:20,659 --> 00:29:23,529
Fifteen people playing
percussion instruments.
596
00:29:23,529 --> 00:29:25,129
- In a very small room.
- Yeah.
597
00:29:25,131 --> 00:29:26,661
Not a small room,
but an average room.
598
00:29:26,665 --> 00:29:29,225
And a huge echo chamber
that Gold Star
599
00:29:29,235 --> 00:29:31,465
was famous for,
that was the wall of sound.
600
00:29:31,470 --> 00:29:32,700
Ceramic walls.
601
00:29:32,705 --> 00:29:34,765
- One, two, three.
602
00:29:42,014 --> 00:29:43,754
- Good.
- The wall of sound
603
00:29:43,749 --> 00:29:46,849
of Phil Spector's
more like a lost feeling.
604
00:29:46,852 --> 00:29:49,922
it's heavy on You've Lost
That Lovin' Feelin',
605
00:29:49,922 --> 00:29:52,792
and it was--
He used the echo so much,
606
00:29:52,792 --> 00:29:54,692
and it was swimming
all the time.
607
00:29:54,693 --> 00:29:56,763
In spite of the baffles,
we all leaked
608
00:29:56,762 --> 00:29:59,532
into each other's mics,
just enough to give it
609
00:29:59,532 --> 00:30:03,832
the combination of leakage
and echo, plus we were tired.
610
00:30:03,836 --> 00:30:06,036
By the 30th take,
you're tired, you know.
611
00:30:06,038 --> 00:30:10,038
So it had a real
relaxed feeling on his hits.
612
00:30:21,587 --> 00:30:24,487
It's the most played song
of all time.
613
00:30:24,490 --> 00:30:25,690
Oh, I believe it, yeah.
614
00:30:25,691 --> 00:30:27,591
Most played record
of all time.
615
00:30:27,593 --> 00:30:30,063
They were the whole sound
that Phillip had.
616
00:30:30,062 --> 00:30:31,962
Phillip was also
really, really superstitious,
617
00:30:31,964 --> 00:30:33,464
and he didn't--
He wanted those guys,
618
00:30:33,465 --> 00:30:35,425
and he always wanted
those guys, you know?
619
00:30:35,434 --> 00:30:39,204
He felt only secure when
he was playing with those guys.
620
00:30:39,205 --> 00:30:41,905
Same musicians,
same engineers, same studio,
621
00:30:41,907 --> 00:30:44,467
same, probably, brand of tape.
622
00:30:44,476 --> 00:30:47,106
Yeah, probably.
- Um...
623
00:30:47,112 --> 00:30:50,352
It was just a thing
that he figured if he didn't
624
00:30:50,349 --> 00:30:53,349
do it that way,
it wouldn't be a hit.
625
00:30:53,352 --> 00:30:55,792
- And he was probably right.
- He was probably right.
626
00:30:55,788 --> 00:30:58,288
And we're grateful for that.
627
00:30:58,290 --> 00:31:00,020
G-minor seventh.
628
00:31:00,025 --> 00:31:01,985
You know, Phillip was walking
in a different universe
629
00:31:01,994 --> 00:31:05,304
than everybody else. And so
in his mind, it was all him,
630
00:31:05,297 --> 00:31:07,157
you know, and the guys
were just some sort of
631
00:31:07,166 --> 00:31:09,666
an extension
of what he couldn't do.
632
00:31:09,668 --> 00:31:13,398
Phil would never
record anything
633
00:31:13,405 --> 00:31:14,935
for the first three hours.
634
00:31:14,940 --> 00:31:16,140
I mean,
he worked these guys
635
00:31:16,141 --> 00:31:18,911
so that they
weren't playing
636
00:31:18,911 --> 00:31:21,981
individualistic.
They were too tired.
637
00:31:21,981 --> 00:31:25,351
And so they just
melded into this--
638
00:31:25,351 --> 00:31:27,181
this wall of sound.
639
00:31:27,186 --> 00:31:30,246
Phil leaned on Howard
very, very heavy
640
00:31:30,256 --> 00:31:34,656
about how to play, and just kept
on it, and on it, and on it.
641
00:31:34,660 --> 00:31:36,260
And wasn't satisfied
or something,
642
00:31:36,262 --> 00:31:39,362
and made 'em kept playing over,
and over, and over,
643
00:31:39,365 --> 00:31:41,095
and over again for hours
644
00:31:41,100 --> 00:31:45,940
until Howard's hands
were just a mass of pain.
645
00:31:45,938 --> 00:31:49,068
"No, no, no, no, this way."
Howard says, "Look, man,
646
00:31:49,074 --> 00:31:52,544
"if I can't play it,
and you know what it is,
647
00:31:52,544 --> 00:31:53,984
why don't you play it?"
648
00:31:53,979 --> 00:31:56,549
Howard Robert's the only guy
that I ever saw
649
00:31:56,548 --> 00:31:58,878
walk out of a session,
650
00:31:58,884 --> 00:32:01,254
where he just
put everything down,
651
00:32:01,253 --> 00:32:04,053
picked up his guitar
and his amp,
652
00:32:04,056 --> 00:32:06,316
and he walked out. He said,
"I've had enough of this."
653
00:32:06,325 --> 00:32:09,255
He was very demanding.
I had no problem with Phil.
654
00:32:09,261 --> 00:32:11,931
I guess it's because
he knew that I always knew
655
00:32:11,931 --> 00:32:13,861
that I wasn't
the original drummer,
656
00:32:13,866 --> 00:32:15,726
'cause if I'd have had
a problem, I'd walked out.
657
00:32:15,734 --> 00:32:17,234
Who was he gonna get?
658
00:32:17,236 --> 00:32:19,366
He'd already, you know,
had his argument with Al,
659
00:32:19,371 --> 00:32:20,971
maybe Al wouldn't have
came back.
660
00:32:20,973 --> 00:32:24,413
So-- So, we got along fine.
661
00:32:24,410 --> 00:32:25,780
They made fun of him
all the time,
662
00:32:25,778 --> 00:32:27,008
but they really liked him.
663
00:32:27,012 --> 00:32:28,552
I think they really
respected him.
664
00:32:28,547 --> 00:32:30,407
They thought he was nuts,
which, of course, he was,
665
00:32:30,416 --> 00:32:32,446
but I think they always
looked forward to it
666
00:32:32,451 --> 00:32:35,121
because it was always gonna be
something really cool.
667
00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:36,750
It was like
a total thing friendship too,
668
00:32:36,755 --> 00:32:38,655
'cause they would come in
and they would be talking about,
669
00:32:38,657 --> 00:32:40,387
you know, "What'd you do
on the golf course?"
670
00:32:40,392 --> 00:32:42,832
or, you know, that someone
had this car or so--
671
00:32:42,828 --> 00:32:44,358
There was always
a Mad magazine too,
672
00:32:44,363 --> 00:32:46,863
being passed around that
somebody brought, you know.
673
00:32:48,367 --> 00:32:50,427
I was in awe of them
because of Phil Spector, that--
674
00:32:50,436 --> 00:32:51,966
It took me a couple times
to get used to,
675
00:32:51,971 --> 00:32:53,701
you know, being with the guys,
you know.
676
00:32:53,706 --> 00:32:55,536
Any memories of Be My Baby
the first time you heard it?
677
00:32:55,541 --> 00:32:58,311
Oh, I pulled my car
over to the side of the road,
678
00:32:58,310 --> 00:33:00,540
said, "What am I
listening to here," you know?
679
00:33:00,546 --> 00:33:02,146
I couldn't believe it.
680
00:33:02,147 --> 00:33:03,947
I instantly wrote
Don't Worry Baby
681
00:33:03,949 --> 00:33:05,419
after I heard that. Yeah.
682
00:33:05,417 --> 00:33:08,117
I was so inspired.
I couldn't believe it.
683
00:33:45,991 --> 00:33:49,031
By the time we got
to River deep - Mountain High,
684
00:33:49,028 --> 00:33:51,128
we all thought that was gonna be
a giant of a hit.
685
00:33:51,130 --> 00:33:53,760
It was another
wall of sound hit,
686
00:33:53,766 --> 00:33:55,396
but it flopped.
687
00:33:55,401 --> 00:33:58,771
It was a big hit in the U.K.,
but in the USA,
688
00:33:58,771 --> 00:34:00,571
it was his first downer.
689
00:34:00,572 --> 00:34:04,112
And it was like, "Okay,
that style is going then.
690
00:34:04,109 --> 00:34:06,279
The wall of sound
was over then."
691
00:34:08,580 --> 00:34:11,110
One of the boys.
One of the boys.
692
00:34:11,116 --> 00:34:12,476
One of the guys, yeah.
693
00:34:12,484 --> 00:34:14,654
If sexual harassment suits
were in there, she'd be
694
00:34:14,653 --> 00:34:17,223
- seven millionaires right now,
695
00:34:17,222 --> 00:34:18,722
...after what we put
her through.
696
00:34:18,724 --> 00:34:20,994
She'd have all the lawyers
working for-- Against us.
697
00:34:22,227 --> 00:34:24,327
I don't think anyone
ever really felt
698
00:34:24,329 --> 00:34:26,759
that she was a woman-woman, and
I don't mean that detrimentally.
699
00:34:26,765 --> 00:34:29,165
- No, we were musicians.
- Yeah.
700
00:34:29,168 --> 00:34:31,098
Everything was music--
music, really.
701
00:34:31,103 --> 00:34:32,273
- Yeah.
- Worse than that
702
00:34:32,271 --> 00:34:35,011
would have been...
shutting her out
703
00:34:35,007 --> 00:34:37,067
and not sharing the camaraderie.
704
00:34:37,076 --> 00:34:43,806
Impossible
theme song)
705
00:34:48,619 --> 00:34:50,889
And this is the only one
I had to really palm mute
706
00:34:50,889 --> 00:34:52,489
to get the treble out.
707
00:34:54,726 --> 00:34:56,656
So you can hear that.
Yeah.
708
00:34:56,662 --> 00:34:58,432
Anyway, that's what I did, yeah.
709
00:34:58,430 --> 00:35:01,160
And it's Earl Palmer
on drums on that one.
710
00:35:01,166 --> 00:35:03,466
I heard music as a kid
711
00:35:03,469 --> 00:35:05,839
because my mother was
a professional piano player.
712
00:35:05,838 --> 00:35:08,438
She'd play in the back
of the silent movie houses.
713
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:10,370
And my dad was
a trombone player.
714
00:35:10,375 --> 00:35:12,935
He played Dixieland bands,
things like that.
715
00:35:12,945 --> 00:35:14,535
So I heard music all the time.
716
00:35:14,546 --> 00:35:16,446
If they didn't fight,
they played music,
717
00:35:16,448 --> 00:35:18,778
so you know-- you knew
where it was coming from.
718
00:35:20,819 --> 00:35:23,719
My mom and I were living
in this housing project.
719
00:35:23,722 --> 00:35:25,322
But my mom saved up her pennies
720
00:35:25,324 --> 00:35:27,524
and there was a steel guitar
salesman that came around.
721
00:35:27,526 --> 00:35:30,686
And about three or four lessons
for ten bucks,
722
00:35:30,696 --> 00:35:33,826
so she opted for that.
And I was about 13 then.
723
00:35:33,832 --> 00:35:37,502
About that time, I started
playing gigs on guitar.
724
00:35:40,305 --> 00:35:41,665
And little Latin things.
725
00:35:41,673 --> 00:35:44,073
So it was a lot
of great experience, you know...
726
00:35:47,946 --> 00:35:50,006
...that kind of stuff,
heavy-duty jazz.
727
00:35:50,015 --> 00:35:52,145
And it was fun,
and I was playing
728
00:35:52,151 --> 00:35:53,451
a lot in the black clubs.
729
00:35:53,452 --> 00:35:55,252
And very accepted too,
by the way.
730
00:35:55,254 --> 00:35:57,094
I had made a name for myself.
731
00:35:57,089 --> 00:35:59,459
There were a lot of women around
that played jazz
732
00:35:59,458 --> 00:36:01,688
and were in pop bands
of their own,
733
00:36:01,693 --> 00:36:03,333
so it wasn't that unusual.
734
00:36:03,328 --> 00:36:06,298
But most women
back in those days, in the '50s,
735
00:36:06,298 --> 00:36:08,568
would play
until they got married.
736
00:36:08,567 --> 00:36:12,767
it was more important to have
a "Mrs." in front of your name
737
00:36:12,771 --> 00:36:14,271
than it was to have a career.
738
00:36:27,586 --> 00:36:29,386
Then the chance came
to do studio work
739
00:36:29,388 --> 00:36:31,888
in late 1957 for Sam Cooke.
740
00:36:31,890 --> 00:36:33,120
And I'd never heard
of Sam Cooke,
741
00:36:33,125 --> 00:36:34,715
but they were short
a guitar player.
742
00:36:34,726 --> 00:36:37,556
As soon as I did
my first date with Sam Cooke,
743
00:36:37,563 --> 00:36:40,403
I got more money
in three hours' work than I did
744
00:36:40,399 --> 00:36:42,529
in a whole week's work
of my day job.
745
00:36:42,534 --> 00:36:44,704
Except they've got
more than two dates a week.
746
00:36:44,703 --> 00:36:47,573
They wanted
our particular group of people
747
00:36:47,573 --> 00:36:53,183
to cut the hit records,
because we got good at it.
748
00:36:53,178 --> 00:36:56,308
Ray Pohlman had a great sound.
749
00:36:56,315 --> 00:36:58,945
He was the very first
electric bass player
750
00:36:58,951 --> 00:37:00,881
playing hits from about '57 on.
751
00:37:00,886 --> 00:37:04,286
I'd say that he did maybe
85% of the hit records.
752
00:37:04,289 --> 00:37:07,159
But Ray Pohlman got to be
the musical conductor
753
00:37:07,159 --> 00:37:08,789
for the Shindig show
about the same time
754
00:37:08,794 --> 00:37:13,204
I accidentally got on bass,
so there was a big hole there.
