Hal Blaine, who justifiably calls himself “10 of Your Favorite Drummers” on his Web site and played his drums at the bottom of an elevator shaft for Simon and Garfunkel’s “Boxer,” claims to have to come up with the Wrecking Crew’s name.
Musicians like Mr. Blaine showed up in Los Angeles in the early 1960s, were put on the map by Phil Spector (Mr. Blaine plays the ace drumbeats that kick off “Be My Baby”), were appropriated by Brian Wilson for the Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds” and became hotly in demand.
Old-school session players complained that these guys (and one woman, Carol Kaye, who played guitar as a stealth Beach Girl) were wrecking the business for everyone else.
‘The Wrecking Crew,’ by Kent Hartman, on ’60s Studio Musicians – NYTimes.com
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