Hal Blaine: Spector Sessions Were Agony, Ecstasy and Magic

Scott K Fish

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Hal Blaine: Spector Sessions Were Agony, Ecstasy and Magic

SKF NOTE: This Hal Blaine interview is another of my backgrounder interviews for my History of Rock Drumming feature series for Modern Drummer in the early 1980s. This interview is published here for the first time. All of these interviews can easily be accessed here by clicking the Backgrounder Interviews link.

This telephone interview requires a bit of clarification. My best guess is, the last three paragraphs of this transcript are separate bits of information*I wanted to keep as source material. It's information likely said within small talk between Hal and I during the interview. So, if the last paragraphs of this transcript seem disjointed -- they probably are.

Also, in his last answer in this interview, Hal says he played drums on The Supremes's Baby Love. I don't know if he meant he did so as part of the backup band on the T.A.M.I. show, or as part of the studio session resulting in The Supremes's Baby Love hit single.

Hopefully readers can clarify. Thank you.

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Scott K Fish: What were the Phil Spector recording sessions like?

Hal Blaine: Well, it was all magic, first of all. We were all new people in the studios -- the early '60s. We were, I guess, the stars to be. There was so much spirit, and so much vitality. The adrenalin was unbelievable. Phillip just had that mystique, that magic. It was always a closed session, and anyone that passed by, Phillip grabbed them and sat them down in the booth. Every producer in the world use to hang out at those sessions just to touch Phillip, just to try and hear something just that, hopefully something would rub off on them.

They were wonderful. They were agony and they were ecstasy. We worked for many hours at a clip -- without breaks, generally -- and we made the biggest records in the world. Really, from the nucleus of the Phil Spector records came The Beach Boys, and Jan & Dean, and Johnny Rivers, and everybody that happened, really happened after that. Sonny & Cher -- all of them. It all happened because Phil Spector had his Wall of Sound. That was the new sound. That was the new drum thing that happened. It was just one of those things. It was magic.

SKF: Was that when you first started using that big drumset?

Scott K Fish Blog: Life Beyond the Cymbals Click Here to Read Full Interview
 
Just read the article;exciting times indeed. Love this:"One of my greatest compliments came from Bruce Gary [who] said that one of his biggest disappointments in life was finding out that a dozen of his favorite drummers were Hal Blaine."
 
Bruce M. Thomson -

Yeah, Bruce Gary's is a great quote. I remember when he first said it. One of those lines that could not have been said better. A classic.

Best,
skf
 
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