755
00:37:13,198 --> 00:37:15,298
People ask me all the time
about being a woman
756
00:37:15,300 --> 00:37:16,630
in a man's world.
757
00:37:16,635 --> 00:37:18,795
I felt equal
with the rest of the guys,
758
00:37:18,804 --> 00:37:20,004
and they felt it too.
759
00:37:20,005 --> 00:37:21,765
Sometimes they got
a little testy.
760
00:37:21,773 --> 00:37:23,743
They'd say, "Oh, you play good
for a girl, Carol."
761
00:37:23,742 --> 00:37:25,582
"Yeah, you play good
for a guy too."
762
00:37:25,577 --> 00:37:28,277
I love musicians
and the humor
763
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:30,580
and the way that they play.
And they all knew that.
764
00:37:30,582 --> 00:37:32,682
And I think
it was like a sister--
765
00:37:32,684 --> 00:37:34,654
having a sister there.
766
00:37:34,653 --> 00:37:39,223
I had my two kids and my mom
to support by that time.
767
00:37:39,224 --> 00:37:40,894
We would do
three, four dates a day,
768
00:37:40,892 --> 00:37:44,462
and I'd manage to get home
to have dinner with the kids.
769
00:37:44,463 --> 00:37:46,333
That's the only thing I regret,
is that I didn't
770
00:37:46,331 --> 00:37:47,731
spend more time with the kids.
771
00:37:47,733 --> 00:37:50,973
But they were
very well taken care of,
772
00:37:50,969 --> 00:37:52,869
and they had good lives,
you know.
773
00:37:52,871 --> 00:37:57,141
Most of-- most of the time,
they were fine.
774
00:37:58,944 --> 00:38:01,484
You know, after looking
at my father's work logs,
775
00:38:01,480 --> 00:38:03,810
I came to realize
he wasn't around
776
00:38:03,815 --> 00:38:05,845
as much as I thought he was.
777
00:38:05,851 --> 00:38:09,851
But when he was home,
his focus was on his family.
778
00:38:20,998 --> 00:38:22,768
He was one of the few
studio guys
779
00:38:22,768 --> 00:38:25,198
who found a balance
between working crazy hours
780
00:38:25,203 --> 00:38:27,903
and maintaining
a pretty decent home life.
781
00:38:27,906 --> 00:38:34,906
The truth is,
I don't know how he did it.
782
00:38:36,580 --> 00:38:38,750
Time was money,
and you wouldn't last long
783
00:38:38,750 --> 00:38:44,150
in any studio
if you couldn't keep up.
784
00:38:44,156 --> 00:38:45,616
The studio musicians
in this town
785
00:38:45,624 --> 00:38:48,464
were really looked up to
and respected.
786
00:38:48,460 --> 00:38:50,530
We were treated like...
787
00:38:50,529 --> 00:38:52,259
"Our life depends on you guys."
788
00:38:52,264 --> 00:38:53,634
Well, they were
real session players.
789
00:38:53,632 --> 00:38:55,602
They were guys that were going
from gig to gig,
790
00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:57,730
you know, playing
on all the good music.
791
00:38:57,736 --> 00:39:00,436
Gosh, there were
so many things went on
792
00:39:00,439 --> 00:39:02,369
and we were so busy.
793
00:39:02,374 --> 00:39:04,814
I mean, we would go from one
to the other to the other.
794
00:39:04,810 --> 00:39:09,910
We used to call
going from session to session
795
00:39:09,915 --> 00:39:11,045
"dovetailing."
796
00:39:11,049 --> 00:39:12,279
Jesus,
when you leave the house
797
00:39:12,284 --> 00:39:13,654
at 7:00 in the morning,
798
00:39:13,652 --> 00:39:15,752
and you're at Universal
at 9:00 till noon.
799
00:39:15,754 --> 00:39:17,954
Now you're at Capitol Records
at 1:00,
800
00:39:17,956 --> 00:39:19,616
you just got time to get there,
801
00:39:19,624 --> 00:39:21,864
and then you got a jingle
at 4:00,
802
00:39:21,860 --> 00:39:25,600
and then we were on a date
with somebody at 8:00,
803
00:39:25,597 --> 00:39:27,397
and then The Beach Boys
at midnight,
804
00:39:27,399 --> 00:39:29,369
and you do that
five days a week...
805
00:39:29,368 --> 00:39:31,098
Jeez, man, you get burned out.
806
00:39:31,103 --> 00:39:32,643
At one time,
we did an album
807
00:39:32,637 --> 00:39:34,837
in a day,
for Liberty Records.
808
00:39:34,840 --> 00:39:38,380
Five, six weeks in a row,
we'd do an album a day--
809
00:39:38,377 --> 00:39:41,077
six tunes in the morning
and six tunes in the evening.
810
00:39:41,079 --> 00:39:42,779
When all the guys realized
811
00:39:42,781 --> 00:39:44,781
that we were doing
most of the dates, said,
812
00:39:44,783 --> 00:39:48,223
"We'll get scale,
or you'll get somebody else."
813
00:39:48,220 --> 00:39:50,350
And, course, they didn't,
814
00:39:50,355 --> 00:39:52,615
'cause that was
the tightest rhythm section
815
00:39:52,624 --> 00:39:54,324
I believe I've ever played with.
816
00:40:39,171 --> 00:40:40,901
I would not go
in a studio
817
00:40:40,906 --> 00:40:45,436
if I didn't have Tommy Tedesco,
Hal Blaine,
818
00:40:45,444 --> 00:40:47,114
people of that nature.
819
00:40:47,112 --> 00:40:50,152
I just wouldn't go into a studio
until they weren't busy.
820
00:40:50,148 --> 00:40:51,778
But they were busy all the time.
821
00:40:51,783 --> 00:40:53,423
No matter which producer
I worked with,
822
00:40:53,418 --> 00:40:56,148
whether it was Lee Hazlewood
or Snuff Garrett,
823
00:40:56,154 --> 00:40:57,794
they all used
the same musicians.
824
00:40:57,789 --> 00:41:00,119
They were all just the best.
825
00:41:00,125 --> 00:41:02,785
If they couldn't get the guys,
they didn't book the date.
826
00:41:02,794 --> 00:41:05,404
They'd wait
until the guys were available.
827
00:41:05,397 --> 00:41:06,727
Which was wonderful.
828
00:41:06,731 --> 00:41:08,771
Of course, their wives
never saw them.
829
00:41:10,969 --> 00:41:13,269
I don't know how those guys
could've worked any more,
830
00:41:13,271 --> 00:41:16,541
unless they didn't sleep at all.
831
00:41:16,541 --> 00:41:18,811
If you want to be successful
in this business,
832
00:41:18,810 --> 00:41:21,580
you never say no until
you're too busy to say yes.
833
00:41:21,580 --> 00:41:23,810
And I learned that
by watching guys
834
00:41:23,815 --> 00:41:26,445
who talked themselves
out of careers
835
00:41:26,451 --> 00:41:28,851
by saying,
"No, it's not good enough.
836
00:41:28,854 --> 00:41:31,124
I'm gonna wait till
such-and-such and so-and-so."
837
00:41:31,122 --> 00:41:34,192
Because if you wait at home
for the phone to ring, it won't.
838
00:41:34,192 --> 00:41:36,132
If you're
a freelance musician,
839
00:41:36,127 --> 00:41:38,057
you can't turn nothing down,
840
00:41:38,063 --> 00:41:40,433
because there's somebody
standing right behind you
841
00:41:40,432 --> 00:41:43,402
who is salivating
to do this work.
842
00:41:43,401 --> 00:41:45,601
One day, I get a call
from Ernie Freeman.
843
00:41:45,604 --> 00:41:46,944
It was, like,
8:00 in the morning.
844
00:41:46,938 --> 00:41:50,708
"Hi, Tom, I need
a guitar player here at United.
845
00:41:50,709 --> 00:41:51,939
How long will it take you
to get there?"
846
00:41:51,943 --> 00:41:53,513
I said, "20 minutes,"
which, you know,
847
00:41:53,512 --> 00:41:54,812
is a lie.
It's gonna take an hour.
848
00:41:54,813 --> 00:41:56,813
But once I made
my commitment, they've got
849
00:41:56,815 --> 00:41:58,105
- to wait for me, right?
- That's right.
850
00:41:58,116 --> 00:42:00,776
When I go up there,
I did my date, and he loved it.
851
00:42:00,785 --> 00:42:02,445
And then he tells me,
"You won't believe
852
00:42:02,454 --> 00:42:03,554
what Bill Pitman said.
853
00:42:03,555 --> 00:42:05,455
"I called bill and asked him,
854
00:42:05,457 --> 00:42:06,757
'Can you come down?
I'm stuck.
855
00:42:06,758 --> 00:42:08,588
How long will it be?'
And Bill says,
856
00:42:08,593 --> 00:42:10,863
'Well, I'm having breakfast.
I should be finished
857
00:42:10,862 --> 00:42:15,432
in about 45 minutes,
and I'll be there in an hour.'"
858
00:42:15,433 --> 00:42:18,503
And if anybody ever
figured Bill Pitman out,
859
00:42:18,503 --> 00:42:22,143
that was a Bill Pitman--
straight life, not thinking.
860
00:42:22,140 --> 00:42:26,380
And I'm the opposite, like,
"What will work right now?"
861
00:42:26,378 --> 00:42:27,738
Now it's time
for another take
862
00:42:27,746 --> 00:42:29,946
of what probably will be
another smash hit
863
00:42:29,948 --> 00:42:32,618
in the wondrous world
of Sonny and Cher.
864
00:42:32,617 --> 00:42:35,177
Sonny himself writes
most of the songs
865
00:42:35,186 --> 00:42:36,986
he and Cher record.
866
00:42:36,988 --> 00:42:38,788
Musicians often work
with the couple,
867
00:42:38,790 --> 00:42:42,090
and they're excellent
sight readers.
868
00:42:42,093 --> 00:42:44,893
Today, they're recording
several songs
869
00:42:44,896 --> 00:42:46,626
that will be part
of an album called
870
00:42:46,631 --> 00:42:49,501
The Wondrous World
of Sonny & Cher,
871
00:42:49,501 --> 00:42:52,271
the second album
they've made together.
872
00:42:52,270 --> 00:42:55,200
Now they're ready to record.
873
00:42:55,206 --> 00:42:57,206
The engineer is set...
874
00:42:57,208 --> 00:42:59,508
and they call, "Take one."
875
00:42:59,511 --> 00:43:01,311
Were you ever intimidated
by the guys?
876
00:43:01,313 --> 00:43:02,813
No, I was too stupid to know.
877
00:43:02,814 --> 00:43:05,114
Well, I was kind of shy
of everybody.
878
00:43:05,116 --> 00:43:06,846
First of all, they were
a lot older than me too.
879
00:43:06,851 --> 00:43:08,381
I mean, the first time--
session I went to,
880
00:43:08,386 --> 00:43:10,416
I was 16 years old,
and I didn't--
881
00:43:10,422 --> 00:43:11,962
I'd never been
inside a recording studio.
882
00:43:11,957 --> 00:43:13,487
You know, I just didn't want
to step
883
00:43:13,491 --> 00:43:14,761
any place I wasn't
supposed to step,
884
00:43:14,759 --> 00:43:16,359
which I thought was everywhere.
885
00:43:16,361 --> 00:43:18,361
And they all knew each other,
they were really relaxed.
886
00:43:18,363 --> 00:43:19,763
I mean, everybody
was nice to me.
887
00:43:19,764 --> 00:43:22,374
I really don't think I knew
for a long time
888
00:43:22,367 --> 00:43:23,797
just how great they were.
889
00:43:23,802 --> 00:43:26,872
And then later,
when I would meet other players
890
00:43:26,871 --> 00:43:28,641
who would ask me, you know,
did I--
891
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:33,940
Was I ever on a session
with any of these guys?
892
00:43:33,945 --> 00:43:36,575
There was a lot of honesty
in those records
893
00:43:36,581 --> 00:43:38,251
and that's why
a lot of 'em were hits.
894
00:43:38,249 --> 00:43:41,449
When I thought of the music,
I thought I was a 13-year-old
895
00:43:41,453 --> 00:43:43,523
trying to learn
how to play music.
896
00:43:43,521 --> 00:43:44,951
Every time I'd play.
You know,
897
00:43:44,956 --> 00:43:46,186
there was all them hits
that was on--
898
00:43:46,191 --> 00:43:49,131
The Marketts, Routers,
all them solos. And then,
899
00:43:49,127 --> 00:43:50,987
- I brought myself back.
- Tongue in cheek.
900
00:43:50,996 --> 00:43:53,256
I said,
"How would a kid play this,
901
00:43:53,264 --> 00:43:55,734
that's so stupid, that
doesn't know what he's doing,
902
00:43:55,734 --> 00:43:57,834
and play that?"
I did that shit,
903
00:43:57,836 --> 00:43:59,796
didn't know what I was doing,
bending notes,
904
00:43:59,804 --> 00:44:02,314
didn't care, didn't--
Awful, out of tune.
905
00:44:02,307 --> 00:44:03,667
- Yeah.
- What is this tune?
906
00:44:03,675 --> 00:44:05,235
- Beatles? Cockroaches?
- Some young group.
907
00:44:05,243 --> 00:44:06,513
- I had no idea.
- Cockroaches.
908
00:44:06,511 --> 00:44:07,841
I didn't know
them kind of names then.
909
00:44:07,846 --> 00:44:10,246
Well, my personal feeling
about the music
910
00:44:10,248 --> 00:44:11,708
was that it was all wonderful
911
00:44:11,716 --> 00:44:14,276
and I was making
millions of dollars...
912
00:44:14,285 --> 00:44:15,845
period.
913
00:44:15,854 --> 00:44:17,654
I didn't give a damn
if Tommy liked it or not.
914
00:44:17,656 --> 00:44:19,086
I didn't make it for him.
915
00:44:19,090 --> 00:44:20,360
Like the artist.
