Weekend Music -- RIP Hal Blaine

We would be remiss not to note the passing this week of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame session drummer Hal Blaine at the age of 90.  You may not have heard of Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky), but you've almost certainly heard him.  That's because he played drums on 150 top 10 hits in the '50s, '60s and '70s.  He played drums on virtually every hit by the Mamas and Papas, Simon and Garfunkel and Beach Boys (sorry, Dennis Wilson), as well as on songs recorded by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.  Blaine nicknamed and was an original member of "The Wrecking Crew," a group of Los Angeles- based studio musicians that were ubiquitous in rock and pop recording sessions from the '60s to early '70s.  If you have any doubt of the importance of Blaine in musical history, check out the "partial" list of songs he played on here.

We selected a few of those songs to honor his legacy...

Then He Kissed Me -- The Crystals

Wouldn't It Be Nice -- The Beach Boys

America -- Simon and Garfunkel

... and the song in which many consider his drumming to be the most influential and imitated,

Be My Baby -- The Ronettes









BONUS:  The New Yorker has an appreciation that says it better than we can.