Althouse: "I just played what I felt and they let me play. You know, once you kind of make a name for yourself, then when producers would come in..."

March 12, 2019

"I just played what I felt and they let me play. You know, once you kind of make a name for yourself, then when producers would come in..."

"... they would say, 'Oh Hal, just do your thing, you know, don't worry about it — just whatever you feel.' They felt that I would always do the right thing."

Said Hal Blaine, who has died at the age of 90. NPR has put together a play list of 40 amazing recordings on which he played the drums — "Be My Baby," "Good Vibrations," "Strangers in the Night," "California Dreamin'," The Byrds' "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Bridge Over Troubled Waters," and on and on:

27 comments:

Heartless Aztec said...: The time keeper to the soundtrack of my life.; 3/12/19, 8:29 PM
mccullough said...: So many excellent studio and touring musicians.; 3/12/19, 8:48 PM
Earnest Prole said...: When I was a kid I couldn't fathom how so many bands were capable of playing the perfect notes on their one-hit wonders. The Wrecking Crew explains how. Rest in peace Hal Blaine.; 3/12/19, 9:09 PM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: His number one hits:

The Crystals, "He's a Rebel" (1962)
Shelley Fabares, "Johnny Angel" (1962)
Jan and Dean, "Surf City" (1963)
Dean Martin, "Everybody Loves Somebody" (1964)
The Beach Boys, "I Get Around" (1964)
Lorne Greene, "Ringo" (1964)
Barry McGuire, "Eve of Destruction" (1965)
The Beach Boys, "Help Me, Rhonda" (1965)
Sonny and Cher, "I Got You Babe" (1965)
The Byrds, "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965)
Gary Lewis and the Playboys, "This Diamond Ring" (1965)
The Beach Boys, "Good Vibrations" (1966)
The Mamas and the Papas, "Monday, Monday" (1966)
Petula Clark, "My Love" (1966)
Johnny Rivers, "Poor Side of Town" (1966)
Frank Sinatra, "Strangers in the Night" (1966)
Nancy Sinatra, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" (1966)
Frank and Nancy Sinatra, "Somethin' Stupid" (1967)
The Supremes, "The Happening" (1967)
The Association, "Windy" (1967)
Simon and Garfunkel, "Mrs. Robinson" (1968)
The 5th Dimension, "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" (1969)
Tommy Roe, "Dizzy" (1969)
Henry Mancini, "Theme From Romeo & Juliet" (1969)
The 5th Dimension, "Wedding Bell Blues" (1969)
Simon and Garfunkel, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (1970)
The Carpenters, "Close to You" (1970)
Neil Diamond, "Cracklin' Rosie" (1970)
The Partridge Family, "I Think I Love You" (1971)
The Raiders, "Indian Reservation" (1971)
Neil Diamond, "Song Sung Blue" (1972)
Cher, "Half Breed" (1973)
John Denver, "Annie's Song" (1974)
Barbra Streisand, "The Way We Were" (1974)
The Carpenters, "Top of the World" (1974)
John Denver, "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" (1975)
Captain & Tennille, "Love Will Keep Us Together" (1975)
John Denver, "I'm Sorry/Calypso" (1975)
Diana Ross, "Theme From Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" (1976)

I couldn't find a list of his Top 10 hits, but I'm sure it's massive.

Here he is (as the gardener) in an unreleased skit around the Smile song "Vegetables" that makes me glad Brian Wilson never produced the comedy album he wanted to do.; 3/12/19, 9:37 PM
Charlie Currie said...: Check out the Facebook and Instagram page of Vintage Los Angeles (Alison Martino). She has clips of him playing on his 90th birthday at the Baked Potato in LA. Nancy Sinatra was singing, These Boots Were Made For Walkin'.

Side note: Alison is Al Martino's daughter.; 3/12/19, 11:13 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Definitely one of the greatest session drummers just based on that list alone.; 3/12/19, 11:43 PM
RK said...: Holy fuck!; 3/13/19, 12:14 AM
OnlyInCA said...: Now I’ve got to watch the Wrecking Crew video!; 3/13/19, 12:41 AM
Clyde said...: What a legacy!; 3/13/19, 2:41 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: OnlyInCA...

Also see (buy thru the althouse portal) "Twenty Feet From Stardom".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kgRq_pGN2g

Every bit the Crew's equivalent.; 3/13/19, 5:47 AM
Kay said...: That “Be My Baby” beat is so iconic.; 3/13/19, 6:49 AM
Kay said...: There was that documentary that came out a little while ago, about the Wrecking Crew. Was always on my radar, but I never watched it for whatever reason. Might as well check it out now.; 3/13/19, 6:56 AM
Temujin said...: Unbelievable. I was tapping my feet to this guy my entire life.; 3/13/19, 7:08 AM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Hal is a true blue legend. To me, the instruction to “play whatever” means it wasn’t written down for him. And if he’s creating the drum sound he wrote the drum part and should get credit. RIP Dude.; 3/13/19, 7:10 AM
Lloyd W. Robertson said...: So we have arrived at a kind of recognition of studio musicians and "background" players--at least the greatest or most innovative of them. Bassist Leland Sklar, who started out in James Taylor's band--basically kids having fun--and went on to great success, has said in an interview that he doesn't understand why the income from songs goes exclusively to named songwriters, when in many cases the "sound" of a song, which audiences still expect to hear after decades, was developed by a group of musicians working together in a studio. Blaine's interviews make clear that the famous "geniuses" often came to the studio with no clear idea of an overall drum track, much less special things like an opening or a closing. A gifted drummer added "new" elements, yet he was paid by the hour; another day, another gig. The genius gets all the royalties.

