Immediate Family

It’s an odd name for a musical group, but in this case it fits. They played as the backup band on so many rock and pop records in the 1970s and 80s that they came to think of themselves as brothers, and today, 50 years later, they perform and record as Immediate Family. 

A documentary film named for the group was created by Denny Tedesco, whom you may know as the producer of The Wrecking Crew, a wonderful film about the legendary band that similarly dominated the 1960s and 70s (which included Denny’s father, studio guitarist Tommy Tedesco). 

Immediate Family consists of bassist Leland Sklar, drummer Russ Kunkel, and guitarists Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, Waddy Wachtel, and Steve Postell. Here’s a partial list of the singers they backed: James Taylor, Carole King, Linda Ronstadt, Warren Zevon, Jackson Browne, the Eagles, the Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Bob Seger, Harry Nillson, Randy Newman, Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Rod Stewart, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

In the film, we meet this delightful, idiosyncratic group and hear their stories of how the records came to be. It’s like being included in a reunion of Wolfgang, Ludwig, Johann Sebastian, and friends.

Music brought them together, but what binds the group these days is love, which we experience in this memorable documentary. 

Here’s a trailer for the film, which you can stream on Amazon Prime.