by Damian Easer for viewzone

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Your favorite drummer: Hal Blaine (whether you know it or not)

In the right column of this page there are dozens of popular tunes that you will remember if you stop and think about them. Each will bring back a memory from toe 60s, 70s and 80s. From Elvis to the Byrds, The Beach Boys and Frank Sinatra, one common denominator was the drummer -- Hal Blaine.

Hal is one of those musicians who preferred to stay out of the spotlight. He was only famous among professional musicians who knew that his magic had made so many bands successful. You and I have listened to his drumming on so many albums, yet you probably never even knew he existed. And the successful bands wanted to keep it that way.

Hal had a small group of musician friends that would often be called into a studio and asked to lay down tracks for some of the most famous musicians who wanted his "magic touch". They called themselves "The Wrecking Crew." The group were so professional that they often completed their tracks on the first take in the recording studio.

When the Wrecking Crew were finished, the well known musical groups would have to learn to duplicate the "Hal Blaine" sound for live performances, matching the recordings of his tracks.

The Wrecking Crew were unconventional, to say the least, and were tolerated only because of their remarkable talent and ability to add the catchy rhythm that often guaranteed a top-of-the-charts single.

The "Wrecking Crew"? How did that name come about? According to Hal Blanie:

"These guys (other studio musicians) used to show up to work in suits and ties for these record dates. We'd show up in blue jeans and t-shirts, smoking cigarettes... and the older session guys would say 'they're wrecking the business.' So I started calling our group of musicians the Wrecking Crew."

Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky, February 5, 1929, Holyoke, Massachusetts) is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Nancy Sinatra, Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, the 5th Dimension, and Steely Dan. He 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. Blaine is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum and the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame. He is widely regarded as one of the most prolific drummers in recording music history.

Here are a couple of YouTube videos with samples of Blaine's work and some words from the "master".

 

Hal Blaine -- Tribute To Wrold's Greatest Drummer -- part 1

 

Hal Blaine -- Tribute To Wrold's Greatest Drummer -- part 2

 

Now for something completely different...

"Double Dutch Bus" is a 1981 funk song by Frankie Smith, made famous for its extensive use of the "izz" infix form of slang. The song title represents a combination of two institutions in Smith's Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, neighborhood: the double Dutch game of jump rope played by neighborhood kids, and the SEPTA bus system that was a backbone of the local transportation network (and for which Smith had unsuccessfully applied for a bus driving position; the Transpass referred to in the song is an actual SEPTA pass).

Smith and co-writer Bill Bloom persuaded contacts at WMOT Records to finance the song, and it was recorded in the summer of 1981, engineered by Gene Leone. The song rocketed to popularity in a matter of weeks. On the U.S. Billboard R&B chart, it held the number one spot for eight weeks. It also crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 30 in the summer of 1981. The record has received two separate gold certifications, one for sales of the 7" edit, and a second gold record for sales of the 12" single.

Whew!... 1981... check it out. It really gets weird about half way through.

If you have some YouTube tunes to share... please write (myristicin at hotmail dot com) subject=MUSIC.

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