RIP.
The man is a legend amongst serious musicians.
Posted on 03/11/2019 4:07:10 PM PDT by DeathBeforeDishonor1
Drummer Hal Blaine, who propelled dozens of major hit records during the ‘60s and ‘70s as a member of the “Wrecking Crew,” Hollywood’s elite, ubiquitous cadre of first-call studio musicians, died Monday, according to a statement from family members on his official Facebook page. He was 90.
“May he rest forever on 2 and 4,” read the statement. “The family appreciates your outpouring of support and prayers that have been extended to Hal from around the world, and respectfully request privacy in this time of great mourning. No further details will be released at this time.”
According to a 2017 Modern Drummer feature by Dennis Diken (himself the drummer of the New Jersey band the Smithereens), Blaine appeared on more than 35,000 recordings, including some 6,000 singles.
“Blaine’s drumming could be found on all reaches of the Hot 100 — usually near the top,” Diken wrote.
He was featured on the majority of Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound” productions, including the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” which featured perhaps the most indelible drum introduction in rock ‘n’ roll history. He also appeared on many of the Beach Boys’ best-known records (standing in for the L.A. band’s Dennis Wilson), including the classic 1966 album “Pet Sounds” and the experimental single from that same year, “Good Vibrations.”
Blaine appeared on such No. 1 hits as the Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel,” the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man,” Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “Mrs. Robinson” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the 5th Dimension’s “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” the Carpenters’ “Close to You” and Barbra Streisand’s “The Way We Were.”
The most adaptable of studio percussionists, he also cut dates such notables as Elvis Presley (on both record and movie dates), Sam Cooke, Dean Martin, Jan & Dean, Johnny Rivers, the Monkees, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Nancy Sinatra, the Mamas and the Papas, Cher, John Denver and Steely Dan.
In the end it may be easier to list the musicians he didn’t support during his years of work during the heyday of such Hollywood studios as Capitol, Gold Star, United, Western and RCA. His work also encompassed movie soundtracks and TV scores and themes.
Blaine was married and divorced five times. His survivors include daughter Michelle.
RIP.
The man is a legend amongst serious musicians.
Two of my very,*very* favorite songs of all time!
His work on Be My Baby is one of the most distinctive sounds of all time.
>>Phenomenal drummer, though not a great husband it would appear.<<
Talented *and* faithful? — perhaps too much to ask. Generous with his affections, let’s say, so that we speak not ill of the departed.
;)
He was so many of my favourite drummers.
Condolences to family and friends of Hal Blaine.
He was a prodigious talent. Sad for his family but this is going to be a great thread.
A few minutes ago, I was listening to Leonid and Friends, a Chicago cover band from Russia and admiring the incredibly talented drummer Igor Javed-Zade. https://youtu.be/0rmOg4_8wD0
Anyone who can play drums is amazingly talented in a way I can never understand.
Oh man.
Quite possibly the most recorded man in history, regardless of instrument.
Featuring Hal Blaine
The greatest drummer you never heard of. Which is about a lot of thise studio cats.
..I know Brian Wilson shed a tear today...
Band: The Wrecking Crew with Hal Blaine on drums with his famous intro. That famous drum intro was an accident. Hal Blaine said: "I was supposed to play the snare on the second beat as well as the fourth, but I dropped a stick. Being the faker I was in those days, I left the mistake in and it became: “Bum-ba-bum-BOOM!” And soon everyone wanted that beat.
No less an authority than Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys has declared 'Be My Baby' the greatest pop record ever made.The song drove Brian Wilson mad with envy. Wilson says it is his favorite record, stating in Q Magazine's 1001 Best songs Ever: "This is a special one for me. What a great sound, the Wall of Sound. Boy, first heard this on the car radio and I had to pull off the road, I couldn't believe it. The choruses blew me away; the strings are the melody of love. It has the promise to make the world better."
“Look who..” ping.
(RIP Hal Blaine. 90 is a good run.)
“though not a great husband it would appear”....
although the piece is not about family relationships and he did live to the grand ole age of 90, thanks for the petty dig
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