El Portal Theatre Presents THE WRECKING CREW GOLDEN HITS + A TASTE OF MOTOWN, August 13

El Portal Theatre is getting The Wrecking Crew band back together, for a one-night only performance.

By: Jun. 29, 2022
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El Portal Theatre Presents THE WRECKING CREW GOLDEN HITS + A TASTE OF MOTOWN, August 13

El Portal Theatre presents The Wrecking Crew Golden Hits plus A Taste of Motown on Saturday, August 13 at 8pm onstage at the historic El Portal Theatre Debbie Reynolds Mainstage, 5269 Lankershim Blvd. in the NOHO Arts District, North Hollywood, CA.

El Portal Theatre is getting The Wrecking Crew band back together, for a one-night only performance featuring Don Peake on guitar, Don Randi on keyboard, and Chuck Berghofer on bass, with Lamont Dozier, Jr. and Kiki Ebsen on vocals. This one-night only performance is not to be missed! Tickets range from $49 - $150 and can be purchased online at www.elportaltheatre.com or on the phone at 818-508-4200.

The Wrecking Crew was a loose collective of studio musicians whose services were employed for a great number of studio recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, including hundreds of Top 40 hits. The musicians were not publicly recognized in their era, but were viewed with reverence by industry insiders. They are now considered one of the most successful and prolific session recording units in music history.

The Wrecking Crew backed dozens of popular acts and was one of the most successful groups of studio musicians in music history. According to author Kent Hartman "No single group of musicians has ever played on more hits in support of more stars than this superbly talented-yet virtually anonymous group of men (and one woman)". According to The New Yorker "The Wrecking Crew passed into a history that it largely created, imperfectly acknowledged but perfectly present in hundreds of American pop songs known to all". In 2008, the Wrecking Crew was featured in the documentary film The Wrecking Crew directed by Tommy Tedesco's son, Denny Tedesco. In 2014, its musicians were depicted in the Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy.

The Wrecking Crew played on the original recordings of songs by The Beach Boys (Help Me, Rhonda, Good Vibrations, Fun, Fun, Fun, Surfin' Safari), Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, (Be My Baby, Da Doo Run Run) Phil Spector Christmas Album, Frank and Nancy Sinatra (Strangers in the Night, These Boots Are Made for Walkin'), Motown records: Jackson 5 (ABC and I Want You Back), Marvin Gaye (Let's Get It On, What's Going On), and countless others. They would play on as many as 5 sessions per day - each time recording a separate song. They played on literally thousands of recordings.

Musicians for the August 13 concert include:

Don Peake: Guitar player for Every Brothers, Ray Charles, Righteous Bros, Marvin Gaye.

Don Randi: Keyboard player for Beach Boys, Phil Spector Wall of Sound, Jackson 5, Elvis Presley, Nancy Sinatra. Don also owns one of LA's last jazz clubs, The Baked Potato.

Chuck Berghofer: Bass player on Wall of Sound, Beach Boys, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, Barney Miller theme.

Featured vocalists include:

Singer/songwriter Lamont Dozier, Jr. who is the son of Motown writing legend Lamont Dozier), and Kiki Ebsen who has sung with Boz Scaggs, Al Jarreau, Christopher Cross Michael McDonald and Tracy Chapman and is the daughter of actor Buddy Ebsen.

This one-night only performance is not to be missed! Tickets range from $49 - $150 For tickets and information please call 818-508-4200 or online at www.elportaltheatre.com.




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