Unless you’re a hardcore rock ’n’ roll fan who used to love reading the liner notes on classic albums back in the day, you might not know the names of Danny Kortchmar, Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel, Waddy Wachtel and Steve Postell, but you almost certainly recognize the names of the artists with whom they collaborated, including Tracy Chapman, Reba McEntire, Hall & Oates, Rod Stewart, Joni Mitchell, B.B. King, Jackson Browne, The Beach Boys, Bill Withers, Bob Dylan, Richard Marx, Keith Richards, Santana, Neil Diamond, Faith Hill, Carlos Santana, Bee Gees, Jimmy Buffet, Warren Zevon, Tony Bennett, Carly Simon … the list goes on forever.
Some 15 years after director Denny Tedesco gave us “The Wrecking Crew,” a documentary that told the story of the legendary studio musicians (including his father, Tommy) who played on countless hits in the 1950s and 1960s, Tedesco helms a spiritual sequel of sorts with “Immediate Family,” which features shared memories from the aforementioned quintet of greatly talented and innovative musicians, a fantastic array of archival clips, and testimonies from the likes of Phil Collins, Carole King, Don Henley, Keith Richards, the late David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt, Neil Young and Jackson Browne.
