Hal Blaine

Hal Blaine
The Record Plant, Sausalito '94

While preparing for our upcoming move, I've been re-boxing all my cds in the garage and amongst them, I found Hal Blaine's 'Drums! Drums! A Go Go' album. I thought the station could use a little more Hal and brought the cd indoors for uploading. Upon opening the cd, a note fell out. It reminded me of the fun we all had at the Record Plant in Sausalito when Angel Corpus Christi recorded her 6th album, 'White Courtesy Phone'. Angel and I both think Suicide's debut album is the best, so we selected its producer, Craig Leon (who also has Blondie and Pavarotti in his credits), to supervise. Both he and I had long dreamed of using Hal on a session so here was the perfect opportunity. Hal's credits are legendary. As a member of the 'Wrecking Crew' - a group of session musicians - he drummed on a huge number of hits, and here are just a few of his #1's: He's A Rebel, I Get Around, Help Me Rhonda, Barbara Ann, Another Saturday Night, Eve Of Destruction, Strangers In The Night, Monday Monday, Mrs. Robinson, Bridge Over Troubles Water. Add to those most of the Phil Spector hits, including Be My Baby, Da Doo Ron Ron, And Then He Kissed Me and you can see why we wanted him on Angel's record. The two days it took for him to write, rehearse and lay down his parts (mostly in one or two takes) were two of the most enjoyable I've ever spent in a studio. He brought a tremendous vibe to the sessions and his incessant joke-telling had us all in hysterics throughout. I sent him an email just to say 'hello' and he wrote back to let me know a documentary about 'The Wrecking Crew' has just been completed and is showing at film festivals around the country. (Hal Blaine slideshow)