916
00:44:20,358 --> 00:44:21,688
Cher said she didn't like it.
917
00:44:21,693 --> 00:44:23,263
Well, I didn't make it
for her anyway.
918
00:44:23,261 --> 00:44:24,291
I made it for people to buy,
919
00:44:24,295 --> 00:44:26,095
not for Cher to listen to.
920
00:44:26,097 --> 00:44:28,127
She never listened
to Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves
921
00:44:28,133 --> 00:44:32,573
or any other record
I made with her... again.
922
00:44:32,570 --> 00:44:34,400
It was Diamond Ring.
923
00:44:34,406 --> 00:44:35,666
We cut that record,
and I said,
924
00:44:35,674 --> 00:44:38,044
"Oh, my God. I hate this shit."
925
00:44:38,043 --> 00:44:41,783
Two weeks later,
it was number ten or something.
926
00:44:41,780 --> 00:44:45,350
So I have to give it to Snuff
in terms of
927
00:44:45,350 --> 00:44:48,220
a certain kind of pop awareness.
928
00:44:48,219 --> 00:44:52,459
He had it, but it was not
exactly my cup of tea.
929
00:44:52,457 --> 00:44:55,157
The music that we cut
in the '60s,
930
00:44:55,160 --> 00:44:58,730
nobody thought that was gonna
last, like, past ten years.
931
00:44:58,730 --> 00:45:00,060
In fact, Bill Pitman says--
932
00:45:00,065 --> 00:45:02,765
We were doing a
chugga-chugga-chugga date,
933
00:45:02,767 --> 00:45:05,197
he says,
"Can you see the kids
934
00:45:05,203 --> 00:45:07,203
dancing with their wives
20 years from now,
935
00:45:07,205 --> 00:45:09,265
saying, 'Darling,
they're playing our song'?"
936
00:45:09,274 --> 00:45:11,914
I remember coming home
from a session one day,
937
00:45:11,910 --> 00:45:14,740
and it was just one
of those three-chord sessions.
938
00:45:14,746 --> 00:45:16,576
And when you're sitting there
playing rhythm guitar,
939
00:45:16,581 --> 00:45:17,951
there's not much you can do.
940
00:45:17,949 --> 00:45:19,579
You just do it, get your money
and go home.
941
00:45:19,584 --> 00:45:21,924
And I remember coming home,
and I was not in a good mood.
942
00:45:21,920 --> 00:45:25,790
I said to my wife, "I could do
this when I was 14 years old."
943
00:45:25,790 --> 00:45:28,760
And she said, "Yeah,
but not nearly as well."
944
00:45:28,760 --> 00:45:30,990
I didn't care
for rock and roll that much.
945
00:45:30,995 --> 00:45:33,055
I was basically
a jazz drummer.
946
00:45:33,064 --> 00:45:35,134
But I realized that I'm
making my living off of it.
947
00:45:35,133 --> 00:45:36,873
If I'm gonna continue
to do that,
948
00:45:36,868 --> 00:45:38,938
I got to play that
like that's my favorite music.
949
00:45:38,937 --> 00:45:41,167
That's not professionalism
to me.
950
00:45:41,172 --> 00:45:43,712
It's not beneath you
if it's supporting you.
951
00:45:43,708 --> 00:45:45,938
If it's beneath you,
don't play it.
952
00:45:45,944 --> 00:45:47,914
I actually enjoyed it,
953
00:45:47,912 --> 00:45:49,982
because when I heard the records
on the radio,
954
00:45:49,981 --> 00:45:52,351
I realized, really,
what an incredible sound
955
00:45:52,350 --> 00:45:55,080
that group of people had.
956
00:46:44,836 --> 00:46:46,096
We're going
up to Capitol Records
957
00:46:46,104 --> 00:46:48,104
- right up here.
- Oh, right.
958
00:46:48,106 --> 00:46:50,266
God, the streets
are so friggin' torn up,
959
00:46:50,275 --> 00:46:51,535
it's unbelievable.
960
00:46:51,543 --> 00:46:53,143
This is where
we used to do all of,
961
00:46:53,144 --> 00:46:54,884
you know,
Glen Campbell's records
962
00:46:54,879 --> 00:46:58,479
and Ray Anthony
and everybody, man.
963
00:46:58,483 --> 00:47:01,253
Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole.
964
00:47:01,252 --> 00:47:03,722
We did everyone
down in the bowels.
965
00:47:03,721 --> 00:47:05,791
Pretty amazing.
966
00:47:05,790 --> 00:47:07,160
As soon as we got
in those studios
967
00:47:07,158 --> 00:47:09,188
and we found out
that this made a lot of bucks,
968
00:47:09,194 --> 00:47:11,864
it was like, "Hey, man,
we don't have to go on the road.
969
00:47:11,863 --> 00:47:13,603
We can stay home
with our kids," you know.
970
00:47:13,598 --> 00:47:15,358
Unfortunately, I didn't.
971
00:47:15,366 --> 00:47:17,226
I went through six wives.
972
00:47:18,870 --> 00:47:21,640
Yeah, but that was 'cause
of your personality...
973
00:47:21,639 --> 00:47:23,309
...not your playing.
974
00:47:23,308 --> 00:47:27,308
No, I had two major marriages,
and they both fell apart
975
00:47:27,312 --> 00:47:29,882
because I was in the studio
too much.
976
00:47:29,881 --> 00:47:31,411
I think
it's a very hard balance.
977
00:47:31,416 --> 00:47:32,746
Yeah, it was tough.
978
00:47:34,619 --> 00:47:37,119
When I got out of the army,
I took my G.I. bill,
979
00:47:37,121 --> 00:47:40,221
went to Chicago,
went to a percussion institute.
980
00:47:40,225 --> 00:47:42,525
I was going to school
from about 8:00 in the morning
981
00:47:42,527 --> 00:47:47,227
to 4:00 in the afternoon. And
then I was playing strip clubs
982
00:47:47,232 --> 00:47:50,472
from about 8:00 at night to
4:00 in the morning,
983
00:47:50,468 --> 00:47:52,098
which was pretty wild.
984
00:47:52,103 --> 00:47:55,943
But it was great
sight reading training.
985
00:47:55,940 --> 00:47:59,110
You got all these new women
coming and dancing,
986
00:47:59,110 --> 00:48:01,140
throwing this music at you,
987
00:48:01,145 --> 00:48:04,605
and you got to, you know,
read it immediately.
988
00:48:11,890 --> 00:48:16,260
It was great training
to relax you and to play,
989
00:48:16,261 --> 00:48:18,431
because to this day,
I could sit down,
990
00:48:18,429 --> 00:48:20,799
you can throw any kind of music
in front of me,
991
00:48:20,798 --> 00:48:22,628
and I will--
You know, it might be
992
00:48:22,634 --> 00:48:25,844
the hardest thing in the world,
but I'll be completely relaxed.
993
00:48:25,837 --> 00:48:28,797
Nobody will know that inside,
I'm saying,
994
00:48:28,806 --> 00:48:30,406
"Holy cow, this is
really something."
995
00:48:30,408 --> 00:48:33,478
So there was a lot of great
basic training going on
996
00:48:33,478 --> 00:48:36,948
while I was there,
which really was preparing me
997
00:48:36,948 --> 00:48:37,978
for the studios.
998
00:48:43,388 --> 00:48:46,158
I wound up at "the" nightclub
in Hollywood,
999
00:48:46,157 --> 00:48:48,587
where all the movie stars
hung out.
1000
00:48:48,593 --> 00:48:51,693
There was a manager,
called me over one evening,
1001
00:48:51,696 --> 00:48:54,196
and he said,
"Look, I've got a kid
1002
00:48:54,198 --> 00:48:57,998
who's gonna be signed
by Capital Records pretty quick,
1003
00:48:58,002 --> 00:48:59,602
and we need a drummer."
1004
00:48:59,604 --> 00:49:03,474
This kid's name was Tommy Sands,
a wonderful young man,
1005
00:49:03,474 --> 00:49:07,514
became a major teenage idol,
and we went on the road.
1006
00:49:07,512 --> 00:49:10,152
But it was during that time
that I was with Tommy
1007
00:49:10,148 --> 00:49:13,248
that I got to work with people
like The Diamonds,
1008
00:49:13,251 --> 00:49:16,991
who were really hot
in those days. The Platters.
1009
00:49:16,988 --> 00:49:19,788
These were shows
that I was playing.
1010
00:49:19,791 --> 00:49:23,491
Great experience. And now
I was learning rock and roll,
1011
00:49:23,494 --> 00:49:26,704
which was still a dirty word
to most of the musicians.
1012
00:49:38,476 --> 00:49:40,036
When I got back to L.A.,
1013
00:49:40,044 --> 00:49:43,154
there was a man
by the name of H.B. Barnum.
1014
00:49:43,147 --> 00:49:48,947
And H.B. started using me,
Carol Kaye on bass,
1015
00:49:48,953 --> 00:49:50,693
and Glen Campbell on guitar.
1016
00:49:50,688 --> 00:49:54,788
There were a bunch of us that
were sort of demo musicians,
1017
00:49:54,792 --> 00:49:56,462
but we played rock and roll.
1018
00:49:56,461 --> 00:49:59,061
Usually, every guy that sat
down in one of those sessions
1019
00:49:59,063 --> 00:50:01,633
in that group
was a great musician:
1020
00:50:01,632 --> 00:50:07,072
studied, practiced, taught well,
loved what they were doing.
1021
00:50:07,071 --> 00:50:08,871
Everybody wanted us.
1022
00:50:18,548 --> 00:50:23,018
Do you remember when my dad
was doing the Jobim album?
1023
00:50:23,021 --> 00:50:24,221
Oh, yeah.
1024
00:50:24,222 --> 00:50:27,562
And all of the "A" team
was in.
1025
00:50:27,558 --> 00:50:33,398
And at the end of that session,
we were doing S omethin' Stupid.
1026
00:50:33,398 --> 00:50:37,228
And the "A" team left,
and our little "B" team came in,
1027
00:50:37,235 --> 00:50:39,635
The Wrecking Crew
came in and sat down,
1028
00:50:39,637 --> 00:50:42,767
and we cut a number on record.
1029
00:50:42,774 --> 00:50:44,214
And what most people
don't realize,
1030
00:50:44,208 --> 00:50:47,078
that was our dad's
first number one record.
1031
00:50:47,078 --> 00:50:49,478
And we just marched
on in there
1032
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:51,080
and made our little hit.
1033
00:50:51,082 --> 00:50:53,022
- Daddy.
- Sorry.
1034
00:51:00,224 --> 00:51:02,694
I've got to sing
a little louder then.
1035
00:51:02,693 --> 00:51:04,633
- You have to sing--
- You too, you sing
1036
00:51:04,629 --> 00:51:08,129
I did Somethin' Stupid
with Frank and Nancy Sinatra.
1037
00:51:08,132 --> 00:51:10,472
And that little lick
that I played on the intro,
1038
00:51:10,468 --> 00:51:12,868
I had already played that
on another record of the song
1039
00:51:12,870 --> 00:51:16,170
by the guy that wrote it,
Carson Parks.
1040
00:51:16,174 --> 00:51:21,814
And Frank heard it and wanted
that very lick on the intro.
1041
00:51:21,813 --> 00:51:23,483
Billy Strange was the arranger
1042
00:51:23,481 --> 00:51:25,381
and the guitars were me
and Glen Campbell.
1043
00:51:25,383 --> 00:51:28,323
And Billy had just written,
like, El Paso style guitar
1044
00:51:28,319 --> 00:51:29,949
for the intro.
So Glenn, of course,
1045
00:51:29,954 --> 00:51:31,294
played something real nice,
but it wasn't
1046
00:51:31,289 --> 00:51:33,319
what was on the original record.
And Frank said,
1047
00:51:33,324 --> 00:51:34,964
"No, that's not it,
that's not it. Let's try it--"
1048
00:51:34,959 --> 00:51:36,229
So Glenn tried something else
1049
00:51:36,227 --> 00:51:38,327
and Frank wasn't
real happy with it
1050
00:51:38,329 --> 00:51:39,999
'cause it didn't sound
like we'd heard.
1051
00:51:39,997 --> 00:51:41,497
So finally, after a while,
I said, "Glenn,
1052
00:51:41,499 --> 00:51:42,999
I don't want to be pushy
or anything,
1053
00:51:43,000 --> 00:51:44,370
but that's me
on the original record.
1054
00:51:44,368 --> 00:51:46,068
I know exactly what he wants."
1055
00:51:46,070 --> 00:51:47,440
He said,
"Well, then you play it."
1056
00:51:47,438 --> 00:51:49,168
Then, we switched parts real
fast and I played it.
1057
00:51:49,173 --> 00:51:50,543
Do you want to hear
the guitars
1058
00:51:50,541 --> 00:51:51,711
just to make sure
everything's cool?
1059
00:51:51,709 --> 00:51:53,079
One real fast start,
then we'll go.
1060
00:51:53,077 --> 00:51:54,207
All right, letter "A."
1061
00:51:56,681 --> 00:51:58,981
- That did it, all right.
- Pretty sound.
1062
00:51:58,983 --> 00:52:00,383
Yeah, that's the whole trick
of the record.
1063
00:52:30,113 --> 00:52:32,283
Chuck Berghofer,
who was the star,
1064
00:52:32,283 --> 00:52:36,253
you know, that bass line became
infam-- As a matter of fact,
1065
00:52:36,254 --> 00:52:38,994
it's probably-- Simple
as it sounds, it's probably
1066
00:52:38,990 --> 00:52:41,560
one of the hardest things
a bass player ever has to do.
1067
00:52:41,559 --> 00:52:43,959
- Nobody can do it.
- They never do it correctly,
1068
00:52:43,961 --> 00:52:45,561
you know, or they make
an attempt at it.
1069
00:52:45,563 --> 00:52:47,203
The engineer came out
and said,
1070
00:52:47,198 --> 00:52:48,758
"Gee, I love the sound
of your bass."
