Login
Login

Hal Blaine

{{Short description|American drummer (1929–2019)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2019}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Hal Blaine

| image = Hal Blaine in 1995.jpg

| landscape = yes

| caption = Blaine recording at the Record Plant in 1995

| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

| birth_name = Harold Simon Belsky

| alias =

| origin =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1929|02|05}}

| birth_place = Holyoke, Massachusetts, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|2019|03|11|1929|02|05}}

| death_place = Palm Desert, California, U.S.

| instrument = {{hlist|Drums|percussion}}

| genre = {{hlist|Pop|rock and roll}}

| years_active = 1949–2019

| label =

| associated_acts = {{hlist|The Wrecking Crew|The Beach Boys|The Byrds|Frank Sinatra|Dean Martin|Johnny Rivers|Simon & Garfunkel|Neil Diamond|John Denver|Barbra Streisand|Captain & Tennille|The Carpenters|The 5th Dimension}}

| website =

}}

Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician,{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|page=144}} thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. His drumming is featured on 150 US top 10 hits, 40 of which went to number one.

Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Blaine moved with his family to California in 1943 and began playing jazz and big band music before taking up rock and roll session work. He became one of the regulars in Phil Spector's de facto house band, which Blaine nicknamed "the Wrecking Crew". Some of the records Blaine played on include the Ronettes' single "Be My Baby" (1963), which contained a drum beat that became widely imitated, as well as works by popular artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, Neil Diamond, and the Byrds.{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=Randy |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-hal-blaine-obituary-drums-wrecking-crew-20190311-story.html |title=Hal Blaine, prolific 'Wrecking Crew' drummer who worked with Frank Sinatra and Elvis, dies at 90 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=March 11, 2019 |access-date=March 13, 2019}}

Blaine's workload declined in the 1980s as recording and musical practices changed. In 2000, he was among the inaugural "sidemen" inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2007 he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum as a member of the Wrecking Crew and in 2018 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Early life

Blaine was born Harold Simon Belsky, one of four children of Jewish Eastern European immigrants Meyer and Rose Belsky ({{née}} Silverman),{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/obituaries/hal-blaine-dead.html|title=Hal Blaine, Wrecking Crew Drummer, Is Dead at 90|first=Richard|last=Sandomir|date=March 12, 2019|website=The New York Times}} in Holyoke, Massachusetts.{{cite book |first1=Hal |last1=Blaine |first2=David |last2=Goggin |editor-first=David M. |editor-last=Schwartz |title=Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew |publisher=MixBooks |location=Emeryville, California |year=1990 |isbn=978-1888408126}} When he was seven, his family moved to Hartford, Connecticut.{{cite news|last=Harrison|first=Smith|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/hal-blaine-celebrated-as-the-most-recorded-drummer-in-history-dies-at-90/2019/03/12/9306ef66-44d1-11e9-aaf8-4512a6fe3439_story.html|title=Hal Blaine, celebrated as 'the most recorded drummer in history,' dies at 90|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 12, 2019|access-date=April 2, 2019}} He began playing drums at the age of eight,{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47537451|title='Greatest drummer ever' Hal Blaine dies aged 90|work=BBC News|date=March 12, 2019|access-date=March 12, 2019}} and got his first drum kit at 13. His father worked at a nightclub and Hal followed him to work, learning drum patterns from the musicians in jazz bands and orchestras. In 1943, he and his family moved to California.

Career

From 1949 to 1952, Blaine learned drums from Roy Knapp, who had also taught jazz drummer Gene Krupa. He began his professional career playing overnight sessions in Chicago strip clubs, which allowed him to practice and perfect his sight reading skills. He subsequently played as part of Count Basie's big band and toured with Patti Page and Tommy Sands before taking up session work. Unlike many of his jazz contemporaries, Blaine enjoyed playing rock and roll and this meant he played on numerous such sessions during the 1950s. Blaine rarely performed live, with the exception of working with Nancy Sinatra at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in the 1960s, and with John Denver's band in the 70s.{{Cite news |last=Sandomir |first=Richard |date=March 12, 2019 |title=Hal Blaine, Wrecking Crew Drummer, Is Dead at 90 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/obituaries/hal-blaine-dead.html |access-date=September 17, 2022}}

