OT: RIP Hal Blaine

[mcteague]

Member of the "Wrecking Crew (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wrecking_Crew_(music))" dies at 90. Another great one is gone.

https://www.npr.org/2019/03/12/702485933/hal-blaine-most-recorded-drummer-in-history-dies-at-90

Awards and accolades

Blaine played on six consecutive Grammy Award Record of the Year winners:

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in 1966 for "A Taste of Honey"
Frank Sinatra in 1967 for "Strangers in the Night"
The 5th Dimension in 1968 for "Up, Up and Away"
Simon & Garfunkel in 1969 "Mrs. Robinson"
The 5th Dimension in 1970 for "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In"
Simon & Garfunkel in 1971 for "Bridge over Troubled Water"

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). He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2010.In 2018, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Tim

[roguedog]

What an interesting and varied mix of musical spectrums. RIP

[Bradford]

I've always loved Hal Blaine's drumming, even long before I heard his name. What a gift he gave all of us who love music. The more I learned about him, and the more songs I realized he had played on, the more I respected what he did.

When I was a kid, my dad had a whole shelf full of vinyl, but I started out with just a few records. I was drawn to the Tijuana Brass album because of the cover, even though I didn't get the sexual connotation at that age, but I kept playing it for Hal Blaine's drums. I still get a thrill every time I hear A Taste Of Honey. Yesterday, when I read of his death, I played Be My Baby first, because nothing sets the tone of a song better than that drum beat.

For those of you who love music and haven't seen it yet, check out the Wrecking Crew documentary. I streamed it last year while stuck in a hotel room and was riveted to the screen for the whole thing. Blaine and the rest of the crew were amazingly talented musicians.

[Hawker]

He played on over 6000 records and there really wasn't a music style he didn't touch. He leaves behind a giant musical legacy and was adored by drummers everywhere. And...just a plain nice guy.