Hal Blaine - The Wrecking Crew

On the occasion of Hal Blaine receiving a lifetime Grammy Award I wanted to pay homage to this living legend, who has performed on 40 No. 1 singles and has played on, by his own count, more than 35,000 recorded tracks. A member of the fabled Wrecking Crew, he has backed such stars as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, The Beach Boys, The Partridge Family, Simon & Garfunkel, Steely Dan, The Byrds and many others including Phil Spectors Wall of Sound era.

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 and is a member of the Rock and Roll hall of Fame and the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame.

The picture montage below is from a 1981 interview in Modern Drummer conducted by Billy Amendola and is a read read , even today.

Growing up, I was a big fan of AM radio and only later in life did I find out that many of my favorite AM Pop Classics from the 1960s were recorded by the same drummer: Hal!

I discovered Hal when I read Max Weinberg's book The Big Beat: Conversations with Rock's Great Drummers in 1984

and realized what an amazing time it was in music for session musicians and The Wrecking Crew. I have since learned over the years the studio magicians employed for the records were not always the same as the live touring band (Obvious today, not so obvious in the 60s and 70s).

After reading Max's book, I learned to appreciate the giants in our industry such as Clyde Stubblefield, Jim Gordon, JR Robinson, Earl Palmer, Roger Hawkins, Al Jackson Jr., Bernard Purdie, Andy Newmark, Jeff Porcaro, Jim Keltner, Larry Londin, and later on Matt Chamerlain, Kenny Aronoff and today's up and comers like Dylan Wissing and giants like Thomas Lang and Ash Soan who are changing the world and how records are being made.

I know I have left a TON of great players out but wanted to share my early experiences as a kid researching studio drummers back in the 70s and 80s.

So a tip of the hat and a cheer in my glass, my congratulations to one of the greats: Hal Blaine.