Blaine was a core member of the Wrecking Crew, the close-knit group of Los Angeles session musicians that played on hit records during the 1960s.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.musicradar.com/news/drums/the-wrecking-crews-hal-blaine-my-11-greatest-recordings-of-all-time-450846|title=The Wrecking Crew's Hal Blaine: my 11 greatest recordings of all time|magazine=Music Radar|date=May 23, 2011|access-date=March 11, 2019}} Blaine claimed to have invented the name as the "old-school" studio musicians feared these new, younger guys were a "destructive force" in the conservative studio environment of the time. He played with guitarists Glen Campbell and Tommy Tedesco, bassists Carol Kaye and Joe Osborn, and keyboardists Leon Russell and Don Randi.{{Cite news |last=Sandomir |first=Richard |date=March 12, 2019 |title=Hal Blaine, Wrecking Crew Drummer, is dead at 90 |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/obituaries/hal-blaine-dead.html |access-date=September 17, 2022}}

Blaine drummed for the Ronettes' 1963 single "Be My Baby", produced by Phil Spector at Hollywood's Gold Star Studios, heard as part of the Wall of Sound.{{cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |title=Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits |publisher=Billboard Books |year=1992 |isbn=978-0823085545 |location=New York}} The pattern was created when Blaine accidentally hit the snare on just the fourth beat, instead of the two and four. It was a mistake that Spector decided to leave in.{{Cite web |title=Hal Blaine: Every No. 1 Hit The Wrecking Crew Drummer Played On |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8502158/hal-blaine-every-no-1-hit-wrecking-crew-drummer |website=Billboard.com}} Drummer 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."

Blaine played less session work from the 1980s onwards as computers and electronics began to be used in studios, and producers began to bring in younger players. The popularity of the drum machine also reduced demand for session drummers like Blaine.{{cite news|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/obituaries/hal-blaine-dead.html|title=Hal Blaine, Pop Music's Go-To Studio Drummer, Is Dead at 90|newspaper=The New York Times|date=March 11, 2019|access-date=March 13, 2019}} He kept busy recording advertising jingles for a number of years, before semi-retiring from performing. He lost most of his wealth following a divorce. At one point, he was working as a security guard in Arizona.

Personal life and death

Blaine was married six times; he was widowed by the 1968 death of his first wife, with whom he had one daughter. He died of natural causes on March 11, 2019, at age 90 in Palm Desert, California.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/12/hal-blaine-drummer-who-dominated-mid-century-pop-dies-aged-90|title=Hal Blaine, drummer who dominated mid-century pop, dies aged 90|first=Ben|last=Beaumont-Thomas|date=March 12, 2019|access-date=March 12, 2019|newspaper=The Guardian}}{{cite news|url=https://www.desertsun.com/story/life/entertainment/music/2019/03/11/most-honored-drummer-rock-history-dies-palm-desert-90/3137147002/|title=Hal Blaine, most honored drummer in rock history, dies at Palm Desert home|first=Bruce|last=Fessler|date=March 11, 2019|access-date=March 12, 2019|newspaper=The Desert Sun}} A statement from his family read "May he rest forever on 2 and 4", referring to the second and fourth beats of a measure in music.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8502133/hal-blaine-wrecking-crew-member-dies-at-90|title=Hal Blaine, Wrecking Crew Drummer, Dies at 90|magazine=Billboard|date=March 11, 2019|access-date=March 11, 2019}} Beatles drummer Ringo Starr and Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson expressed public condolences and praised Blaine's musicianship. Ronnie Spector praised Blaine for "the magic he put on all our Ronettes recordings".

Artistry and legacy

File:Fake_"HAL_BLAINE_STRIKES_AGAIN"_stamp.jpg

"Hal Blaine Strikes Again" was a rubber stamp used by Blaine to mark music scores and places where he played. When asked to explain about the stamp, Blaine said, "I always stamp my charts. And there's a reason why I started that; it wasn't all ego."{{cite book |last1=Weinberg |first1=Max |author-link1=Max Weinberg |last2=Santelli |first2=Robert |others=Foreword by Bruce Springsteen |title=The Big Beat: Conversations With Rock's Great Drummers |location=New York |publisher=Billboard Books |year=1991 |pages=75–77 |isbn=978-0823075713}} The stamp was used for any piece of music Blaine played on. Another drummer, Mike Botts, then with the band Bread, recalled: "Every studio I went to in the late sixties, there was a rubber stamp imprint on the wall of the drum booth that said, 'Hal Blaine strikes again.' Hal was getting so many studio dates he actually had a rubber stamp made. He was everywhere!"{{cite web |url=http://www.americanheritage.com/entertainment/articles/web/20070212-rock-n-roll-brian-wilson-beach-boys-glen-campbell-monkees-hal-blaine-carol-kaye-leon-russell.shtml |title=Americanheritage.com – The Wrecking Crew |publisher=Americanheritage.com |access-date=May 23, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925073416/http://www.americanheritage.com/entertainment/articles/web/20070212-rock-n-roll-brian-wilson-beach-boys-glen-campbell-monkees-hal-blaine-carol-kaye-leon-russell.shtml |archive-date=September 25, 2010 |df=mdy-all}}