1071
00:52:48,766 --> 00:52:50,866
He says, "I'm gonna
give your name to my friend."
1072
00:52:50,868 --> 00:52:52,698
And it turned out
to be Jim Bowen.
1073
00:52:52,703 --> 00:52:56,043
And I wound up doing some dates
for Jim Bowen.
1074
00:52:56,040 --> 00:52:58,970
About the third date, I did
was B oots Are Made For Walking.
1075
00:52:58,976 --> 00:53:01,136
And that put me on the map.
1076
00:53:01,145 --> 00:53:03,375
I went from doing two dates
in my life
1077
00:53:03,381 --> 00:53:05,051
to doing three a day.
1078
00:53:05,049 --> 00:53:07,649
Yeah, if I wasn't available
that day,
1079
00:53:07,652 --> 00:53:10,492
I'd probably be selling
insurance somewhere.
1080
00:53:10,488 --> 00:53:14,158
That "chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk,"
that rhythm chunky sound
1081
00:53:14,158 --> 00:53:16,928
that was so--
Lee used to call it "dumb."
1082
00:53:16,928 --> 00:53:19,498
He wanted that dumb sound.
1083
00:53:19,497 --> 00:53:21,357
It really made--
made the records,
1084
00:53:21,365 --> 00:53:24,225
and it's very hard to capture,
especially live.
1085
00:53:32,210 --> 00:53:34,140
Lee didn't want me
to do the song.
1086
00:53:34,145 --> 00:53:36,545
I kept saying, "I want to do
that boots thing,
1087
00:53:36,547 --> 00:53:38,347
that one about the boots."
And he said, "No,
1088
00:53:38,349 --> 00:53:40,019
it's not a girl's song.
I said,
1089
00:53:40,017 --> 00:53:42,347
"Well, it's certainly not
a guy's song."
1090
00:53:42,353 --> 00:53:45,793
He used to sing it live
in his performances.
1091
00:53:45,790 --> 00:53:49,430
And I said, "It's wrong
for a man to sing it.
1092
00:53:49,427 --> 00:53:52,187
It's harsh and abusive,
1093
00:53:52,196 --> 00:53:55,056
but it's perfect for
a little girl to sing."
1094
00:54:06,243 --> 00:54:09,653
The feeling of a live session
was unlike anything else
1095
00:54:09,647 --> 00:54:12,447
because you'd hear it back
instantly, and there it was.
1096
00:54:12,450 --> 00:54:15,550
And it was either magic
or it wasn't magic.
1097
00:54:15,553 --> 00:54:19,153
And I never will forget,
when I drove to Las Vegas,
1098
00:54:19,156 --> 00:54:22,386
on the marquee, it says,
"Nancy Sinatra
1099
00:54:22,393 --> 00:54:24,793
With Hal Blaine On Drums."
This big marquee
1100
00:54:24,795 --> 00:54:27,055
all over the thing,
at Caesars Palace.
1101
00:54:27,064 --> 00:54:31,174
Now, he's making
like $2,500 a week.
1102
00:54:31,168 --> 00:54:34,198
Now, Irv Cottler's work
with Frank, the father,
1103
00:54:34,205 --> 00:54:36,265
- he's making $750 a week.
1104
00:54:36,274 --> 00:54:37,714
- And I--
- Who said life was fair?
1105
00:54:37,708 --> 00:54:39,878
Oh, my God in hell--
And then, all of a sudden,
1106
00:54:39,877 --> 00:54:42,137
here's this "Hal Blaine."
And I just laughed.
1107
00:54:42,146 --> 00:54:45,106
"Hal Blaine"
all over the Caesar's marquee.
1108
00:54:45,116 --> 00:54:46,346
- It was great.
- What a gig.
1109
00:54:46,350 --> 00:54:48,550
You got to get it
when you can.
1110
00:55:42,440 --> 00:55:44,070
I didn't realize it
until later,
1111
00:55:44,075 --> 00:55:47,605
but New Orleans was a great town
for a musician to grow up in.
1112
00:55:47,611 --> 00:55:51,381
My brother and I were 12 and 13,
1113
00:55:51,382 --> 00:55:57,352
and we already had gigs
on the Mardi Gras floats.
1114
00:55:57,355 --> 00:56:01,085
Not gigs, one gig.
1115
00:56:01,092 --> 00:56:03,032
My mother was a singer
and a pianist.
1116
00:56:03,027 --> 00:56:08,057
And the city was raging with
soldiers, sailors, and marines
1117
00:56:08,065 --> 00:56:11,325
coming through there to get
shipped out to World War II.
1118
00:56:11,335 --> 00:56:13,395
And the clubs
in the French Quarter,
1119
00:56:13,404 --> 00:56:15,804
they were making a lot of money
1120
00:56:15,806 --> 00:56:17,266
and they were hiring
a lot of bands.
1121
00:56:17,274 --> 00:56:19,074
My mother had a job
in the afternoon
1122
00:56:19,076 --> 00:56:23,076
playing and singing a matinee,
1123
00:56:23,080 --> 00:56:24,880
and my father had a night gig.
1124
00:56:24,882 --> 00:56:27,782
And I think it was the first
time in their life
1125
00:56:27,785 --> 00:56:33,185
that they were fully employed
as musicians.
1126
00:56:33,190 --> 00:56:37,530
I went to a black
Catholic high school,
1127
00:56:37,528 --> 00:56:41,528
and all the public schools
were segregated.
1128
00:56:41,532 --> 00:56:45,032
I couldn't wait to get away.
1129
00:56:45,035 --> 00:56:48,195
My brother and I
soon established a band,
1130
00:56:48,205 --> 00:56:49,505
you know. He played piano.
1131
00:56:49,507 --> 00:56:54,307
He mostly played blues
and boogie and--
1132
00:56:54,311 --> 00:56:56,511
We wanted to play be-bop,
but really,
1133
00:56:56,514 --> 00:56:59,684
nobody wanted to hear it.
1134
00:56:59,683 --> 00:57:02,653
People always tell me
how great I was and, you know,
1135
00:57:02,653 --> 00:57:04,723
"That boy's really
going places," and--
1136
00:57:04,722 --> 00:57:08,622
of course I believed that.
1137
00:57:14,798 --> 00:57:18,628
In 1954, my brother and I
moved down to Los Angeles
1138
00:57:18,636 --> 00:57:24,136
and proceeded to starve
around town for about two years,
1139
00:57:24,141 --> 00:57:25,641
made all the jam sessions.
1140
00:57:25,643 --> 00:57:27,313
That's what you do
when you're new in town.
1141
00:57:27,311 --> 00:57:30,881
And that sooner or later
gets you work
1142
00:57:30,881 --> 00:57:33,751
because the band leaders
come to the jam sessions
1143
00:57:33,751 --> 00:57:37,721
looking for horn players
or rhythm players.
1144
00:57:37,721 --> 00:57:40,891
And that's where they found 'em,
at the jam sessions.
1145
00:57:40,891 --> 00:57:42,831
The rock and roll thing
was getting really big,
1146
00:57:42,827 --> 00:57:46,527
and they needed
the kind of horn I play.
1147
00:57:46,530 --> 00:57:49,360
So it was really being
in the right place
1148
00:57:49,366 --> 00:57:53,136
at the right time.
1149
00:58:02,912 --> 00:58:05,382
Particularly when I got
on the Merv Griffin Show,
1150
00:58:05,382 --> 00:58:07,882
which started
at 3:00 in the afternoon.
1151
00:58:07,885 --> 00:58:10,745
Well, that's the time
my kids came home from school.
1152
00:58:10,754 --> 00:58:15,164
And it ended at 8:30 at night,
and I'd get home maybe 9:30.
1153
00:58:15,159 --> 00:58:17,189
Well, that's the time
my kids would go to bed .
1154
00:58:17,194 --> 00:58:20,164
Many days,
I didn't see my kids.
1155
00:58:23,033 --> 00:58:26,603
I'm a better grandfather
than I was a father.
1156
00:58:42,019 --> 00:58:42,889
That's great.
1157
00:58:42,887 --> 00:58:45,787
Oh, amazing.
1158
00:58:45,789 --> 00:58:48,759
I remember taking
this picture.
1159
00:58:48,759 --> 00:58:51,359
I took it through a record,
through a 45.
1160
00:58:51,362 --> 00:58:53,462
These were all yours.
Hey, that's nice.
1161
00:58:53,464 --> 00:58:54,834
Yeah.
1162
00:58:54,832 --> 00:58:57,472
The first band I had
was just an experiment.
1163
00:58:57,468 --> 00:58:59,698
We opened the show
for Dave Brubeck,
1164
00:58:59,703 --> 00:59:04,643
and people went crazy for the--
our, you know, half hour set,
1165
00:59:04,642 --> 00:59:08,142
however long we played.
And I remember coming offstage,
1166
00:59:08,145 --> 00:59:14,045
and Paul Desmond was--
was standing off to the side.
1167
00:59:14,051 --> 00:59:16,551
And as I passed him,
he was scratching his head,
1168
00:59:16,554 --> 00:59:19,394
and said, "I don't know
what I just heard,
1169
00:59:19,390 --> 00:59:23,260
but I think I like it."
1170
00:59:23,260 --> 00:59:24,530
That was the first cue I had
1171
00:59:24,528 --> 00:59:26,558
that maybe we were
on to something.
1172
00:59:26,564 --> 00:59:29,504
A jazz musician loved it...
or liked it.
1173
00:59:29,500 --> 00:59:31,730
The first date I ever did
for Herb Alpert,
1174
00:59:31,735 --> 00:59:33,335
Shorty Rogers called me up
and says,
1175
00:59:33,337 --> 00:59:34,797
"Bill, would you do me a favor?"
1176
00:59:34,805 --> 00:59:37,065
He says, "There's a guy,
he's a friend of mine."
1177
00:59:37,074 --> 00:59:39,514
He says, "He's a trumpet player
and he doesn't have any money.
1178
00:59:39,510 --> 00:59:41,140
Would you do it
as a favor for me?"
1179
00:59:41,145 --> 00:59:42,605
I said, "Sure, I'll do it."
1180
00:59:42,613 --> 00:59:45,153
Herb gave us each 15 bucks.
It was a scab date.
1181
00:59:45,149 --> 00:59:48,179
- Oh, well, most of 'em were...
- Right, yeah.
1182
00:59:48,185 --> 00:59:50,115
When we first started
way back then, you know.
1183
00:59:50,120 --> 00:59:52,960
- Right. It was $15.
- Two for a quarter.
1184
00:59:52,957 --> 00:59:55,287
- Yeah, two for 25.
1185
00:59:55,292 --> 00:59:56,862
And that was The Lonely Bull.
1186
01:00:01,765 --> 01:00:05,265
That was the first huge hit
that Herb Alpert ever had.
1187
01:00:05,269 --> 01:00:06,639
It was huge!
1188
01:00:06,637 --> 01:00:08,197
He became a millionaire
on that one record.
1189
01:00:08,205 --> 01:00:11,935
And you know what he did?
He went to the union,
1190
01:00:11,942 --> 01:00:14,082
said what he did,
paid the union fine,
1191
01:00:14,078 --> 01:00:17,408
and then had checks sent
to all the musicians for scale,
1192
01:00:17,414 --> 01:00:22,624
that-- that they were supposed
to have gotten and didn't.
1193
01:00:22,620 --> 01:00:24,250
A signature moment
in A Taste of Honey
1194
01:00:24,254 --> 01:00:27,094
is when the bass drum
is knocking four to the floor.
1195
01:00:27,091 --> 01:00:29,961
We didn't have a way
to get back to the time
1196
01:00:29,960 --> 01:00:33,700
without, you know, a count off.
And Hal, you know, said,
1197
01:00:33,697 --> 01:00:35,927
"Let me just hit the drum,
the bass drum.
1198
01:00:35,933 --> 01:00:38,103
Everyone will know
when to come in."
1199
01:00:42,439 --> 01:00:44,239
Larry Levine thought--
The engineer,
1200
01:00:44,241 --> 01:00:46,211
that we should keep that,
and it was, you know,
1201
01:00:46,210 --> 01:00:48,380
one of the things that people
remember about the record.
1202
01:00:48,379 --> 01:00:52,549
And it became kind of
a trademark of the T.J.B.S.
1203
01:00:52,549 --> 01:00:54,219
It was all because
1204
01:00:54,218 --> 01:00:56,918
these professional musicians
couldn't come in together.
1205
01:01:02,593 --> 01:01:04,993
I met Julius in high school.
1206
01:01:04,995 --> 01:01:07,255
We started playing a song
and he took a solo,
1207
01:01:07,264 --> 01:01:08,604
and I thought,
"Wow, man,
1208
01:01:08,599 --> 01:01:10,799
this guy sounds
like Lionel Hampton."
1209
01:01:10,801 --> 01:01:12,471
He wrote Spanish Flea,
1210
01:01:12,469 --> 01:01:14,939
although his first title
was "Spanish Fly,"
1211
01:01:14,938 --> 01:01:16,908
and I said, "I-- I don't know,
I'm not sure--
1212
01:01:16,907 --> 01:01:21,637
I'm not so sure
that title's gonna work.
1213
01:01:32,689 --> 01:01:35,189
You know, when The T.J.B.
became famous
1214
01:01:35,192 --> 01:01:39,162
and he had to create a group
to go on the road,
1215
01:01:39,163 --> 01:01:41,433
none of the studio musicians
would do it
1216
01:01:41,432 --> 01:01:43,632
because they were too busy.
1217
01:01:43,634 --> 01:01:46,904
We did 13 albums,
and this was something
1218
01:01:46,904 --> 01:01:49,204
that bothered me my whole life,
my whole career.
1219
01:01:49,206 --> 01:01:51,036
We'd come back to town,
and I would call
1220
01:01:51,041 --> 01:01:55,411
guys like Lou and Hal.
And the guys on the road...
1221
01:01:55,412 --> 01:01:57,452
Yeah, were really upset.
