Elvis worked with some remarkable musicians, including session drummer Wrecking Crew’s – Hal Blaine drummer extraordinaire.
Hal Blaine drummer extraordinaire
Podcast
Hal Blaine drummer extraordinaire
To hear the show, Elvis, Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew
Author of Rock’n’Roll Unravelled, Derek Shelmerdine‘s
guest segment, Elvis Presley Unravelled
on The Mop Tops & The King radio show.
First broadcast during the week: 16 to 22 June 2023.
Syndicated on over 100 radio stations around the world.
weekly schedule – times and stations
Hal Blaine drummer extraordinaire
DJ Fontana was Elvis first regular drummer in the 1950s. Ronnie Tutt joined Elvis for the 1970s Las Vegas concerts and tours.
In much of the 1960s, Elvis also worked with drumming legend Hal Blain. One of rock’n’roll’s most prolific drummers, Hal Blaine played on 40 #1 singles and 150 Top-10 singles. Not many people can claim that!
HAL BLAINE AND ELVIS
Hal Blaine played on Elvis’s recordings across the 1960s.
The relationship started in 1961 with Elvis’s eighth movie Blue Hawaii. Both Hal Blaine and Elvis’s regular drummer from the 1950s, DJ Fontana, are credited as drummers.
Elvis recorded some of his classic songs with Hal Blaine including, Return to Sender, Bossa Nova Baby, Viva Las Vegas, Can’t Help Falling in Love and A Little Less Conversation.
After Blue Hawaii, Elvis’s 8th movie, Hal Blaine also worked with Elvis on the subsequent movie tracks recorded in Los Angeles. This continued up to and including the 1968 Comeback TV Special. He even had a cameo part in Elvis’s 11th movie, Girls, Girls, Girls.
DJ Fontana and Scotty Moore also appeared in Elvis’s NBC TV Comeback Special in 1968.
THE WRECKING CREW
Hal Blaine was part of the Wrecking Crew, a Los Angeles based team of session musicians. Phil Spector famously used the Wrecking Crew as the backing band for his wall of sound recordings.
Hal Blaine created the distinctive beat on the Ronettes’ Be My Baby.
This classic beat came about by accident. He rehearsed the song with the usual back-beat of 2 and 4 on the snare drum. When he recorded it, he accidentally dropped his stick and just hit the beat on the 4. He continued with just the snare beat on the 4 and the classic drum groove was with us.
Billboard magazine rates the song #1, on its list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.
HOW THE WRECKING CREW CAME ABOUT
When rock’n’roll became popular in the mid-1950s, many Los Angeles session musicians struggled to play it. They were often classically trained and with a jazz background. Their normal attire for recording sessions was suit and tie.
However, there was a new breed of young musicians coming up, who preferred to dress in jeans and T-shirt. The old guard of musicians said, “These kids are going to wreck the business”. Hence, Hal Blaine coined the phrase, “The Wrecking Crew”.
HAL BLAINE RECORDINGS (just a few…)
Hal Blaine played on 40 #1 singles and 150 Top-10 singles.
Those tracks include:
The Beach Boys: Little Deuce Coupe, Surfin’ USA, Fun, Fun, Fun, I Get Around, Help Me Ronda, Sloop John B, Wouldn’t It Be Nice, Good Vibrations and the Pet Sounds album.
The Byrds: Mr Tambourine Man
The Mamas & The Papas: California Dreamin’ and Monday Monday
Simon and Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water, Mrs Robinson, I am a Rock and Homeward Bound
The Captain and Tennille: Love Will Keep Us Together – 1976 Grammy Record of the Year
Jan & Dean: Surf City and Little Old Lady from Pasadena
Johnny Rivers: The Poor Side of Town
Frank Sinatra: Strangers in the Night
Nancy Sinatra: These Boots Are Made for Walking
Sonny & Cher: I Got You Babe
Hal Blain also played on every Grammy Record of the Year, 1966 to 1971.
OTHER HAL BLAINE LINKS TO ELVIS
There are two other links between Hal Blain and Elvis.
Hal Blaine recorded and toured with teen idol Tommy Sands. Colonel To Parker managed Tommy Sands before he became involved with Elvis.
Hal Blaine was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the year 2000.
The same year as Elvis’s guitarist Scotty Moore. Both as “Sidemen”.
Rock’n’Roll Unravelled – the book
With its unique three-part structure, Rock’n’Roll Unravelled tells the story of Rock’n’roll from its roots to mid-1970s punk. Not just the music but also the influencing factors, such as the Vietnam War and Civil Rights struggle.
