Legendary Drummer Hal Blaine Dies At 90
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Hal Blaine, the acclaimed drummer who played on dozens of chart-toppers for artists including Frank Sinatra and The Beach Boys, died Monday. He was 90 years old.
“May he rest forever on 2 and 4,” said a statement from the family of the prolific drummer, who played with “The Wrecking Crew” cohort of venerated session players in Los Angeles.
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Born Harold Simon Belsky in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Blaine gained fame in the sixties for his deft touch that easily maneuvered between genres from bubblegum pop to folk to R&B.
His beats featured on hits including The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers In The Night” and Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’”.
“I’m so sad, I don’t know what to say,” tweeted Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, the California rockers Blaine played with on a number of tracks including “Good Vibrations.”
“Hal taught me a lot, and he had so much to do with our success – he was the greatest drummer ever,” Wilson said. “We also laughed an awful lot.”
Neil Portnow — who heads the Recording Academy, the institution behind the Grammys — hailed Blaine as “legendary,” noting the artist’s 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the academy and his contributions to “tens of thousands of songs.”
“Godspeed, dear friend,” wrote Nancy Sinatra in a statement. “You made the world a better place.”