The Soundtrack of a Generation: “Immediate Family” Documentary Screening Highlights Unsung Musicians

During the heyday of “free love” and flower crowns, larger-than-life folk and soft rock icons like James Taylor, Carole King and Jackson Browne were cultivating the soundtrack of a generation – songs that would live on in the hearts of grandparents and music snobs alike. But while these faces adorned tour posters and album covers everywhere, the studio session musicians behind their legendary records remained largely out of the spotlight.

On the afternoon of Tuesday, April 8, members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Richmond, alongside a spattering of film students, filtered into the Ukrop Auditorium in the Robins School of Business. The matinee was “Immediate Family” (2022), a documentary directed by filmmaker Denny Tedesco about four influential artists who make up the titular unit: Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, Leland Skar and Waddy Wachtel. The event was co-sponsored by the Film Studies department in partnership with Osher, a member of which gave some opening remarks.

Dr. Monika Siebert, the Interdisciplinary Coordinator of Film Studies, Jennifer Cavanaugh, Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, Lynn Hardwicke, an Academic Administrative Coordinator, Jennifer Lo Prete, a Communications Manager for the Dean’s Office, and other members of the Osher program were involved in organizing the screening.

Before the film began, Tedesco spoke about his first visit to the University of Richmond nine years ago to show his other music documentary “The Wrecking Crew” (2008) about the collective of artists in the ‘60s who played on seminal albums like The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds.” Tedesco has a special connection to this scene; his father, Tommy Tedesco, was one of the Crew’s guitarists.

The film opens with an animated image of a tree. Viewers see the screen panning over many different leaves, each labeled with the name of a famous artist. As the screen zooms out, it is revealed how vast the tree is, including dozens and dozens of acts across genres. At the base of the tree are the names of the Immediate Family, representing the tour de forces that tie these generation-defining artists together. 

After some footage of the Family performing together last October, we are shown a roundtable discussion between Kortchmar, Kunkel, Skar and Wachtel reflecting on their careers.

Vocalist and guitarist Kortchmar got his start with James Taylor. As teenagers, the pair met on Martha’s Vineyard, and they began performing at local coffeehouses. Their bond would continue for the rest of their lives, but took a historic turn when Kortchmar went with Taylor to Laurel Canyon and figures like Carole King, Joni Mitchell, and David Crosby started to cultivate the creative nucleus the Canyon is known for. 

Drummer Kunkel spent his adolescence in California, where he was inspired to start a band after hating the monotony of working at a gas station during a summer job. After the band was “noticed,” he started working with Monkees songwriter John Stewart.

Bassist Sklar started as a classical piano player at five after watching Liberace and being “captivated” by the skill and theatrics of the pianist’s performance. Soon after, he picked up the bass. After also forming a band, Sklar – like the others – credits his success to music producer Peter Asher’s “insistence” on crediting the entire band’s work on album sleeves, something that had never been done before.

Guitarist Wachtel, who grew up in New York, started taking guitar lessons after receiving the instrument as a Hanukkah gift. With a desire to prove his expectant father wrong, he relocated to California and crossed paths with Stevie Nicks in 1972.

Over the next several decades, the quartet’s parallel paths would diverge and cross again. Interviews with each member of the Family are juxtaposed with face-to-face conversations with Taylor, King, Phil Collins, Don Henley, along with other frequent collaborators.

They even formed their own collective at one point called “The Section,” which opened for James Taylor.

Their genuine bond is present throughout the film as they recall a range of memories – stories of connecting while on long tours, forming relationships with musical kindred spirits, and even near-death experiences while traveling.

Today, they’re just as active as ever, exercising their long-standing passion for the craft by touring circuits as The Immediate Family along with musician Steve Postell. Watching them play their chosen instruments demonstrates their talent hasn’t diminished with age, either.

The film closes by asking each member what “family” means. Poignantly, they all reference the relationship they’ve built amongst each other.

As the movie faded to black, attendees enthusiastically applauded before Tedesco opened the screening for questions.

One central theme Tedesco touched on in his responses was the time-consuming process of making this documentary, especially regarding licensing.

“There were three labels [involved]. It’s dangerous... If Warner Brothers pulls out, that’s 30 songs. Universal pulls out, that’s 25 songs. It could’ve killed me,” Tedesco said referencing how the film could haveve been crippled without essential songs.

The audience was also curious about how Tedesco pried open past accounts from the quartet.

“How did I get [the musicians] to open up? I’m not a musician, so I asked personal stuff, not technical questions. COVID helped—we built trust over eight months of talking before shooting,” Tedesco said. 

Audience member Wade Reynolds, Richmond College Class of ‘74, was spurred to think about his own experiences in music after watching the film. Reynolds has a unique connection to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, a country-rock unit that crossed paths with The Immediate Family.

“I opened for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at the Robins Center. It was cool! And hitchhiking on Martha’s Vineyard – I did that too, no car… This music was the soundtrack of our lives,” Reynolds said.

Osher member Dick Pennock’s thoughts on the documentary reflect a common takeaway: astonishment at just now becoming familiar with The Immediate Family.

“Seeing how the hits were made… Not just the lead singer or the lead group – but who were these people that you never hear of? You never realize there was this group that was just in demand and [that] they were all together for 50 years,” Pennock said.

 Contact lifestyle writer Ella-Brooke Morgan at ellabrooke.morgan@richmond.edu