1222
01:01:57,448 --> 01:01:59,878
They were a little offended
that they were not used,
1223
01:01:59,883 --> 01:02:01,723
but you know,
recording musicians had
1224
01:02:01,719 --> 01:02:06,149
a certain sound
that was important to get.
1225
01:02:08,959 --> 01:02:11,289
No matter what shape
your stomach's in,
1226
01:02:11,295 --> 01:02:14,255
when it gets out of shape,
take Alka-Seltzer.
1227
01:02:14,264 --> 01:02:17,074
I saw a commercial,
and I thought it was a smash.
1228
01:02:17,067 --> 01:02:20,137
I called Dave Pell,
who was my supervisor,
1229
01:02:20,137 --> 01:02:22,137
and I said, "What instrumental
groups do we have here?"
1230
01:02:22,139 --> 01:02:25,639
And he said, "Well, we have
a name called The T-Bones."
1231
01:02:25,642 --> 01:02:27,612
And I say, "All right."
So I got Tommy Tedesco
1232
01:02:27,611 --> 01:02:29,811
and the boys,
in the studio we went,
1233
01:02:29,813 --> 01:02:32,213
and we did No Matter What Shape."
1234
01:02:32,216 --> 01:02:34,746
And that was the number-one
instrumental of the year.
1235
01:02:34,752 --> 01:02:35,782
The T-Bones!
1236
01:02:47,063 --> 01:02:49,663
)
1237
01:02:56,240 --> 01:02:58,210
What is their name,
"Willy Vanelli"
1238
01:02:58,208 --> 01:03:00,078
- or what the hell the shit is?
- Milli--
1239
01:03:00,077 --> 01:03:02,037
- They had nothing over us....
- Right.
1240
01:03:02,045 --> 01:03:03,775
...right?
We did that all the time.
1241
01:03:03,781 --> 01:03:06,311
I wanted The Marketts to be
like a working group.
1242
01:03:06,316 --> 01:03:10,386
And, you know, if the public
knew it wasn't so,
1243
01:03:10,387 --> 01:03:14,957
it would be like a
"Mini Vanilli" or whatever.
1244
01:03:25,268 --> 01:03:28,238
I think it's a little
different when you're a
1245
01:03:28,238 --> 01:03:31,568
horn player and you're asked
to play the introduction
1246
01:03:31,575 --> 01:03:34,235
- and play the first chorus...
- I can understand that.
1247
01:03:34,244 --> 01:03:37,954
...and play the first solo, and
then play the fade on the end.
1248
01:03:37,948 --> 01:03:40,978
And the damn thing comes on and
it doesn't have your name on it.
1249
01:03:47,558 --> 01:03:52,028
Surfer's Stomp-- Plas Johnson
was the lead saxophonist,
1250
01:03:52,029 --> 01:03:55,129
and I said, "Plas, how about
calling it The Plas Johnson?"
1251
01:03:55,132 --> 01:03:57,032
And he's says, "no,"
he says,
1252
01:03:57,034 --> 01:03:58,874
"I don't want to be associated
with that type of music."
1253
01:03:58,869 --> 01:04:01,539
I mean, he was a much better
player than that,
1254
01:04:01,538 --> 01:04:03,868
but it became a hit and so we
call it The Marketts.
1255
01:04:03,874 --> 01:04:05,544
And then I start getting calls.
1256
01:04:05,542 --> 01:04:09,182
So, the song writer, who
co-wrote S urfer's Stomp with me
1257
01:04:09,179 --> 01:04:11,449
called Mike Gordon,
he got a group together,
1258
01:04:11,448 --> 01:04:12,608
went on the road.
1259
01:04:12,616 --> 01:04:14,116
Worse than not getting
the money,
1260
01:04:14,117 --> 01:04:17,847
is to have-- to played on a hit
record which sold
1261
01:04:17,855 --> 01:04:20,415
a million copies, and not even
have your name on them.
1262
01:04:20,424 --> 01:04:24,034
And they go dig some white kids
up out of high school
1263
01:04:24,027 --> 01:04:28,327
and put them on the road
and call them the name.
1264
01:04:28,332 --> 01:04:30,172
And it was quite easy
for the producers
1265
01:04:30,167 --> 01:04:33,097
and the companies to hire us to
read this music.
1266
01:04:33,103 --> 01:04:35,273
And play these things down,
in three hours
1267
01:04:35,272 --> 01:04:37,372
and get out of that studio
in three hours
1268
01:04:37,374 --> 01:04:39,884
than to have them come and spend
three weeks doing it.
1269
01:04:39,877 --> 01:04:43,547
We would either augment
or totally replace a group.
1270
01:04:43,547 --> 01:04:48,747
We do a new group, say
The Association, for instance.
1271
01:04:48,752 --> 01:04:50,822
None of them played
on the record.
1272
01:04:50,821 --> 01:04:52,721
We replaced the entire group.
1273
01:05:06,803 --> 01:05:08,503
Well, these are the guys that
played on Windy
1274
01:05:08,505 --> 01:05:11,035
and Never My Love and
Everything That Touches You.
1275
01:05:11,041 --> 01:05:14,611
And all the things that were
in those two albums
1276
01:05:14,611 --> 01:05:17,951
that I did with them, those are
all those studio musicians.
1277
01:05:17,948 --> 01:05:21,318
It's Al, Joe, Larry, Tommy and--
and those guys.
1278
01:05:21,318 --> 01:05:23,848
I wanted to put their names
on the back of the album
1279
01:05:23,854 --> 01:05:26,324
when it was finished
and they wouldn't let me
1280
01:05:26,323 --> 01:05:29,063
because they said, "Well, we
don't want those kids out there
1281
01:05:29,059 --> 01:05:30,689
that buy our records to know
that we didn't
1282
01:05:30,694 --> 01:05:32,364
play on the record."
1283
01:05:32,362 --> 01:05:35,762
I went out and took Brian's
place with The Beach Boys.
1284
01:05:35,766 --> 01:05:39,266
And I can understand that
probably why Brian had studio
1285
01:05:39,269 --> 01:05:44,669
guys come in, because they would
fight like cats and dogs, man.
1286
01:05:44,675 --> 01:05:48,235
Rather than Brian to go through
the hassle to get the tracks,
1287
01:05:48,245 --> 01:05:51,675
he would hire the rhythm section
to come in and do the tracks.
1288
01:05:51,682 --> 01:05:54,452
One of the guys-- At first they
were a little jealous,
1289
01:05:54,451 --> 01:05:56,381
you know what I mean?
But I explained to them, I said,
1290
01:05:56,386 --> 01:05:59,646
"You know, I want to get the
best I can get for the group."
1291
01:05:59,656 --> 01:06:02,116
And they go, "Well, I can
understand your point, Brian,"
1292
01:06:02,125 --> 01:06:04,685
you know.
So we went ahead and did it,
1293
01:06:04,695 --> 01:06:08,055
and sure enough,
the guys liked it.
1294
01:06:08,065 --> 01:06:11,025
I mean, that's one of the most
asked questions,
1295
01:06:11,034 --> 01:06:13,304
"Well, didn't Dennis get mad,
wasn't he mad
1296
01:06:13,303 --> 01:06:15,603
because you were doing
The Beach Boys records?"
1297
01:06:15,605 --> 01:06:20,705
Dennis did not have the studio
chops that we have, you know.
1298
01:06:20,711 --> 01:06:22,741
The proof of the pudding
is that Dennis
1299
01:06:22,746 --> 01:06:26,206
called me to do his album when
Dennis did his solo album.
1300
01:06:26,216 --> 01:06:27,846
I played the drums on that.
1301
01:06:27,851 --> 01:06:30,551
A lot of times the guys would
be sitting around the studio,
1302
01:06:30,554 --> 01:06:32,454
we didn't know they were the
guys in the band.
1303
01:06:32,456 --> 01:06:35,416
The guitar players that were
in these various groups,
1304
01:06:35,425 --> 01:06:37,455
when they realized guys like
Tommy Tedesco
1305
01:06:37,461 --> 01:06:40,001
was gonna be playing, they
wanted to sit around and watch.
1306
01:06:39,997 --> 01:06:41,197
And the drummers would want
to sit around
1307
01:06:41,198 --> 01:06:42,698
and watch myself or Al.
1308
01:06:42,699 --> 01:06:44,569
They were there, like, more or
less they were learning.
1309
01:06:44,568 --> 01:06:46,798
You know, it would be something
that I'd like to see too
1310
01:06:46,803 --> 01:06:48,273
if it had been
the other way around.
1311
01:06:48,271 --> 01:06:50,211
Terry Melcher wanted to use
session musicians
1312
01:06:50,207 --> 01:06:51,767
for Mr. Tambourine Man.
1313
01:06:51,775 --> 01:06:53,375
I'd been a studio musician
in New York,
1314
01:06:53,377 --> 01:06:55,737
prior to being in The Byrds,
so...
1315
01:06:55,746 --> 01:06:57,106
they let me play on it.
1316
01:06:57,114 --> 01:06:59,014
So my feeling was,
"Great. I get to play
1317
01:06:59,016 --> 01:07:00,846
with this great band,
The Wrecking Crew."
1318
01:07:00,851 --> 01:07:02,551
Of course, the other guys,
David Crosby,
1319
01:07:02,552 --> 01:07:05,852
Michael Clark and
Chris Hellman, were livid.
1320
01:07:05,856 --> 01:07:07,016
They hated the idea because
1321
01:07:07,024 --> 01:07:08,294
they didn't get to play
on their own record.
1322
01:07:08,291 --> 01:07:10,561
We got a number one hit with it,
right off the bat.
1323
01:07:10,560 --> 01:07:13,530
But we knocked out two tracks
in one three-hour session.
1324
01:07:13,530 --> 01:07:15,860
To compare that with what
happened when the rest
1325
01:07:15,866 --> 01:07:18,566
of the band got to play,
it took us 77 takes
1326
01:07:18,568 --> 01:07:21,968
to get the band track for
Turn, Turn, Turn,
1327
01:07:21,972 --> 01:07:23,712
which was also a number one.
1328
01:08:05,615 --> 01:08:09,075
People assume that just
because my dad made his living
1329
01:08:09,086 --> 01:08:11,616
playing guitar, I can also play.
1330
01:08:11,621 --> 01:08:14,521
For me, and some of the other
kids of studio musicians,
1331
01:08:14,524 --> 01:08:16,524
we didn't take it up
as a profession.
1332
01:08:16,526 --> 01:08:19,486
What my father did teach us
was common sense.
1333
01:08:19,496 --> 01:08:21,296
I got called
many years ago.
1334
01:08:21,298 --> 01:08:23,828
I show up on this date and now
there's 70 musicians
1335
01:08:23,834 --> 01:08:25,304
sitting there.
And I'm looking
1336
01:08:25,302 --> 01:08:28,242
and I say, "70 musicians?
Wow. Where do I sit?"
1337
01:08:28,238 --> 01:08:29,968
And they said, "Over there.
There's the guitar."
1338
01:08:29,973 --> 01:08:32,143
You know, I sit there
and I look at a part.
1339
01:08:32,142 --> 01:08:35,742
The only problem is starting at
bar 95, you know,
1340
01:08:35,745 --> 01:08:37,005
and all the rest, rest.
1341
01:08:37,013 --> 01:08:38,953
Now the guy starts, right.
1342
01:08:38,949 --> 01:08:40,449
And you know what this is to me
at the time.
1343
01:08:40,450 --> 01:08:42,180
This is in a nightclub, you
know, you see a chick,
1344
01:08:42,185 --> 01:08:44,245
"Hey, there she is.
Hey, hey--"
1345
01:08:44,254 --> 01:08:46,524
When he did this and there was
no music, I said,
1346
01:08:46,523 --> 01:08:48,563
"Oh-oh, they're at bar 95,
I knew it."
1347
01:08:48,558 --> 01:08:51,188
"Guitar. Where's the guitar?"
"Over here."
1348
01:08:51,194 --> 01:08:52,294
"We're at 95,
I didn't hear you."
1349
01:08:52,295 --> 01:08:53,655
"Oh, okay," you know.
1350
01:08:53,663 --> 01:08:58,233
- One, two, three, four,
1351
01:08:58,235 --> 01:09:00,665
"Okay, forget it.
Let's go from 96.
1352
01:09:00,670 --> 01:09:03,000
And they have somebody come in
the next day to do it."
1353
01:09:03,006 --> 01:09:05,836
Elvis Presley came back there
a few years
1354
01:09:05,842 --> 01:09:08,212
and I started getting hot
in records, and Elvis
1355
01:09:08,211 --> 01:09:10,281
started using me when he'd come
to the coast for movies.
1356
01:09:10,280 --> 01:09:12,010
So nobody told Elvis who to use.
1357
01:09:12,015 --> 01:09:16,175
To that day I never knew if they
knew I was the same guy, though.
1358
01:09:16,186 --> 01:09:17,846
But I wasn't about to tell them,
"Remember me?
1359
01:09:17,854 --> 01:09:20,494
About three years--"
Oh, no, no, no.
1360
01:09:20,490 --> 01:09:23,060
You see, the one thing I have,
common sense.
1361
01:09:23,059 --> 01:09:26,289
I studied common sense more
than I did guitar.
1362
01:09:35,337 --> 01:09:37,467
In the '60s,
The Wrecking Crew played
1363
01:09:37,474 --> 01:09:39,214
on thousands of recordings,
1364
01:09:39,209 --> 01:09:41,409
but you would never
have known it.
1365
01:09:41,411 --> 01:09:44,911
Producers made a big mistake
when they didn't put
1366
01:09:44,915 --> 01:09:47,175
the credits on the back
of the albums
1367
01:09:47,184 --> 01:09:49,084
of all the people that have
played on the albums.
1368
01:09:49,085 --> 01:09:52,315
Not only did they deserve it,
but I think it was misleading.
