Music documentary ‘Wrecking Crew’ finally released (VIDEO)

Denny Tedesco likes Wichita. And not just because the film he directed, “The Wrecking Crew,” won the audience award at the 2008 Tallgrass Film Festival.

“I’ve been to a lot of festivals,” Tedesco said on the phone from his home in Los Angeles. “And that was one of the best ones.”

This week he’ll return to Wichita for the official release of “The Wrecking Crew,” a rollicking documentary that introduces the world to the unseen forces behind some of the most era-defining music of the 1960s and ’70s. Known as the “Wrecking Crew,” this elite group of session players backed such superstar artists as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Sonny & Cher, the Beach Boys and many, many others (the film includes interviews with many of them).

It’s an affectionate tribute to a group of musical legends, made even more affectionate because Tedesco’s guitarist father, Tommy, was one of the musicians in the Wrecking Crew. Tedesco decided to make this film when his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 1996.

“I quickly jumped on it,” Tedesco said.

So began his labor of love, an endeavor that from start to finish has encompassed almost 20 years of his life.

“It’s funny,” Tedesco said. “I have two children. One’s 15 and the other is 10. All they know is Dad does ‘Wrecking Crew.’ So Dad needs to find another hobby now.”

He says the journey has had ups and downs and has taken a toll on his personal life, just like playing music did for the members of the Wrecking Crew.

“I asked, ‘How was your personal life affected? You guys working all the time in the studio?’ Well, one guy had six divorces. Another person said, ‘Let’s just say I’m a better grandfather than I am a father.’”

Tedesco says his relationship with his own father was great.

“We were the best of friends but also the worst of critics,” he said. “We did butt heads. We knew how to push each other’s buttons. But I think when he got cancer – there were no more fights, no more arguments.”

Once he started to work on the film, he knew the approach he wanted to take.

“I never got to see my dad play in the studio that often, but I always saw musicians talk. And when they get together they’re like comedians. They talk over each other. Talk about each other. I wanted to be a voyeur.”

He took cues from his favorite movie, “Broadway Danny Rose.”

“It doesn’t feel scripted,” Tedesco said. “Like ‘Diner,’ it was just real dialogue. It was freely flowing and that’s what musicians are like. Sometime they’re not even talking about the music. They’re talking about somebody. Or food.”

The film struck a chord with audiences around the world when it hit the festival circuit in 2008, going on to win several awards. But it failed to land a distribution deal. And the filmmakers still needed to raise money to pay for licensing the music used in the film. And in a film about music, that was huge.

“I’ve been told since day one, ‘You’re never going to get this made because its going to cost too much for the music.’ I just kept going, going, going, and hoping there would be an angel that appeared. But there never was.”

So they started taking donations, started a Kickstarter campaign. They had several fundraiser screenings, including two in Wichita. Finally, they raised enough funds. And eventually, they landed a distribution deal with Magnolia Pictures.

“It’s all about marketing, spreading the word,” Tedesco said. “That’s the reason we’re here today, because of people from Wichita to New York to Japan that either donated or talked about the film.”

Having worked on “The Wrecking Crew” for so long, Tedesco joked that it was like raising a child – only one that he doesn’t want to come back from college.

“Now go out and make us all money,” he joked. “Daddy needs to pay off his credit card.”

But it’s been a powerful journey, he says. One that’s almost over, and that’s hard to grasp. While doing press in New York City recently, he said he suddenly stopped what he was doing because the reality hit him.

“I realized ‘Wow. This is real. Finally.’”

His father certainly would be proud, especially of the lessons Tedesco has learned from this experience.

“I know I can do something and not give up,” Tedesco said. “And that was something I wanted to prove to myself.”

This story was originally published April 3, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Music documentary ‘Wrecking Crew’ finally released (VIDEO)."