Rest in Peace Hal Blaine

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by rlp, Mar 11, 2019.

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  1. jimac51

    jimac51 A mythical beast.

    Location:
    Allentown,pa.
    Found a quote via WBUR's Here & Now interviewing Kent Hartman when his Wrecking Crew book came out. The interviewer,Robin Young,began with a quote from the Knack drummer,the late Bruce Gary,about being disappointed finding out that his 10 favorite drummers were Hal Blaine. Sounds like a decent epitaph.
    Strange that there was more than a bit of fraud in my childhood. After the Santa expose,it would be years till fans of Donald Duck/Uncle Scrooge comics knew that the "good duck artist" was Carl Barks. All we got was a "Walt Disney" marking. It wasn't until a superfan did some detective work to find Unca Carl and thankfully,Carl stayed around for years(1901-2000) to get some well-deserved acclaim. Superman? Spiderman? Just wannabees compared to Uncle Scrooge McDuck. And his nephews. And the secret is one reason why I will always hold Walt & Co. in a diminished light.
    So,too,the secret musicians who played on so many pop records. It took a lot of detective work to find out the answers and even today,there are pockets of intentional lies. It wasn't until I read the notes for the 5th Dimension LPs with some clues. Phil Spector & Beach Boys fans were onto this early. For me,the 5D LPs led to Jimmy Webb and his marvelous productions. All of this while my interest in Herb Alpert was the same musicians. When scouring in the cutout bins,it was folks like Hal Blaine,Joe Osborne,Carol Kaye,Larry Knechtel,Mike Melvoin & others on the credits that made many of my buying decisions.
    A sad time as Osborne & Blaine left us recently. Probably for the next week or so,nothing but Wrecking Crew stuff on the turntable & Discman. Oh,and revisiting the documentary and all the extras on the DVD set. This kind of stuff means little to my wife and just about anyone I know outside of music addicts. I printed out the wiki of some of Hal Blaine's credits,just to give her a short taste of some of her favorite songs. The common denominator was Hal Blaine. 10 favorite drummers? Hal Blaine.
     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2019
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  2. Jarleboy

    Jarleboy Music was my first love

    Location:
    Norway
    So sad... He contributed so much - to so many. I read his book, and he came across as a sincere and generous person. He will be missed.
     
  3. forthlin

    forthlin Member Chris & Vickie Cyber Support Team

    The quantity of work is impressive, but consider among those 2000 songs are some of the best records ever made.
     
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  4. williamjoel

    williamjoel Spins At 33 1/3 RPM

    Location:
    Orlando, FL
    RIP Hal Blaine. You were the best there ever was!

    I love what he had to say about what makes drumming in the studio different than drumming in a club or a concert - from a 2012 interview regarding working with Karen Carpenter:

    HB: "As a drummer, you’re sitting in a room at your kit in a tight space, and the mikes are highly sensitive. Most drummers are used to knocking the hell out of their set. But in the studio, at least back then, before the digital recording age, you didn’t do that. With all those mikes, you can’t be wailing away or you’ll hit one of the stands. You also have to develop a technique of playing in your own little zone of space. You have to play gentle. If a song calls for something a little heavier, you turn the sticks around so you’re using the thicker end. It’s like the difference between driving a little car and a semi-truck. There are different rules for maneuvering."
     
  5. CCrider92

    CCrider92 Senior Member

    Location:
    Cape Cod, MA
    What a resume`! There's a very long line up above waiting to sign Hal up to play in their sessions. Rest in peace, Hal.
     
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  6. This news has absolutely knocked the wind out of my sails... Hal Blaine has long since been up there as one of my all time favourite drummers, yet it's remarkable how many people wouldn't recognise him by name alone. As the rhythmic heart of the Wrecking Crew, I'm still amazed by just how many hits that he played on over the years, and it's good to see he lived a very long, full life. Brian Wilson once recalled how he knocked on Hal's front door to leave a box filled with gold discs of various songs he'd played on for The Beach Boys, which shows just how highly regarded he was. Rest in peace, Hal - thank you so very much for leaving the world a far better place!
     
