Hal Blaine, former drummer of The Wrecking Crew — a collective of L.A.-based session musicians — has died as a result of natural causes. He was 90.
He was best known for his work on a wide variety of pop, rock and country hits during the 1960s and ’70s. Throughout his career, he recorded more than 6,000 singles; 40 of which hit No. 1 on the charts.
From The Beach Boys’ I Get Around to Mr. Tambourine Man by The Byrds, or Nancy Sinatra’s These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ to Strangers in the Night by Frank Sinatra, Blaine managed to build a stacked résumé of classics in his time.
Blaine’s son-in-law, Andy Johnson, confirmed his passing to the Associated Press. He died peacefully in his Palm Desert, Calif., home.
A statement was further issued to Blaine’s Facebook page. “Hal Blaine — inspiration to countless friends, fans and musicians — has passed on today, March 11th, 2019, at the age of 90,” wrote a representative.
“May he rest forever on 2 and 4,” they added as a reference to his kindred spirit to drumming.
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Blaine became a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 2000 and won a Grammy lifetime achievement award in 2018.
He also drummed on six “Record of the Year” Grammy award-winning singles, including the 5th Dimension’s Up, Up and Away and Simon & Garfunkel’s Mrs. Robinson.
In wake of his passing, a number of close friends and musicians who had the chance to work with Blaine shared photographs of him and memories they had shared together, including Nancy Sinatra and The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.
“Hal Blaine was such a great musician and friend that I can’t put it into words,” wrote Wilson, 76, on Twitter. Hal taught me a lot, and he had so much to do with our success.”
“I’m so sad, I don’t know what to say,” he added, “He was the greatest drummer ever. We also laughed an awful lot.”
Sinatra, 78, shared a photograph on Instagram of the two performing together. “Goodspeed, old friend,” she wrote.
A multitude of other musicians and fans took to Twitter to share their condolences, including fellow drummer Ringo Starr, Toto’s Steve Lukather and the estate of the late-Glen Campbell — one of Blaine’s several world-renowned Wrecking Crew colleagues.
Most notably, Blaine drummed for The Monkees, Phil Spector, Nat “King” Cole, The Byrds and The Mamas & the Papas among many many more.
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He may have even been the only drummer to back Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and John Lennon.
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Blaine actually came up with the name “The Wrecking Crew,” as he and his colleagues were seen as a threat by more “buttoned-down” musicians — they believed they would be the death of the music industry.
Many members of The Wrecking Crew worked nonstop for 20 years, sometimes as many as eight sessions a day, a pace that led to several marriages and divorces for Blaine.
His memoir, Hal Blaine & The Wrecking Crew, came out in 1990, and he continued to appear at symposiums and workshops into his 80s. Blaine also was seen in the 2008 documentary The Wrecking Crew.
He was also played by Johnny Sneed in the 2014 Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy.
“Hal was funny, sweet, and genuine,” Jon “Bermuda” Schwartz, drummer for the “Weird Al” Yankovic Band, wrote in an email to the Associated Press. “He made you feel like you were the most important person in the room.
“His inspiration and influence to drummers everywhere is immeasurable. Hal was a treasure,” Schwartz concluded.
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The son of Jewish immigrants, Blaine was born Harold Simon Belsky in Holyoke, Mass.
By age eight, he was already drumming, using a pair of dowels he removed from a seat in the living room. He was a professional by age 20 and within a few years switched from jazz to rock.
Blaine is survived by his daughter Michelle Blaine, and seven grandchildren, Anthony, Josh, Aaron, Whitney, Tempest, Ever and Lyryk.
— With files from the Associated Press
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