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West Coast Sound

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This looks like it could be an interesting diversion,  The Wrecking Crew,

On hit record after hit record by everyone from the Byrds, the Beach Boys, and the Monkees to the Grass Roots, the 5th Dimension, Sonny &  Cher, and Simon & Garfunkel, this collection of West Coast studio musicians from diverse backgrounds established themselves as the driving sound of pop music—sometimes over the objection of actual band members forced to make way for Wrecking Crew members. Industry insider Kent Hartman tells the dramatic, definitive story of the musicians who forged a reputation throughout the business as the secret weapons behind the top recording stars.


KENT HARTMAN is a longtime music industry entrepreneur who has worked with dozens of well-known artists, including Three Dog Night, Steppenwolf, Hall & Oates, Counting Crows, and Lyle Lovett.

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  1. James FergusonFebruary 11, 2012 at 3:11 PM

    I loved the Grass Roots,

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnFZsrs32Co

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  2. avrdsFebruary 11, 2012 at 5:14 PM

    Now there's a voice from the past (Jimmy's)! I remember the Grass Roots, too.

    Several books came out last year on the 60s/70s music scene that received great reviews. I'll go back and look at my list.

    This is something I actually want to write about at some point since I worked at southern California clubs when I was in high school where several musicians got their start. Some, like Big Mama Thornton, were already famous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JAbelFebruary 12, 2012 at 8:48 AM

    I think I wore out two 45's of Midnight Confessions.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JAbelFebruary 12, 2012 at 8:53 AM

    On a like note the media helicopters were buzzing around for a few hours in the near distance early tonight and it wasn't till I saw the news online about Whitney Houston I knew why.The Beverly Hilton is a few miles from me.

    ReplyDelete
  5. James FergusonFebruary 13, 2012 at 3:16 PM

    Quite a lovefest for Whitney last night. Given her erratic behavior this past week, I can't help wondering if she staged her swan song on the eve of the Grammy's to get the attention she had been so sorely lacking in recent years. She had a wonderful voice, one of the best ever in pop music, and will live on through her records, but to leave an 18 year old daughter behind like this seems unconscionable.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rick DiguetteFebruary 14, 2012 at 12:27 AM

    The timing was horrible. But rather than view it as some kind of weird stunt (hope I'm not exagerating your point), I rather think that the Grammy celebrations just brought it home to her all the more forcefully how far she had fallen. I suspect the difference between what she once had been and what she had become was finally more than she could bear.

    ReplyDelete
  7. James FergusonFebruary 14, 2012 at 2:53 PM

    I would like to think Whitney wasn't that vain either, but when her head is clouded with alcohol and drugs, one can only imagine what gets jumbled around in there.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Rick DiguetteFebruary 15, 2012 at 2:30 PM

    Something tells me we haven't heard the last from the daughter. If I had to guess, Bobby Brown has not been a positive role model. The fact that her name is Bobbi speaks volumes.

    ReplyDelete

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