Blaine was a prolific session player and by his estimation played on over 35,000 recordings, including 6,000 singles.{{cite magazine |date=July 2017 |title=Hal Blaine |url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/july-2017-hal-blaine/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321142529/https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/july-2017-hal-blaine/ |archive-date=March 21, 2019 |access-date=March 12, 2019 |magazine=Modern Drummer}}

Blaine is widely regarded as one of the most in-demand drummers in rock and roll history, having "certainly played on more hit records than any drummer in the rock era".{{cite web |title=Hal Blaine Biography |url=https://rockhall.com/inductees/hal-blaine/bio/ |access-date=August 10, 2015 |publisher=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}} Bruce Gary, drummer for the Knack, once said he was disappointed to find that his 10 favorite drummers turned out to all be Hal Blaine.{{cite magazine |title=Remembering Hal Blaine |url=https://drummagazine.com/remembering-hal-blaine-2-5-29-3-11-19/ |magazine=Drum Magazine}} He is also 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.{{additional citation needed|date=March 2019}}

In 2014, Blaine was portrayed by Johnny Sneed in the film Love & Mercy, a biopic of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson.

The instrumental song "Hal McBlaine" – a portmanteau combining the names of Blaine and guitarist John McBain – by psychedelic garage rock band Wellwater Conspiracy on their 1999 album Brotherhood of Electric: Operational Directives is an homage to Blaine.

Achievements

Blaine played on six consecutive Grammy Award Record of the Year winners:{{cite web|url=https://pas.org/hal-blaine-2/|title=Hal Blaine|date=February 19, 2024 |publisher=Percussive Arts Society|access-date=January 12, 2025}}

In March 2000, Blaine was one of the first five sidemen inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (one of the other inductees was his long-time friend and drumming colleague Earl Palmer).{{cite magazine |url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/2005/07/hal-blaine-2/ |title=An Interview with Hal Blaine |first=Billy |last=Amendola |magazine=Modern Drummer |year=2005 |issn=0194-4533}} He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2010.{{cite web |url=http://www.moderndrummer.com/modern-drummers-readers-poll-archive/#_ | title=Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 1979–2014 | work=Modern Drummer |access-date=August 10, 2015}} In 2018, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.{{cite web |url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/tina-turner-queen-2018-recording-academy-special-merit-awards |title=Tina Turner To Queen: 2018 Recording Academy Special Merit Awards |first=Renée |last=Fabian |website=The Recording Academy |date=January 9, 2018}}

Works

{{Main list|List of song recordings featuring Hal Blaine

}}

= Selected performances =

  • Elvis Presley's '68 Comeback Special, which introduced the world to the power ballad "If I Can Dream", a dramatic tribute to the recently assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King, reaching No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.{{cite web |url=https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/why-elvis-presleys-drummer-found-his-friends-really-disturbing.html/ |title=Why Elvis Presley's Drummer Found His Friends 'Really Disturbing' |date=February 3, 2021}}

In addition to playing on 150 US top 10 singles, Blaine played drums on 39 recordings that hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The dates given are when each song reached number one:Bronson, Fred, The Billboard Book of Number One Hits, Billboard Books, 1992

{{div col}}

{{div col end}}

= Discography =

  • Deuces, T's, Roadsters and Drums (1963)
  • Drums! Drums! A Go Go (1966)
  • Psychedelic Percussion (1967)
  • Have Fun!!! Play Drums!!! (1968)
  • Buh-Doom (1998)

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/idhitthatpodcast/episodes/2019-03-11T16_52_17-07_00 Hal Blaine] interview from the I'd Hit That podcast
  • [https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/hal-blaine Hal Blaine] interview at NAMM Oral History Collection
  • {{Rockhall}}

{{Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award}}

{{2000 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{The Wrecking Crew}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blaine, Hal}}

Category:1929 births

Category:2019 deaths

Category:American rock drummers

Category:Drummers from Massachusetts

Category:Drummers from Los Angeles

Category:People from Holyoke, Massachusetts

Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners

Category:American session musicians

Category:The T-Bones members

Category:The Wrecking Crew (music) members

Category:RCA Victor artists

Category:Dunhill Records artists

Category:Jewish American rock musicians

Category:20th-century American drummers

Category:American male drummers

Category:21st-century American drummers

Category:20th-century American male musicians

Category:21st-century American male musicians

Category:21st-century American Jews