1369
01:09:52,322 --> 01:09:54,962
Maybe one of the reasons they
left the names off was
1370
01:09:54,958 --> 01:09:58,058
the same musicians played on so
many people's records
1371
01:09:58,061 --> 01:10:00,061
it would have been an
embarrassment if anybody
1372
01:10:00,063 --> 01:10:01,733
had ever listed them.
1373
01:10:01,731 --> 01:10:04,301
I was used to it
'cause when a guy hired me
1374
01:10:04,301 --> 01:10:07,071
with his last $25
and he had a bomb,
1375
01:10:07,070 --> 01:10:09,340
I never gave him his
money back, you know.
1376
01:10:09,339 --> 01:10:11,369
So I really treated it
as a business
1377
01:10:11,374 --> 01:10:14,984
and I understand how you
feel too. But I just felt,
1378
01:10:14,978 --> 01:10:17,548
"Just give me my money
and I get lost."
1379
01:10:25,522 --> 01:10:29,062
Snuffy always let myself
and The Playboys
1380
01:10:29,059 --> 01:10:30,959
lay down all the basic tracks.
1381
01:10:30,961 --> 01:10:34,561
And then Snuff said,
"Now we're gonna sweeten it,
1382
01:10:34,564 --> 01:10:37,174
do some overdubs and stuff,
and I'm gonna bring in
1383
01:10:37,167 --> 01:10:38,627
the people that I want to use ."
1384
01:10:38,635 --> 01:10:42,265
And I had no experience in this,
and Snuffy had.
1385
01:10:42,272 --> 01:10:43,942
So I said,
"Well, great.
1386
01:10:43,940 --> 01:10:46,440
If you think that's the way to
do it, let's do it."
1387
01:10:46,443 --> 01:10:50,713
The drummer came in, but
Snuffy let him, you know,
1388
01:10:50,714 --> 01:10:53,114
play some kind of percussion
like a tambourine
1389
01:10:53,116 --> 01:10:56,246
so it could say,
"Gary Lewis and The Playboys."
1390
01:10:56,253 --> 01:10:59,153
But it was really studio guys
that made the track.
1391
01:10:59,155 --> 01:11:03,455
And I remember my guitar
player and our keyboard player,
1392
01:11:03,460 --> 01:11:06,690
after hearing the session
musicians coming in
1393
01:11:06,696 --> 01:11:09,556
and putting down the parts,
you know, they were saying,
1394
01:11:09,566 --> 01:11:12,666
"Oh, my God, I never could have
done anything like that."
1395
01:11:12,669 --> 01:11:15,399
I'll never forget working
with Gary Lewis and The Playboys
1396
01:11:15,405 --> 01:11:17,235
- doing all that record.
- Oh, yeah.
1397
01:11:17,240 --> 01:11:21,680
And I'll never forget I had
one real, real hot lick
1398
01:11:21,678 --> 01:11:25,348
on this one record-- Spanish
stuff all over the place.
1399
01:11:33,390 --> 01:11:37,360
And finally, his guitar player
come up to me, he says,
1400
01:11:37,360 --> 01:11:39,690
"You drove me crazy
with that thing.
1401
01:11:39,696 --> 01:11:42,826
First of all, I can't play it,
so I don't play it.
1402
01:11:42,832 --> 01:11:45,902
And then, everybody comes up to
me, complimenting me
1403
01:11:45,902 --> 01:11:47,502
on what I did on the thing."
1404
01:11:47,504 --> 01:11:49,444
I said, "Well, just take the
compliments and forget it."
1405
01:11:49,439 --> 01:11:53,209
So, while my guitar players
played a much simplified
1406
01:11:53,209 --> 01:11:56,239
version of it, because nobody
could play that.
1407
01:12:01,951 --> 01:12:03,951
That was inside stuff.
1408
01:12:03,953 --> 01:12:06,893
I think that the public at large
was oblivious to the fact
1409
01:12:06,890 --> 01:12:10,590
that there was a secret star
maker machinery,
1410
01:12:10,593 --> 01:12:14,403
that a very important component
of that were these teams,
1411
01:12:14,397 --> 01:12:17,067
like hitmen, studio hitmen.
1412
01:12:17,067 --> 01:12:18,127
Nobody cared.
1413
01:12:18,134 --> 01:12:19,634
All they wanted was the product.
1414
01:12:19,636 --> 01:12:21,996
They just wanted the name
and the sales.
1415
01:12:22,005 --> 01:12:23,465
Who created it?
Psh.
1416
01:12:23,473 --> 01:12:24,973
That was incidental.
1417
01:12:34,784 --> 01:12:37,594
Tell him your story, Hal,
about The Monkees.
1418
01:12:37,587 --> 01:12:40,787
Because the newspapers came in
to talk to them
1419
01:12:40,790 --> 01:12:43,490
and we were in the next studio
cutting their stuff.
1420
01:12:43,493 --> 01:12:46,063
And then they were pretending
that they were doing it
1421
01:12:46,062 --> 01:12:47,662
there in the studios.
1422
01:12:47,664 --> 01:12:49,664
- Well, you just told it.
- Tell him the story.
1423
01:12:49,666 --> 01:12:53,366
Well, you told the story.
Did you get it?
1424
01:12:56,639 --> 01:12:58,809
I'd never considered myself
a musician.
1425
01:12:58,808 --> 01:13:01,078
I-- You know, 'cause to me a
musician is someone
1426
01:13:01,077 --> 01:13:04,747
who does session work,
who shows up and reads charts.
1427
01:13:04,748 --> 01:13:07,008
And I always approached
The Monkees as an actor,
1428
01:13:07,016 --> 01:13:10,616
playing the part of a drummer
in this imaginary group,
1429
01:13:10,620 --> 01:13:13,190
that lived in this imaginary
beach house
1430
01:13:13,189 --> 01:13:14,789
and had these imaginary
adventures.
1431
01:13:14,791 --> 01:13:17,491
To me, that always-- always
been what it's about.
1432
01:13:17,494 --> 01:13:19,934
Peter does tell the story of
going into some
1433
01:13:19,929 --> 01:13:23,029
of the early sessions. And he
walked in with his guitar
1434
01:13:23,032 --> 01:13:25,832
and his bass, and they said,
"What are you doing here?"
1435
01:13:25,835 --> 01:13:29,135
"Well, we've already done the
track. Micky's gonna sing."
1436
01:13:29,139 --> 01:13:31,769
"So, what--? You invited me
for a recording session."
1437
01:13:31,775 --> 01:13:35,935
He said, "Yeah." I said,
"Well, what are you doing?"
1438
01:13:35,945 --> 01:13:39,545
He said, "We have the record, we
just need to put a vocal on it."
1439
01:13:39,549 --> 01:13:41,319
They said, "Just go home.
Relax."
1440
01:13:41,317 --> 01:13:43,647
One, two, three, four.
1441
01:13:53,862 --> 01:13:55,562
- Mikey, you like it?
- You like it?
1442
01:13:55,565 --> 01:13:58,225
That's terrible.
That's the worst thing--
1443
01:13:58,234 --> 01:14:01,474
I had no idea who these guys
were in these early sessions.
1444
01:14:01,471 --> 01:14:03,071
It was my first session.
1445
01:14:03,072 --> 01:14:05,572
And I was introduced to them,
"These are the musicians."
1446
01:14:05,575 --> 01:14:06,935
I was the vocalist.
1447
01:14:06,943 --> 01:14:08,913
I remember Hal Blaine giving me
some pointers
1448
01:14:08,912 --> 01:14:12,352
in the sessions, and Earl Palmer
would give me some pointers.
1449
01:14:12,348 --> 01:14:13,978
But I didn't have to play
at that point.
1450
01:14:13,983 --> 01:14:16,553
They said, "You're gonna start
drum lessons on Monday."
1451
01:14:16,553 --> 01:14:18,993
And I did.
And I had about a year.
1452
01:14:18,988 --> 01:14:23,518
So, by the time I had to
actually play on stage, live,
1453
01:14:23,526 --> 01:14:24,986
I wasn't that bad.
1454
01:14:24,994 --> 01:14:27,264
I mean, I only had to play
our songs, obviously,
1455
01:14:27,263 --> 01:14:29,003
and they were pretty simple
pop tunes.
1456
01:14:28,998 --> 01:14:33,628
Hal and Earl do this stuff
with one hand in their sleep.
1457
01:14:43,012 --> 01:14:46,752
The fans, they didn't know
or care, and I was like,
1458
01:14:46,749 --> 01:14:49,619
"What's the deal?
This is a television show
1459
01:14:49,619 --> 01:14:51,049
you know.
What is the big deal?"
1460
01:14:51,054 --> 01:14:53,724
But you know, back then,
and even to this day,
1461
01:14:53,723 --> 01:14:56,663
a lot of people take their
rock and roll very seriously
1462
01:14:56,659 --> 01:14:58,689
and, you know-- And it's,
you know,
1463
01:14:58,695 --> 01:15:01,895
rock and roll is
no laughing matter.
1464
01:15:01,898 --> 01:15:04,528
You're not supposed
to have fun, you know.
1465
01:15:04,534 --> 01:15:06,234
It has to be
very serious.
1466
01:15:06,236 --> 01:15:07,636
It makes sense now to me.
1467
01:15:07,637 --> 01:15:08,897
If I were doing the project,
1468
01:15:08,905 --> 01:15:10,805
I would do it exactly
the same way.
1469
01:15:10,807 --> 01:15:13,367
Uh, but, uh, at the time, it
didn't make any sense to me.
1470
01:15:13,376 --> 01:15:14,906
I didn't understand.
1471
01:15:14,911 --> 01:15:16,641
- Were you upset?
- Yeah, I was upset.
1472
01:15:16,646 --> 01:15:19,676
I thought that-- I mean,
I was very naive.
1473
01:15:19,682 --> 01:15:23,652
I regard how upset I was as a
function of my naiveté.
1474
01:15:23,653 --> 01:15:26,723
I always thought I was gonna be
in a recording session,
1475
01:15:26,723 --> 01:15:28,323
and play the guitar,
and do the things,
1476
01:15:28,324 --> 01:15:30,964
and sing the background vocals,
and all the rest of that.
1477
01:15:30,960 --> 01:15:32,860
I had no idea that they had
just gone
1478
01:15:32,862 --> 01:15:34,732
and made the tracks without us.
1479
01:15:34,731 --> 01:15:36,731
I don't think there was any
backlash to the discovery
1480
01:15:36,733 --> 01:15:39,603
that The Monkees didn't play
their own instruments initially,
1481
01:15:39,602 --> 01:15:41,472
because everybody knew
it was common practice.
1482
01:15:41,471 --> 01:15:43,041
I saw them in everybody's
session.
1483
01:15:43,039 --> 01:15:46,439
I remember in RCA Victor going
to The Mamas and Papas,
1484
01:15:46,442 --> 01:15:48,182
who were next door,
and there was Hal Blaine.
1485
01:15:48,177 --> 01:15:51,647
And then, he'd come over
and do one of our sessions.
1486
01:15:51,648 --> 01:15:53,848
And then off to do
somebody else, I guess.
1487
01:15:53,850 --> 01:15:56,620
I knew they played on virtually
all The Beach Boys records.
1488
01:15:56,619 --> 01:15:58,619
You know, we got a lot of shit
for it,
1489
01:15:58,621 --> 01:16:01,691
but I think finally, you know,
some of those guys
1490
01:16:01,691 --> 01:16:03,791
are coming clean.
1491
01:16:21,911 --> 01:16:25,711
Barry McGuire had found this
song called California Dreamin'
1492
01:16:25,715 --> 01:16:26,905
that he wanted to record.
1493
01:16:26,916 --> 01:16:29,916
And these four,
kind of scruffy looking,
1494
01:16:29,919 --> 01:16:31,649
two guys and two girls
came to the studio
1495
01:16:31,654 --> 01:16:32,924
because Barry wanted
them to sing
1496
01:16:32,922 --> 01:16:35,022
background parts on his record.
1497
01:16:35,024 --> 01:16:37,634
And he said to Lou, "They're a
great sounding vocal group.
1498
01:16:37,627 --> 01:16:39,287
You should hear them sing."
1499
01:16:39,295 --> 01:16:42,025
John Phillips wrote this song,
California Dreamin'.
1500
01:16:42,031 --> 01:16:44,931
So while the band was on a ten,
Lou and I went down the hall
1501
01:16:44,934 --> 01:16:46,874
to studio two,
with the four of them.
1502
01:16:46,869 --> 01:16:50,399
And John had a guitar and they
sang California Dreamin'.
1503
01:16:58,214 --> 01:16:59,784
Lou said, "What do you think?"
1504
01:16:59,782 --> 01:17:01,852
And I said, "If you don't take
them, I will," you know.
1505
01:17:01,851 --> 01:17:05,721
After hearing their vocals--
their background vocals,
1506
01:17:05,722 --> 01:17:07,662
I thought it should be
their record.
1507
01:17:07,657 --> 01:17:10,687
When I started to do
The Mamas and The Papas,
1508
01:17:10,693 --> 01:17:14,363
I put Joe Osborn in that group
with Hal Blaine.
1509
01:17:14,364 --> 01:17:19,534
And that's when Hal, and Larry
and myself worked together
1510
01:17:19,535 --> 01:17:21,135
as a group for the first time.
1511
01:17:21,137 --> 01:17:23,437
I wasn't really busy.
At that point,
1512
01:17:23,439 --> 01:17:25,839
I wasn't busy
as a studio player.
1513
01:17:25,842 --> 01:17:28,512
And Hal helped get me
into that area.
1514
01:17:28,511 --> 01:17:32,011
Those kinds of combinations of
what Joe brought to Hal Blaine,
1515
01:17:32,015 --> 01:17:35,045
and what Hal Blaine brought to
Joe Osborn was great.
1516
01:17:42,625 --> 01:17:44,125
In the case of
The mamas and Papas,
1517
01:17:44,127 --> 01:17:50,127
John Phillips would run the song
down on rhythm guitar.
1518
01:17:50,133 --> 01:17:52,633
At the same time,
Hal would be taking notes,
1519
01:17:52,635 --> 01:17:54,465
Glen Campbell
might be taking notes.
