DRUMMER IN REPOSE

Fuck, Hal Blaine died today. I'm sure most of you know who he is. Studio drummer, first string in the Wrecking Crew. Those of you who don't know who he is, I can guarantee you've heard his playing. Take a look at the list of #1 hits he played on, or the other partial list of records he played on that didn't hit the top slot. He was the go-to.

Blaine was on more records that most of you own, over six thousand by his estimation. The drummer for Phil Spector and Brian Wilson, two of the greatest producers of all time, in any genre. They knew what was what, and Blaine was definitely what. Wilson said today, "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."

A drummer friend of mine, who's been playing for four decades, posted a YouTube audio clip (above) of the making of "Be My Baby" today, and noted the following "Listen to the fills at the 8 minute mark!" adding a few minutes later "At the 8:26 mark Phil stops the recording and says "OK hold it, I wanna make sure it's the same tempo" and Hal responds......" it's fucking perfect Phil"! Classic."

There's a whole hell of a lot online about Blaine, and there will be a lot more as obits and remembrances are posted. Those of you that don't know what definitely was what might take the opportunity to learn about Blaine.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Hal Blaine - Gear Stripper mp3 at Rock 'n' Soul Ichiban
Hal Blaine - Drums! Drums! A Go Go (full album) (streaming) at YouTube 1965
Hal Blaine - Interview at NPR
Hal Blaine on Phil Spector at YouTube
Hal Blaine - The Sessions Panel at YouTube 40 minute interview, 2017