Hal Blaine

BobC said:
Hall did that gig for years after his studio days had come to an end, and he told me he loved doing it, but after all that time and for no apparent reason, Denver's management fired him, on an airplane on the way back at the end of a tour. It hurt him badly. After that he moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, and took a job as a security guard. Hal Blaine, forced to work as a security guard. Unbelievable.

His sixth wife divorced him and took him for almost everything he had. Hal was a broken man. but he got himself together, moved back to LA, and got the occasional studio session again, until his retirement around 2006.
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6th wife…damn some people never learn
 
Hal told me, "I had a weakness for long-legged blondes. Three of them were Las Vegas showgirls. My fifth wife died of cancer. She was the love of my life. My last wife took me to the cleaners."
 
BobC said:
Hal told me, "I had a weakness for long-legged blondes. Three of them were Las Vegas showgirls. My fifth wife died of cancer. She was the love of my life. My last wife took me to the cleaners."
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Poor Hal, that seems so wrong. But then again, Johnny Carson had the same luck!
 
Wow, I did not know he got fired from John Denver's band, that he had 6 wives, or that he had to work as security guard in Arizona.

I do remember as a kid reading a column that he wrote in Modern Drummer magazine, where he gave advise to readers that wrote to him. Seemed like a very positive man.

On another note, I've always found it strange how his career seemed to end in the 80's. He played on so many hit records in the 60's and 70's and it all came to a halt in the 80's. Am I correct? If so, why?
 
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Paul Blood said:
Wow, I did not know he got fired from John Denver's band, that he had 6 wives, or that he had to work as security guard in Arizona.

I do remember as a kid reading a column that he wrote in Modern Drummer magazine, where he gave advise to readers that wrote to him. Seemed like a very positive man.

On another note, I've always found it strange how his career seemed to end in the 80's. I played on so many hit records in the 60's and 70's and it all came to a halt in the 80's. Am I correct? If so, why?
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I don’t know but my guess is MTV
 
Paul Blood said:
Wow, I did not know he got fired from John Denver's band, that he had 6 wives, or that he had to work as security guard in Arizona.

I do remember as a kid reading a column that he wrote in Modern Drummer magazine, where he gave advise to readers that wrote to him. Seemed like a very positive man.

On another note, I've always found it strange how his career seemed to end in the 80's. I played on so many hit records in the 60's and 70's and it all came to a halt in the 80's. Am I correct? If so, why?
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You played on so many hit records?

Hal's studio career came to an end, because they were looking for young blood in the studios in the 80's, and he was seen as a relic of the 60's. Unfair, of course, because he was highly capable of cutting session work still. This was also the time when click tracks, electronic drums and software started replacing real drummers playing real drums.
 
Going back to the video of the John Denver concert, I noticed that he was using double headed toms. I always associate Hal Blaine with concert tones.
 
I also never knew Hal had to work as a security guard. Reminds me of Dick Dale suffering from several debilitating illnesses, yet was forced to keep touring to pay for his medical bills. Just crushing to see people make such positive contributions and then have to struggle late in life.
 
Paul Blood said:
Going back to the video of the John Denver concert, I noticed that he was using double headed toms. I always associate Hal Blaine with concert tones.
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Studio sound is one thing. Live sound is another. Hal probably thought single-headed toms recorded better, because there were fewer overtones.
 
boomstick said:
I also never knew Hal had to work as a security guard. Reminds me of Dick Dale suffering from several debilitating illnesses, yet was forced to keep touring to pay for his medical bills. Just crushing to see people make such positive contributions and then have to struggle late in life.
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Hal told me he always had a pension from the Musician's Union, and he lived on that in his retirement.
 
I have the Modern Drummer issue with Hal on the cover with photos of him on stage with his ludwig kit shown in this thread. I'm a bit tipsy now and am still looking for the letter Richard Bailey sent me to inform a member of the forum. I haven't forgotten you.
 
After Hal retired, he lived in Palm Springs in the upstairs apartment of someone's carriage house, I believe. I think he was relatively comfortable, but it was a far cry from the nice house, Cadillacs, and the yacht he had when he was the top session drummer in LA. He had to sell his over 300 Gold and Platinum albums, all except for one, a John Denver album, because he needed the cash.
 
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1927 Rolls-Royce Phantom I - Playboy Roadster

One of 13 Playboy roadsters built on Phantom I chassis Extensive Hollywood history; featured alongside James Dean in the 1955 film Giant Formerly owned by Sonya Levien Hovey, Warner Brothers Studios, and Hal Blaine Restored by renowned Rolls-Royce specialist Steve Litton in 2014 Chassis number...
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The drum experts at Britain’s Far Out magazine compiled 10 Unlikely Songs Hal Blaine Played on. The portion on The Carpenters solves the mystery of why Karen C didn’t play on her own hits.

Son of Vistalite Black still wonders why Mouseketeer Cubby O’Brien didn’t play on the studio tracks. Also, did Cubby play two bass drums in his post-Mouskateers career?

9. ‘(They Long to Be) Close to You’ – Carpenters​

Blaine’s work with the Carpenters proved to be some of his most controversial. That’s because he was replacing Karen Carpenter, a highly talented and capable drummer in her own right. Blaine claimed that Carpenter had difficulty adjusting to the softer dynamics required in the studio, and Carpenter herself signed off on Blaine’s involvement.

However much of that is true, Blaine does bring a delicate touch to the band’s numerous ballads. A song like ‘(They Long to Be) Close to You’ doesn’t work if you have driving drums. It requires a soft touch, something that Blaine could provide in earnest.

faroutmagazine.co.uk

10 unlikely songs featuring drummer Hal Blaine

Blaine recorded nearly everything.
faroutmagazine.co.uk faroutmagazine.co.uk
 
I don't think many are unlikely or controversial. It stands to reason the top studio drummer of his time would appear on a variety of hit records in a variety of different styles/genres.
It's true that less hard hitting usually sounds better on record. I'm surer Karen C could have mastered that, maybe she was just less confident in achieving the kind of end result Blaine would deliver.
 
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