Drummer Hal Blaine passes at 90

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Drummer Hal Blaine passes at 90

Postby radiofan » Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:05 pm

From Wiki ...

Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 - March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician. He is widely regarded as one of the most prolific drummers in rock and roll history, having "certainly played on more hit records than any drummer in the rock era".[1] Blaine is most remembered for his work with the Wrecking Crew, a group of musicians who recorded prolifically in the Los Angeles music scene and played behind a large number of musicians in the 1960s and 1970s.

Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including The Mamas and The Papas, Nancy Sinatra, Jan and Dean, Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, the Grass Roots,[2] the 5th Dimension, the Monkees, the Partridge Family, and Steely Dan. He played on 40 number one hit singles, 150 top ten hits and performed on, by his own accounting, over 35,000 recorded tracks. Blaine is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum, and the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2010.
Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who couldn't hear the music.
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Re: Drummer Hal Blaine passes at 90

Postby tuned » Tue Mar 12, 2019 10:47 am

I had the opportunity to talk to Hal on the phone a few years ago. If he wasn't a drummer he could have been a successful comedian or a voiceover artist. He had a great set of pipes and was cracking me up on the phone. He even recorded a comedy CD in the 90s that's available on amazon. His sense of humour was one of the reasons he was so successful as a studio musician. Hal could always be counted on to crack everyone up when things got tense during a session. He had a bright yellow 1930's Rolls Royce that's on the front of Al Wilsons' "Show & Tell" album. Probably ended up with one of his many ex-wives. Hal is the one that introduced a teenaged Jim Gordon (Derek & The Domino's) into the world of session drumming. He was a big part of the "Wrecking Crew" documentary for anyone that hasn't seen it.

RIP Hal and thanks for the music.
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