Remembering Hal Blaine
• Legendary studio drummer Hal Blaine, who lent his signature sound and structure to scores of Grammy-winning and chart-topping songs as a member of that iconic collection of 1960s and ’70s L.A. session players known as “The Wrecking Crew,” died Monday, March 11 at the age of 90. As NPR reports, Blaine’s family announced his passing in a Facebook post that called him an “inspiration to countless friends, fans and musicians,” adding, “May he rest forever on 2 and 4” — a reference to accent beats in a 4/4 pop song.
Blaine notably played on “A Taste of Honey,” the 1965 Grammy Record of the Year, by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. He also contributed his talents to Frank Sinatra‘s 1966 Grammy winner, “Strangers in the Night,” and the 5th Dimension‘s 1967 Grammy winner, “Up, Up and Away.” In fact, Blaine’s talents can be heard on six consecutive Record of the Year winners, up through Simon & Garfunkel‘s “Bridge over Troubled Water.”
Both with the Wrecking Crew and on his own, Blaine became an integral pillar of producer Phil Spector‘s “Wall of Sound” (like the distinctive kicks and snare that opened The Ronettes‘ early ’60s anthem, “Be My Baby.”) He also contributed to thousands of tracks that bear other artists’ names. Blaine also notably worked on the Beach Boys‘ landmark album Pet Sounds.
In a Twitter post, Brian Wilson (pictured above with Blaine during a recording session) said, “I’m so sad, I don’t know what to say. Hal Blaine was such a great musician and friend that I can’t put it into words. Hal taught me a lot, and he had so much to do with our success — he was the greatest drummer ever. We also laughed an awful lot. Love, Brian.”
To get a rough idea of the sheer volume of timeless hits and TV themes Hal Blaine contributed to, plan on spending some time with this amazing video tribute.
