Simply put, you can’t celebrate drums without mentioning one man who played on more #1 hits than any person in music history. If you judge the greatness of an individual by the number of their successes, no one, absolutely no one can match drummer Hal Blaine.

He played on 150 songs that reached the Top Ten – with 40 of them reaching #1. He holds a Grammy Awards record for playing on six consecutive Record of The Year winners.

Hal Blaine was legendary and that’s not a throwaway line. In the world of session musicians, he stood out. Blaine, who lent his signature sounds and structure to scores of Grammy-winning and chart-topping songs — from Frank Sinatra and Simon & Garfunkel to the Byrds and the Beach Boys as part of the famed Wrecking Crew of session men — died on March 11, 2019 at the age of 90.

Today we are playing thirteen of those # 1 hit songs and tomorrow we will be playing more of them. He should never be forgotten because he did, in fact, play on the soundtrack of your life, even if you weren’t aware of him at the time.

“If music in the second half of the 20th century were the Empire State Building,” Art Garfunkel once said, “Hal Blaine would be the ground floor.”

Memories … That’s What We’re All About

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Hal Blaine Medley Part 1

Nancy Sinatra – Crystals
Jan & Dean – Beach Boys
Gary Lewis & The Playboys
Sonny & Cher – Tommy Roe
Frank Sinatra – Supremes
Lorne Greene – Barry McGuire
Mamas & Papas
Simon & Garfunkel