Hal Blain

Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. His drumming is featured on 150 US top 10 hits, 40 of which went to number one.

Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Blaine moved with his family to California in 1944 and began playing jazz and big band music before taking up rock and roll session work. He became one of the regulars in Phil Spector's de facto house band, which Blaine nicknamed "the Wrecking Crew". Some of the records Blaine played on include the Ronettes' single "Be My Baby" (1963), which contained a drum beat that became widely imitated, as well as works by popular artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, Neil Diamond, and the Byrds.

Blaine's workload declined in the 1980s as recording and musical practices changed. In 2000, he was among the inaugural "sidemen" inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2007 he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum as a member of the Wrecking Crew and in 2018 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Blaine was born Harold Simon Belsky, one of four children of Meyer and Rose Belsky (née Silverman), who were Eastern European Jewish immigrants, in Holyoke, Massachusetts. When he was seven, his family moved to Hartford, Connecticut. He began playing drums at the age of eight, and got his first drum kit at 13. His father worked at a nightclub and Hal followed him to work, learning drum patterns from the musicians in jazz bands and orchestras.

On July 6, 1944, Blaine was a survivor of the Hartford Circus Fire. He attended the circus primarily to watch the band perform, especially the drummer. When the fire broke out he followed the band escaping under the bottom of the big top’s apron. As ambulances arrived one of the drivers asked Hal to help with a gurney. He ended up assisting victims well into the night.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.