“Whatever your opinion is about some music museums, I believe it’s an honor to be recognized”: Wrecking Crew director responds to Carol Kaye’s criticisms of the film – and of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Wrecking Crew documentary director Denny Tedesco has shared his thoughts on Carol Kaye's recent decision to decline her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction invitation, after she posted a statement that made reference to the 2008 film.

The legendary session bass guitar player is set to be inducted into the Rock Hall alongside the White Stripes, Soundgarden, and Bad Company in November.

However, she had taken to social media to decline her invite to the ceremony, believing the Rock Hall “doesn’t reflect” the work that session musicians did during “the golden era” of hit-making. Tedesco’s 2008 film, which told the story of Kaye and her fellow session peers – who were since collectively referred to as the Wrecking Crew – was also highlighted in the statement, with Kaye saying, “I was never a 'wrecker' at all, that's a terribly insulting name.”

Writing on her website , Kaye had previously said the film “doesn’t tell the real story as [Denny Tedesco] said it would, it’s skewered, re-edited”. She also alluded to the term ‘Clique’ as a better way to describe the group, and rejected the idea that the Wrecking Crew moniker was used while the group were active.

Denny Tedesco, the son of Tommy Tedesco, a guitar-playing member of the group, has, until now, remained silent on the matter. In a lengthy Facebook post, the director addresses Kaye’s criticisms of the film and of the Wrecking Crew term – and lends his opinion on the Hall of Fame induction.

“Carol’s biggest complaint about my film was this name and the term in general,” he alleges, writing on the documentary’s Facebook page. “By the way, I agree with her 100%. I don’t think the name was ever used in the studios during the 1960s when they were recording, and I addressed this at the beginning of the film.”

He also claims that “Carol had fallen out with [session drummer] Hal Blaine in the early years of the film's production.” He claims their relationship was over “once and for all” by the time the film premiered on the festival circuit in 2008.

Indeed, Tedesco believes the Wrecking Crew name came from Blaine, as evidenced by his 1990 book of the same name. It was written to detail the young collective’s early days trying to break into the session scene, which a score of older musicians didn’t take kindly to.

“Rumor has it,” Tedesco continues, “Hal heard one of the older guys say to another older musician, ‘These guys are going to wreck the business playing this rock & roll shit.’ And that is the genesis of the term.”

He accepted that a term was needed for more cohesive storytelling for the documentary. Since Blaine had later adopted it, it stuck – even if Tedesco claims he remained sensitive to the issue throughout.

“In my voice-over, I specifically set up the story and roundtable [interview] with this line: ‘On the first day of shooting, I brought four of LA’s greatest session players together.’ I didn’t say four Wrecking Crew members. Why? Because I didn’t want to upset Carol. Is it a negative term? I don’t think so unless you take it seriously and don’t understand the irony.”

The filmmaker also says he is “confused” why he was brought up in Kaye’s post, considering he has no affiliation with the Rock Hall. As such, he is determined to echo his appreciation for the musician’s legacy.

“Whatever your opinion is about some music museums, I believe it’s an honor to be recognized. There is one thing that should never be questioned,” he writes, “Carol Kaye is one of the greatest bass players of all time. She is a brilliant musician and the star of the documentary.”

Since her initial post, Kaye has responded to the wave of support she received, saying, “A word of thank-you to all the 100s of emails I’ve been getting.

“Thank you for your wonderful support and ‘congratulatory’ messages, just because I said no to something I am not a part of, and you understood the cause of my decision.”

Meanwhile, Soundgarden have confirmed they will reform for the Rock Hall induction. Guitarist Kim Thayil believes it serves as a positive reinforcement to the late Chris Cornell's legacy.