Deeper Digs with Rock Drummers: Hal Blaine

Christian has to use all his tools available as The Rock N Roll Archaeologist when he heads to Palm Springs, CA to sit down with legendary drummer Hal Blaine. 

At age 88, Blaine performed on 40 No. 1 singles and has played on more than 35,000 recorded tracks. A member of the fabled Wrecking Crew, he has backed such stars as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, John Lennon, the Ronettes, the Carpenters, John Denver, The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, Steely Dan, The Byrds and many others.

As we release this podcast, Blaine, who is already in The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame, was given The Grammy's Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's 60th annual event.

Hal Blaine was the busiest recording session drummer in Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, playing the drums on — by his count of the Musicians Union Contracts — thousands of recordings, from the Wall of Sound productions of Phil Spector to Brian Wilson’s productions of the Beach Boys, and including most of the pop/rock performers in Los Angeles in the ’60s, as well as such notables as Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. His memories were published in 1990 and the book, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew is currently in its 3rd iteration. 

Join Christian as he sits down with this drummer extraordinaire for some great stories, as well as his love of Zildjian cymbals.