Steve Gadd, a drummer who has recently toured with James Taylor but has tons of jazz experience, is another legend; that's how James introduces him at concerts. There is a YouTube video with lots of people praising Gadd. Paul Simon, who "used" Gadd on "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," says something like this. There are studio musicians who say: I'll do what I'm known for.It's pretty good. If you want something else, you should hire somebody else. Gadd would ask: how can I contribute something you may not have thought of, that can make a piece better? There was a court case in Canada in which a man who had collaborated with Sarah McLachlin, years earlier, wanted a share of royalties for one song. I think he lost basically because if he had a case, he should have made it much earlier. The "original" version of the song, Sarah with a guitar, was played in court. Sarah was overheard saying to a friend: "Now comes the embarrassing part." There wasn't much to the song until it was improved or in fact made by a group of collaborating musicians; only Sarah is the rights holder. Boomers may have liked Marxism in theory, but they turned out to like capitalism in practice.; 3/13/19, 7:15 AM
RMc said...: Blaine was also a survivor of the infamous Hartford Circus Fire of 1944, as were Eunice Groark, first female lieutenant governor of Connecticut; Charles Nelson Reilly, actor, comedian, and director; and Emmett Kelly, renowned circus clown. (Reilly found it uncomfortable in sit in a theatre seat for the rest of his life; he would often hang around backstage during a performance instead.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_circus_fire; 3/13/19, 7:54 AM
CJinPA said...: Blaine's beat can be heard on six consecutive Record of the Year winners, up through Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water."

Wow.; 3/13/19, 8:19 AM
CJinPA said...: Lloyd W. Robertson said..

Interesting. Thanks for the info.; 3/13/19, 8:23 AM
Jeff Brokaw said...: I agree with Lloyd above - songwriters deserve a large chunk, probably the majority, of royalties because they start with nothing and create something magical, but the producer, engineer, and musicians play a significant role in creating the final product that we all love and remember. It’s a team effort — and sometimes the song itself is the weakest part.

I suspect that highly in-demand session musicians like Hal made millions in their career ... anybody know more on that?; 3/13/19, 9:02 AM
Jupiter said...: Drummers always want you to tell them what to do. "Just do kind of a boom-chick thing, OK?"; 3/13/19, 9:19 AM
Jupiter said...: But what was he playing on Bridge? It sounded like smacking a twenty-foot sheet of aluminum foil with a rug beater. Never heard anything like it before or since.; 3/13/19, 9:23 AM
John henry said...: I'll second the Wrecking Crew documentary (Netflix & YouTube). Not just for Hal Blaine but for all the others. Most of whom nobody has heard of but some of whom became famous on their own (How many people knew that Glenn Campbell was one of the Beach Boys?)

It was interesting how little music was actually made by the people whose names are on the records as the artists. The story of The Monkees is interesting.

The book "The Wrecking Crew: The Inside Story of Rock and Roll's Best-Kept Secret" (Portal) is probably even better than the documentary.

John Henry; 3/13/19, 10:03 AM
Mike said...: So much of our pop music history is just the Wrecking Crew with a different lead singer.; 3/13/19, 10:06 AM
PM said...: Imagine being with Brian making Pet Sounds. Just another gig for Hal, I guess.
Pro's pro.; 3/13/19, 11:11 AM
Churchy LaFemme: said...: Blogger Jupiter said...But what was he playing on "Bridge"? It sounded like smacking a twenty-foot sheet of aluminum foil with a rug beater. Never heard anything like it before or since.

It’s a testament to Blaine’s ingenuity that he let Simon and Garfunkel’s delicate show-stopper be; he doesn’t touch the kit once. This isn’t to say he sits “Bridge Over Troubled Water” out: when it hit its triumphant climax, he got on his knees and slashed the studio floor with tire chains. What a finish.; 3/13/19, 11:24 AM
Unknown said...: What a loss to the music world. Hal was a huge contributor to, and was featured heavily in, George Martin's final project "Soundbreaking: Stories from the Cutting Edge of Recorded Music" that aired on PBS. Hal tells many of his stories in the tv series. Check it out at www.Soundbreaking.com.; 3/13/19, 1:11 PM
Jupiter said...: "he doesn't touch the kit once".

Hmmm. I'm hearing a little snare in there. But the tire chains, definitely. I wonder what the floor was made of.; 3/13/19, 1:39 PM