  7. mrzpliff

    mrzpliff Forum Resident

    Location:
    sweden
    Rest in peace, Mr Blaine.
     
  8. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    RIP. I was born in 1951 and was in high school 1964-1969. Many thanks to HB and the WC for so many great musical memories that enhanced my life.
     
  9. BZync

    BZync Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    The only drummer for which I have a playlist in iTunes.

    There are a ton of identifiable guitar riffs but very few iconic, identifiable drum "riffs". Blaine owned so many of them. At any party, heads will pop up, ears primed by the three kicks and single snare crack that open Be My Baby. Just magic.
     
  10. Allen Michael

    Allen Michael Fuh you blue

    He was my dad’s favorite drummers being a drummer himself. I have such great memories of him drumming on the steering wheel in our car on trips to Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in and telling me how the drums just swing out. As a small boy it took me years to appreciate what that meant but when that transition between the two songs happens and the drums swing and Joe Osborn plays that grooving bass I knew what he meant. I made a playlist on Apple Music of the #1’s he played on and every song takes me back. RIP to you Mr. Blaine and thank you for inspiring my dad who inspired me. I hope y’all are having a drum off in heaven today!
     
  11. Allen Michael

    Allen Michael Fuh you blue


    What’s your playlist?
     
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  12. Just as I posted on Steve Hoffman's first announcement of Hal Blaine's passing on Facebook, what a loss. Hal provided the beat of a generation, playing on so many recordings of the 1960's and 70's that it is nearly impossible to list them all. If you listened to Top 40 radio back in the day, you would have heard him drumming on song after song. He influenced countless other drummers like Ringo Starr and Karen Carpenter. A jazz drummer, he soon brought his distinctive sound to pop music in the Phil Spector productions. He was not only Nancy Sinatra's "Drummer Man" but was also the beat behind so many other groups' recording sessions, like: The Ventures, The Raiders, The Byrds, Elvis, The Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, The Partridge Family, The Association, The 5th Dimension and countless other 'studio' groups.
    I consider myself lucky to have his autograph. It came on a complimentary CD set of "The Wrecking Crew 2", along with Don Randi's and Denny Tedesco's, which I received for my sponsorship of the project. There aren't many members of the Wrecking Crew left. It's sad to lose another one. R.I.P., Hal.
     
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  13. stereoguy

    stereoguy Its Gotta Be True Stereo!

    Location:
    NYC
    I have been playing drums for 46 years now, and have recorded a bunch of independant albums. The 2 drummers that influenced my playing by FAR, were Mel Taylor of The Ventures and Hal Blaine. I learned so much from both of them.

    Hal's playing was always note perfect. He never over-played, and knew, instinctively, what drum pattern would be right for the song he was recording.

    When discussing Hal's drumming, its always The Beach Boys, The Association, Simon and Garfunkel, etc.

    But to me, Hal's perfect playing on The Partridge Family albums still, to this day, knocks me out. He did an album for the PF called "Up To Date", and every song is wonderful...no filler here at all. Hal's playing on that album is literally perfect. Every fill, his use of the high hat to augment a soft passage, and slamming when it calls for it made an indelible impression on me in 1972, and does the EXACT same today, every time I hear that album.

    Rest in Peace Harold. You did what we all should do.....you made the world a little nicer for all of us.
     
  14. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing

    Since he wasn't credited on many, it would be hard, but here is a pretty good list, though quite incomplete. Unbelievable!

    RIP

    List of recordings of songs Hal Blaine played on - Wikipedia

    Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician. Blaine was one of the most recorded studio drummers in the history of the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions, and 6,000 singles.