1520
01:17:54,470 --> 01:17:56,100
And then we say,
"Okay, let's run it down."
1521
01:17:56,105 --> 01:17:59,035
They had parts in mind
so that you could then edit,
1522
01:17:59,042 --> 01:18:00,842
"Yeah, that's good,
let's keep it.
1523
01:18:00,843 --> 01:18:02,913
That's not, can you try
something else?"
1524
01:18:02,912 --> 01:18:05,482
But they had a lot to do with
the arrangements.
1525
01:18:05,481 --> 01:18:08,681
Members of The Mamas
and The Papas teach the song
1526
01:18:08,685 --> 01:18:09,975
to the musicians.
1527
01:18:09,986 --> 01:18:12,246
There is no arrangement
or score.
1528
01:18:27,836 --> 01:18:30,166
The musicians decide
what they should play
1529
01:18:30,173 --> 01:18:34,643
against the vocals.
A rhythm gets going.
1530
01:18:38,247 --> 01:18:40,817
Producers presented the
musicians with a road map.
1531
01:18:40,817 --> 01:18:44,817
It was just chord symbols.
And that was about as far
1532
01:18:44,821 --> 01:18:47,091
as it went.
Now, these musicians
1533
01:18:47,090 --> 01:18:51,660
took that information and, you
know, added a little flavor
1534
01:18:51,661 --> 01:18:53,791
to it that was unexpected.
A lot of times it was,
1535
01:18:53,796 --> 01:18:57,796
you know, much more than you
had hoped for.
1536
01:19:38,206 --> 01:19:40,136
People come over and say,
"Did you this?
1537
01:19:40,143 --> 01:19:42,183
Would you work with this group?"
I said, "I don't remember."
1538
01:19:42,178 --> 01:19:43,678
"Well, I saw your name
on the album."
1539
01:19:43,679 --> 01:19:45,009
"Then I did."
You know, that's--
1540
01:19:45,014 --> 01:19:46,454
- Right.
- 'Cause you work so much,
1541
01:19:46,449 --> 01:19:47,579
you have no idea.
1542
01:19:47,583 --> 01:19:50,553
The studio player of 1999,
they would--
1543
01:19:50,553 --> 01:19:52,153
If they're not playing all
the time,
1544
01:19:52,155 --> 01:19:54,155
they would need to do
what we never needed to do,
1545
01:19:54,157 --> 01:19:55,457
was practice.
1546
01:19:55,458 --> 01:19:57,788
All the time you're practicing,
while being paid.
1547
01:19:57,794 --> 01:19:59,464
It's funny. Earl and I were
talking one time.
1548
01:19:59,462 --> 01:20:02,162
It's like, you couldn't judge
anybody by how much
1549
01:20:02,165 --> 01:20:03,725
they were working 'cause
everybody was working
1550
01:20:03,733 --> 01:20:04,933
all the time.
1551
01:20:05,066 --> 01:20:07,366
You had to just go by how much
work you turned down.
1552
01:20:07,370 --> 01:20:10,140
Most of us were so fortunate
to have been in
1553
01:20:10,139 --> 01:20:14,279
at the original beginnings of
rock and roll.
1554
01:20:14,277 --> 01:20:16,407
Fuck, I say it, I made more
money playing rock and roll
1555
01:20:16,412 --> 01:20:17,782
than I ever made playing jazz.
1556
01:20:17,780 --> 01:20:20,250
There was one point
in the mid '60s that
1557
01:20:20,249 --> 01:20:23,219
I was making more money than the
president of the United States.
1558
01:20:23,219 --> 01:20:25,019
I remember I used to kid
Carol. I'd say,
1559
01:20:25,021 --> 01:20:28,321
"Do you realize, Carol,
if I got a divorce and you--
1560
01:20:28,324 --> 01:20:31,294
We could get married and
what a year we'd have of money.
1561
01:20:31,294 --> 01:20:32,864
Between all your money
and my money,
1562
01:20:32,862 --> 01:20:34,402
- we'd be killing everybody."
1563
01:20:34,397 --> 01:20:36,257
Including each other.
1564
01:20:41,169 --> 01:20:43,239
This is where we did Sinatra,
1565
01:20:43,239 --> 01:20:44,669
Dean Martin,
1566
01:20:44,674 --> 01:20:45,944
Sammy Davis Jr.
1567
01:20:45,942 --> 01:20:49,012
We did everybody in there.
1568
01:20:49,011 --> 01:20:52,481
It's just an amazing place.
1569
01:20:52,481 --> 01:20:54,221
In my particular case,
1570
01:20:54,217 --> 01:20:57,817
I bought an incredible mansion
in Hollywood.
1571
01:20:57,820 --> 01:21:00,490
I had a magnificent yacht.
1572
01:21:00,489 --> 01:21:02,219
I had a gorgeous Rolls Royce.
1573
01:21:02,225 --> 01:21:05,485
But, out of nowhere,
I had a wife who all of a sudden
1574
01:21:05,494 --> 01:21:07,234
declared, "I want a divorce."
1575
01:21:07,230 --> 01:21:09,560
"What? What are you talking
about?
1576
01:21:09,565 --> 01:21:12,595
I just went for a sandwich
and--"
1577
01:21:12,602 --> 01:21:15,002
It's, like, impossible
to believe.
1578
01:21:15,004 --> 01:21:17,204
And in order for her
to get paid off,
1579
01:21:17,206 --> 01:21:19,606
you sell everything you own.
1580
01:21:19,609 --> 01:21:22,879
I had 170-something gold
records.
1581
01:21:22,879 --> 01:21:25,409
I had to sell them all.
1582
01:21:25,414 --> 01:21:28,524
The house was sold for a third
of what it was worth.
1583
01:21:28,517 --> 01:21:32,087
I had to let the yacht go.
The yacht was repossessed.
1584
01:21:32,088 --> 01:21:35,918
I never had anything
repossessed in my life.
1585
01:21:35,925 --> 01:21:39,955
It's just a shame to get
wiped out that seriously.
1586
01:21:39,962 --> 01:21:42,262
I had been working with
John Denver,
1587
01:21:42,265 --> 01:21:46,125
almost 5 grand a week
for almost ten years,
1588
01:21:46,135 --> 01:21:48,535
and all of a sudden,
that job ended.
1589
01:21:48,537 --> 01:21:50,867
Terrible, terrible thing
to have to go through.
1590
01:21:50,873 --> 01:21:53,843
I mean, it's--
You certainly,
1591
01:21:53,843 --> 01:21:55,713
in the realm of suicide,
1592
01:21:55,711 --> 01:21:58,781
you certainly think about it.
1593
01:21:58,781 --> 01:22:02,021
I was working
in Scottsdale, Arizona,
1594
01:22:02,018 --> 01:22:04,588
and I was a security guard,
1595
01:22:04,587 --> 01:22:06,417
plain and simple.
1596
01:22:06,422 --> 01:22:09,392
Here I went from...
all this money
1597
01:22:09,392 --> 01:22:12,262
and this magnificent estate
and everything else involved,
1598
01:22:12,261 --> 01:22:15,061
and all of a sudden
I was reduced to
1599
01:22:15,064 --> 01:22:17,804
living in a clothes closet.
1600
01:22:17,800 --> 01:22:21,370
Came out of about 23 rooms
in Hollywood.
1601
01:22:21,370 --> 01:22:23,900
And it was like
the end of the world.
1602
01:22:32,847 --> 01:22:34,717
This was Gold Star.
1603
01:22:34,717 --> 01:22:37,217
So this is it.
This is what's left.
1604
01:22:37,219 --> 01:22:39,049
And it was an amazing time,
1605
01:22:39,055 --> 01:22:41,055
and it was such
a historical place.
1606
01:22:41,057 --> 01:22:43,757
They had a lot of first-time
big hit people
1607
01:22:43,759 --> 01:22:45,659
come here and make their
records.
1608
01:22:45,661 --> 01:22:48,861
Across the street, we recorded
The Captain & Tennille
1609
01:22:48,864 --> 01:22:52,204
doing Love Will Keep Us
Together.
1610
01:22:52,201 --> 01:22:53,971
Boy, they had a number one,
1611
01:22:53,970 --> 01:22:57,710
it was record of the year
that year.
1612
01:22:57,707 --> 01:23:00,537
It was my last record
of the year.
1613
01:23:21,230 --> 01:23:26,370
In L.A., I'd heard that things
were picking up again...
1614
01:23:26,369 --> 01:23:29,299
you know '82, '83,
something like that.
1615
01:23:29,305 --> 01:23:32,165
And then I was also
getting a few calls,
1616
01:23:32,174 --> 01:23:36,284
and all of a sudden,
I was working again.
1617
01:23:36,278 --> 01:23:39,148
One of the great highlights
was when I was inducted
1618
01:23:39,148 --> 01:23:41,148
into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame.
1619
01:23:41,150 --> 01:23:43,150
So in the year 2000,
1620
01:23:43,152 --> 01:23:46,492
me and Earl Palmer
were both inducted.
1621
01:23:46,489 --> 01:23:49,559
You know, Earl was just--
I can't thank him enough.
1622
01:23:49,558 --> 01:23:51,788
Earl recommending me
in the beginning,
1623
01:23:51,794 --> 01:23:56,864
it made a name for myself.
It really was that simple.
1624
01:23:56,866 --> 01:24:00,526
You know,
I've always said...
1625
01:24:00,536 --> 01:24:04,806
if you love your work,
it's not work,
1626
01:24:04,807 --> 01:24:07,067
you know?
We loved our work, man.
1627
01:24:07,076 --> 01:24:08,836
That's how we could work
day and night,
1628
01:24:08,844 --> 01:24:11,554
'cause we loved it.
1629
01:24:19,922 --> 01:24:21,262
I'll never forget a session
1630
01:24:21,257 --> 01:24:23,417
we were all doing
with Don Costa.
1631
01:24:23,426 --> 01:24:26,726
And I start playing rhythm
and he stopped and he said,
1632
01:24:26,729 --> 01:24:28,659
"Glen, you got the lead there."
1633
01:24:28,664 --> 01:24:30,564
And, boy, I said...
1634
01:24:30,566 --> 01:24:32,466
I said, "Mr. Costa,
I can't read notes."
1635
01:24:32,468 --> 01:24:34,328
He said, "Well, you know
the melody, don't you?"
1636
01:24:34,336 --> 01:24:36,066
And I said, "Yeah."
He said, "Well, just--
1637
01:24:36,072 --> 01:24:38,472
That's the melody."
I said, "Oh, okay, great."
1638
01:24:38,474 --> 01:24:40,574
He would ask Tedesco,
"How does that figure go
1639
01:24:40,576 --> 01:24:42,606
- or this figure go," you know?
- Right, exactly.
1640
01:24:42,611 --> 01:24:45,211
And then he would sit there
and work it out.
1641
01:24:45,214 --> 01:24:48,724
And we'd make the records
and it was always perfect.
1642
01:24:48,717 --> 01:24:51,717
Yeah. Well, he had
a certain thing that he offered
1643
01:24:51,720 --> 01:24:52,790
that they wanted.
1644
01:24:52,788 --> 01:24:56,288
Wonderful ear and a wonderful
facility on the instrument.
1645
01:24:56,292 --> 01:24:58,692
Glen came up
with great ideas,
1646
01:24:58,694 --> 01:25:00,664
and his solos were just super.
1647
01:25:00,663 --> 01:25:02,633
And then all of a sudden,
he's a singing star.
1648
01:25:02,631 --> 01:25:05,171
Well, he always could sing.
We used to kid him about,
1649
01:25:05,167 --> 01:25:06,797
"Oh, he's standing up
and singing now,
1650
01:25:06,802 --> 01:25:09,602
he's gonna be a big star."
But he became a big star.
1651
01:25:13,843 --> 01:25:15,083
Good evening,
ladies and gentlemen.
1652
01:25:15,077 --> 01:25:16,877
I'm Glen Campbell.
1653
01:25:16,879 --> 01:25:18,549
I'd mixed, actually,
the first record.
1654
01:25:18,547 --> 01:25:20,577
That record that he made
for Capitol--
1655
01:25:20,583 --> 01:25:21,723
I mixed that record.
1656
01:25:21,717 --> 01:25:24,177
And it was like a really
surprise to see him come in
1657
01:25:24,186 --> 01:25:26,046
and say, "I'm singing
on this record, I'm gonna..."
1658
01:25:26,055 --> 01:25:27,115
you know...
1659
01:25:27,123 --> 01:25:29,063
And the record was a hit
1660
01:25:29,058 --> 01:25:31,758
and his vocal career
was launched.
1661
01:25:31,760 --> 01:25:35,230
And when he got out
and became a singing star,
1662
01:25:35,231 --> 01:25:37,531
guess who he called
to back him up?
1663
01:25:37,533 --> 01:25:39,503
- That's right, yeah.
- We were all there for him.
1664
01:25:39,502 --> 01:25:42,102
I remember Tedesco
playing on...
1665
01:25:42,104 --> 01:25:44,104
I forget what it was.
1666
01:25:44,106 --> 01:25:46,566
He said, "You still talking
to us peons?"
1667
01:25:48,444 --> 01:25:51,384
I said, "Well, some of 'em."
1668
01:25:51,380 --> 01:25:53,710
But it was great having
the guys do the sessions.
1669
01:25:53,716 --> 01:25:57,246
I knew who all the good
players were.
1670
01:25:57,253 --> 01:26:00,653
Playing Wichita Lineman,
it had a chord to it.
1671
01:26:00,656 --> 01:26:02,916
I don't think
it had any part written.
1672
01:26:06,428 --> 01:26:09,058
you know. She says,
"How about this for a kickoff
1673
01:26:09,064 --> 01:26:10,964
on Wichita Lineman?"
She came up with that.
