by Robert Wilkinson
Today is the 84th birthday of the great Hal Blaine, core of the Wrecking Crew and drummer on over 10,000 records.
Hal Blaine (born Harold Belsky, February 5, 1929) is the most recorded drummer in history, and has played on 50 number one hits, over 150 top ten hits and has recorded, by his own admission, on over 35,000 pieces of music over four decades of work. He is known for his work with the Wrecking Crew on hits by Elvis Presley, Frank and Nancy Sinatra, John Denver, the Ronettes, the Crystals, Sam Cooke, the Mamas and the Papas, Simon and Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, John Lennon, Diana Ross, the 5th Dimension, and countless others.
From wikipedia, we find he holds the record for most Grammys on consecutive records of the year. The songs were Herb Alpert’s 1966 “A Taste of Honey,” Frank Sinatra’s 1967 “Strangers in the Night,” the 5th Dimension’s 1968 “Up, Up and Away,” Simon and Garfunkel’s 1969 “Mrs. Robinson,” the 5th Dimension’s 1970 “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In,” and Simon and Garfunkel’s 1971 “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.” You’ll also find him all over the Beach Boys’ albums, Simon and Garfunkel’s albums, and being Phil Spector’s go-to guy, he was the drummer anchoring “the Wall of Sound.”
Since it would be impossible to link to even 1/10 of the tunes he played on, today to celebrate this legendary drummer’s birthday we’ll showcase some of the number 1 hits featuring the drums of the great Hal Blaine! I’m only including the studio versions, since those are what he played on.
“Can’t Help Falling In Love” by Elvis Presley (12/1961)
“He’s A Rebel” by the Crystals (10/62)
“Surf City” by Jan and Dean (6/63)
“Everybody Loves Somebody” by Dean Martin (7/64)
“This Diamond Ring” by Gary Lewis and the Playboys (1/65)
“Help Me Rhonda” by the Beach Boys (5/65)
“Mr. Tambourine Man” by the Byrds (6/65)
“I Got You Babe” by Sonny and Cher (7/65)
“Eve of Destruction” by Barry McGuire (8/65)
“These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” by Nancy Sinatra (2/66)
“Monday Monday” by the Mamas and the Papas (4/66)
“Strangers in the Night” by Frank Sinatra (7/66)
“Poor Side of Town” by Johnny Rivers (10/66)
“Good Vibrations” by the Beach Boys (10/66)
“Windy” by the Association (6/67)
“Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” by the 5th Dimension (4/69)
“Wedding Bell Blues” by the 5th Dimension (10/69)
“Bridge Over Troubled Waters” by Simon and Garfunkel (2/70)
“The Way We Were” by Barbra Streisand (12/74)
“Thank God I’m a Country Boy” by John Denver (4/75)
“Love Will Keep Us Together” by Captain and Tennille (5/75)
Here are some more of the hits he played on between 1962-1967!
From 1962:“Return to Sender” and “Devil in Disguise” by Elvis Presley
From 1963:
“Another Saturday Night” by Sam Cooke
“Be My Baby” by the Ronettes
“Da Doo Ron Ron” by the Crystals
“Be True To Your School” by the Beach Boys
“Dead Man’s Curve” and “Drag City” by Jan and Dean
From 1964:
“And Then He Kissed Me” by the Crystals
“Blue Bayou” by Roy Orbison
“Cara Mia” and “Come A Little Bit Closer” By Jay and the Americans
From 1965:
“A Taste of Honey” by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
“California Girls” by the Beach Boys
From 1966:
“California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the Papas
“Caroline No” by the Beach Boys.
From 1967:
“Baby I Need Your Lovin’” by Johnny Rivers
“Carpet Man” by the 5th Dimension
And for the finale, a most unlikely song for him to have played on!
“Broken Arrow” by the Buffalo Springfield
And so a huge Happy Birthday goes out to you, Mister Drummer Man! Thanks for the hundreds of memories!
© Copyright 2013 Robert Wilkinson
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