    His drumming is featured on 40 number 1 hits by a range of popular artists from
    the Byrds to Frank Sinatra, as well as on film and television soundtracks. -wiki

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Mar 12, 2019
  15. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing

    Blaine's drumming can be heard as part of the Wall of Sound on the Ronettes' 1963 single "Be My Baby",[11] produced by Phil Spector at Hollywood's Gold Star Studios. Critic Max Weinberg wrote, "If Hal Blaine had played drums only on ... 'Be My Baby', his name would still be uttered with reverence and respect for the power of his big beat."[12] Rolling Stone magazine listed the song as number 22 on The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[13] Blaine also played on Beach Boys sessions during the mid-1960s (covering for the group's official drummer Dennis Wilson), including for the 1966 album Pet Sounds and single "Good Vibrations".[3]
    Blaine is credited with popularising the "disco beat" after he recorded a "pshh-shup" sound by opening and closing the hi-hat at appropriate intervals on Johnny Rivers' "Poor Side of Town". The effect had been widely used in jazz, but professional recording engineers disliked it because of its resemblance to white noise. The sound subsequently became sought-after by producers in the 1970s.[4] -wiki
     
    oldsurferdude and trumpet sounds like this.
  16. lemonade kid

    lemonade kid Forever Changing

    [​IMG]
    Good vibrations
     
  17. Zep Fan

    Zep Fan Sounds Better with Headphones on

    Location:
    N. Texas
    R.I.P. Hal

    Blaine played on six consecutive Grammy Award Record of the Year winners:

    Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in 1966 for "A Taste of Honey"
    Frank Sinatra in 1967 for "Strangers in the Night"
    The 5th Dimension in 1968 for "Up, Up and Away"
    Simon & Garfunkel in 1969 "Mrs. Robinson"
    The 5th Dimension in 1970 for "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In"
    Simon & Garfunkel in 1971 for "Bridge over Troubled Water"
     
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  18. Bob J

    Bob J Forum Resident

    RIP, Hal. Not only was his drumming skill stunning but you have to continue to be amazed at his versatility. A sad day for the music world.
     
  19. rockindownthehighway

    rockindownthehighway Not interested

    Location:
    Gone
    It's interesting that you say that. I had the same impression but I never knew who he was.
     
  20. bosto

    bosto Forum Resident

    RIP Hal. The beat behind the Wrecking Crew. Thank you for all your talent and your legacy of amazing records.

    Hal and a few others at work...

     
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  21. fenderesq

    fenderesq In Brooklyn It's The Blues / Heavy Bass 7-7

    Location:
    Brooklyn - NY
    With thanks and appreciation for all his work; among those who's music, who recordings he participated in...

    Dusty Springfield
    Lulu
    Glen Campbell
    Ike & Tina Turner
    Johnny Rivers
    Frank Sinatra
    Nancy Sinatra
    The Mamas & The Papas
    Chet Baker Simon & Garfunkel
    Jerry Garcia
    The Beach Boys
    The Monkees
    Sam Cooke
    Elvis Presley
    The 5th Dimension
    Dick Dale
    Steely Dan
    The Crystals
    Dion
    Leonard Cohen
    Harry Nilsson
    J.J. Cale
    Johnny Cash
    Roseanne Cash
    Jerry Lee Lewis
    Anita O'Day
    The Yardbirds
    The Byrds
    Jack Nitzche
    Laura Nyro
    Paul Revere and the Raiders
    The Ronettes
    Gerry Mulligan
    Bobby Darin...

    and about 500 others.

    You've done well with you life; have given pleasure to countless numbers and deserve to R.I.P.
     
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  22. BrutandCharisma

    BrutandCharisma Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver, Colorado
    The word "legend" has been tossed around - and at - so many people that the impact of the word has been rendered almost meaningless.

    In Hal Blaine's case, "legend" isn't strong enough. What beyond that? I dunno.

    The guy drummed on the soundtrack to my childhood. That's enough for me . And it can't be replaced.

    RIP Hal Blaine. Simply the best.
     
  23. Jack Lord

    Jack Lord Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    RIP Hal Blaine
     
  24. Dr. Zoom

    Dr. Zoom Forum Resident

    Location:
    Monmouth County NJ
    RIP. A true legend.
    Nobody could do a build-up fill better than Hal Blaine. See "Da Doo Ron Ron".
     
  25. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I don't know if it's been mentioned, but his driving drumming on Elvis'
    "A Little Less Conversation", both the intro and through the rest of the song
    is classic Hal. For me, he was the ultimate drummer throughout my musical life in the
    60's. I've lost a friend (and I never even met him).
     
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