1674
01:26:27,049 --> 01:26:29,319
Glen Campbell was a heck
of a guitar player,
1675
01:26:29,318 --> 01:26:31,448
and I had this
Dano bass guitar
1676
01:26:31,453 --> 01:26:34,693
that had special pickups
and bridge and strings on it
1677
01:26:34,690 --> 01:26:36,890
and it got a really great
gutty sound.
1678
01:26:36,892 --> 01:26:39,732
And he picked it up
and did the solo on it.
1679
01:26:39,728 --> 01:26:40,888
It was great.
1680
01:26:47,469 --> 01:26:50,639
I heard W ichita Lineman
at a drugstore one time
1681
01:26:50,639 --> 01:26:52,609
and it just brought tears
to my eyes,
1682
01:26:52,608 --> 01:26:55,538
'cause that tune
meant a lot to me.
1683
01:27:10,659 --> 01:27:12,429
I did all that early
Glen Campbell stuff,
1684
01:27:12,428 --> 01:27:15,528
all of it...
up to Southern Nights,
1685
01:27:15,531 --> 01:27:17,831
when he changed producers
and I didn't do anymore.
1686
01:27:17,833 --> 01:27:20,933
Glen by this time was trying--
recording-- using his own band.
1687
01:27:20,936 --> 01:27:23,536
I'm sitting in Martoni's
one night there in Hollywood,
1688
01:27:23,539 --> 01:27:27,039
and Steve Turner, his drummer,
walked in.
1689
01:27:27,042 --> 01:27:29,982
And he said, "You're not gonna
believe what just happened."
1690
01:27:29,979 --> 01:27:31,849
"What?"
And he said, "I'm just coming
1691
01:27:31,847 --> 01:27:35,017
from a session with Glen,
and we're trying to get this kid
1692
01:27:35,017 --> 01:27:37,047
to play some decent
rhythm guitar."
1693
01:27:37,052 --> 01:27:41,662
Glen says, "Well, give me that
big, full Al Casey sound."
1694
01:27:41,657 --> 01:27:44,487
I said, "Does he know that
I'm available tonight?"
1695
01:27:44,493 --> 01:27:45,993
you know.
But I understand
1696
01:27:45,995 --> 01:27:47,625
he was trying to use
his own band.
1697
01:27:47,630 --> 01:27:49,100
But when stuff like that
starts happening,
1698
01:27:49,098 --> 01:27:51,928
that's-- that's a signal.
1699
01:27:51,934 --> 01:27:55,374
I think a lot of us felt
this just might go on forever.
1700
01:27:55,371 --> 01:27:57,471
And that was
the first great shock
1701
01:27:57,473 --> 01:28:00,613
for many of us who had
setbacks in our careers
1702
01:28:00,609 --> 01:28:03,079
and realized that,
"Hey, this is an up-down...
1703
01:28:03,078 --> 01:28:05,348
up-down thing."
1704
01:28:05,347 --> 01:28:07,577
Sports figures seem to have
a ten-year period
1705
01:28:07,583 --> 01:28:09,783
when it all happens for them.
1706
01:28:09,785 --> 01:28:11,885
So what you get
is you get the ramp up,
1707
01:28:11,887 --> 01:28:15,157
you get ten great years,
and you get the ramp down.
1708
01:28:15,157 --> 01:28:17,217
And the trick is to make
the ramp down
1709
01:28:17,226 --> 01:28:20,186
last as long as
you possibly can.
1710
01:28:20,195 --> 01:28:21,855
Who would hire me
at my age then,
1711
01:28:21,864 --> 01:28:23,304
to be in a rock group?
1712
01:28:23,299 --> 01:28:24,929
They weren't doing
that anymore,
1713
01:28:24,933 --> 01:28:27,673
because now the rock guys
were doing their stuff.
1714
01:28:27,670 --> 01:28:29,070
And writing,
which they always did,
1715
01:28:29,071 --> 01:28:31,841
but they were able
to perform it.
1716
01:28:31,840 --> 01:28:35,110
As Dylan said, "The times,
they are a-changing."
1717
01:28:35,110 --> 01:28:36,680
it just changed.
1718
01:28:36,679 --> 01:28:39,409
New game.
new way of doing it.
1719
01:28:39,415 --> 01:28:41,445
I don't think it was
a conscious decision
1720
01:28:41,450 --> 01:28:43,880
that, you know, these musicians
play a certain way
1721
01:28:43,886 --> 01:28:47,246
and now we better
get more contemporary.
1722
01:28:47,256 --> 01:28:49,186
In my case, it had to do
with the artist
1723
01:28:49,191 --> 01:28:51,021
or who the artist
brought with them.
1724
01:28:51,026 --> 01:28:52,386
In the case of Carole King,
1725
01:28:52,394 --> 01:28:54,264
she brought a rhythm section
with her.
1726
01:28:54,263 --> 01:28:56,703
She brought James Taylor
on guitar.
1727
01:28:56,699 --> 01:28:58,569
I think the bands
learned to play.
1728
01:28:58,567 --> 01:29:00,767
It was more important
for the public to know
1729
01:29:00,769 --> 01:29:04,369
that the bands were really
playing the music.
1730
01:29:04,373 --> 01:29:06,273
You had these groups
that came up
1731
01:29:06,275 --> 01:29:08,675
in the late '60s
and into the '70s...
1732
01:29:08,677 --> 01:29:11,477
The Buffalo Springfield that
became Crosby, Stills & Nash.
1733
01:29:11,480 --> 01:29:13,780
And these were all
self-contained groups that,
1734
01:29:13,782 --> 01:29:16,352
for the most part,
never used studio musicians.
1735
01:29:16,352 --> 01:29:17,682
And those things became huge.
1736
01:29:17,686 --> 01:29:20,386
And that's where album artists
became really big.
1737
01:29:20,389 --> 01:29:22,759
Well, it had a huge effect
and...
1738
01:29:22,758 --> 01:29:25,758
you know, the singer/songwriter
acts
1739
01:29:25,761 --> 01:29:28,431
became very important
to people.
1740
01:29:28,430 --> 01:29:32,170
They started wanting bands
that played their own stuff.
1741
01:29:32,167 --> 01:29:34,997
It really had an effect
on the session musicians.
1742
01:29:35,003 --> 01:29:36,973
I'd kinda left by then.
1743
01:29:36,972 --> 01:29:38,842
We all went into it
1744
01:29:38,841 --> 01:29:42,281
knowing it could stop
any second.
1745
01:29:42,277 --> 01:29:43,837
It was never meant to last.
1746
01:29:43,846 --> 01:29:46,546
I was just like this
magical bubble
1747
01:29:46,548 --> 01:29:49,148
that just kind of...
1748
01:29:49,151 --> 01:29:51,321
blossomed for a second...
1749
01:29:51,320 --> 01:29:53,890
hung there in the air...
1750
01:29:53,889 --> 01:29:58,089
Hal plays on seven
records of the year in a row.
1751
01:29:58,093 --> 01:30:00,463
Seven in a row...
1752
01:30:00,462 --> 01:30:03,202
and then the bubble... poof.
Pops.
1753
01:30:03,198 --> 01:30:04,928
It's new people.
it's a new regime.
1754
01:30:04,933 --> 01:30:07,903
We came in at a certain time,
when we were all new.
1755
01:30:07,903 --> 01:30:10,503
All the new people
are coming in now,
1756
01:30:10,506 --> 01:30:13,236
when they are new--
Young, vibrant,
1757
01:30:13,242 --> 01:30:16,312
playing today's sounds.
It's that simple.
1758
01:30:43,906 --> 01:30:46,136
As the record dates with
The Wrecking Crew diminished,
1759
01:30:46,141 --> 01:30:49,511
my father was one of the more
fortunate musicians.
1760
01:30:49,511 --> 01:30:51,811
His versatility,
combined with his ability
1761
01:30:51,814 --> 01:30:54,924
to read music in seconds,
led to thousands of recordings
1762
01:30:54,917 --> 01:30:56,517
in film and television.
1763
01:30:56,518 --> 01:30:58,288
He worked with some of
the greatest composers
1764
01:30:58,287 --> 01:30:59,747
in American music:
1765
01:30:59,755 --> 01:31:02,015
John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith,
1766
01:31:02,024 --> 01:31:03,724
Henry Mancini, Bill Conti,
1767
01:31:03,725 --> 01:31:05,785
James Horner, Burt Bacharach,
1768
01:31:05,794 --> 01:31:08,704
Lalo Schifrin,
just to name a few.
1769
01:31:10,498 --> 01:31:12,528
In the '70s,
my father started playing
1770
01:31:12,534 --> 01:31:14,534
for his own enjoyment.
1771
01:31:14,536 --> 01:31:17,836
It was the first time
I remember seeing him at home
1772
01:31:17,840 --> 01:31:20,110
with the guitar.
1773
01:31:20,108 --> 01:31:22,238
He got into doing seminars
1774
01:31:22,244 --> 01:31:24,384
and that's what he really
enjoyed.
1775
01:31:24,379 --> 01:31:25,849
He was flying around
the country.
1776
01:31:25,848 --> 01:31:29,678
And he arranged his seminars
on weekends
1777
01:31:29,685 --> 01:31:31,815
so that he could be home
during the week...
1778
01:31:31,820 --> 01:31:33,620
in case there was
any calls.
1779
01:31:33,622 --> 01:31:35,262
Let me give you
what I call
1780
01:31:35,257 --> 01:31:37,317
"the creative
studio guitar player".
1781
01:31:37,326 --> 01:31:38,956
About a year ago,
1782
01:31:38,961 --> 01:31:41,531
I got the call
to do a John Denver special.
1783
01:31:41,530 --> 01:31:44,060
It was John Denver in Mexico,
1784
01:31:44,066 --> 01:31:45,966
and they wanted some--
He was on a fishing vessel
1785
01:31:45,968 --> 01:31:48,438
and they wanted some Mexican
music, so I gave them this:
1786
01:32:07,221 --> 01:32:09,021
Got a call to do
Charlie's Angels.
1787
01:32:09,024 --> 01:32:11,064
They were in Puerto Rico.
They wanted Puerto Rican music,
1788
01:32:21,036 --> 01:32:23,636
Starsky & Hutch
was in a big revolt
1789
01:32:23,639 --> 01:32:25,139
in Bolivia in one show.
1790
01:32:25,140 --> 01:32:26,370
They wanted Bolivian music.
1791
01:32:35,551 --> 01:32:39,591
In 1975, my father, in jest,
wrote a song called
1792
01:32:39,588 --> 01:32:42,718
Requiem For a Studio
Guitar Player.
1793
01:32:56,038 --> 01:32:57,938
Always looking to carry
a joke a little further,
1794
01:32:57,940 --> 01:33:01,440
my dad dressed up
as a 280-pound ballerina
1795
01:33:01,443 --> 01:33:02,683
and went on The Gong Show.
1796
01:33:11,320 --> 01:33:13,150
You should think about
what he's saying
1797
01:33:13,155 --> 01:33:14,915
in the lyrics to his song.
1798
01:33:14,923 --> 01:33:17,723
Don't dwell on the costume
too much...
1799
01:33:17,726 --> 01:33:20,056
because it tells a lot about
the way the business
1800
01:33:20,062 --> 01:33:21,762
in this town works.
1801
01:33:21,763 --> 01:33:24,663
And for being a person
with a sense of humor,
1802
01:33:24,666 --> 01:33:27,366
I think Tommy's
had to put up with
1803
01:33:27,369 --> 01:33:29,699
a lot of really stupid things.
1804
01:33:48,189 --> 01:33:50,459
It was not until I tracked
these musicians down
1805
01:33:50,459 --> 01:33:51,889
to tell their story
1806
01:33:51,893 --> 01:33:55,733
that I fully understood
Frank Zappa's words.
1807
01:33:55,731 --> 01:33:57,931
In 1992,
my father had a stroke
1808
01:33:57,933 --> 01:34:02,203
that pretty much ended
his career as a guitarist.
1809
01:34:02,204 --> 01:34:04,804
Two months before
my father passed away,
1810
01:34:04,806 --> 01:34:06,906
he said to me, "You know,
the stroke came
1811
01:34:06,908 --> 01:34:09,208
at the right time
in my life."
1812
01:34:09,211 --> 01:34:11,311
I knew exactly what he meant.
1813
01:34:11,313 --> 01:34:12,983
The phone had stopped ringing,
1814
01:34:12,981 --> 01:34:15,381
and his day as
the Los Angeles session king
1815
01:34:15,384 --> 01:34:17,154
had come to an end.
1816
01:34:17,152 --> 01:34:21,422
Now he had an excuse as to why
the phone didn't ring.
1817
01:34:21,423 --> 01:34:25,533
It was something
he had no control over.
1818
01:34:25,527 --> 01:34:27,887
If I learned anything
from my father,
1819
01:34:27,896 --> 01:34:29,426
it was to give more
than you take.
1820
01:34:29,431 --> 01:34:30,931
He loved his family
and friends
1821
01:34:30,932 --> 01:34:33,502
and would always help
the younger guitar players,
1822
01:34:33,502 --> 01:34:35,542
knowing it was only
a matter of time
1823
01:34:35,537 --> 01:34:38,037
that they soon
would take his place,
1824
01:34:38,040 --> 01:34:41,170
just like he took someone else's
seat 40 years earlier.
1825
01:34:41,176 --> 01:34:46,246
mellow guitar chords)
1826
01:36:41,729 --> 01:36:43,499
Right on!
1827
01:36:43,498 --> 01:36:50,368
Mariachi music)
1828
01:37:08,857 --> 01:37:11,017
This is the moment
we've been waiting for.
1829
01:37:11,026 --> 01:37:14,486
With 30 points,
the winner today is...
1830
01:37:14,496 --> 01:37:15,496
Hot dog!
1831
01:37:15,497 --> 01:37:17,757
...Tommy Tedesco!
1832
01:41:34,021 --> 01:41:35,761
What do you call
a trombone player
1833
01:41:35,757 --> 01:41:37,817
with a beeper?
1834
01:41:37,826 --> 01:41:39,456
An optimist.
150438