He says he's the world's luckiest drummer. That reminds me of the Arnold Palmer quote "The more I practice, the luckier I get". When you're as good as Hal, you get lucky a lot.
I saw Simon and Garfunkel at the Hollywood Bowl a very long time ago. Two guys and one acoustic guitar. They had the audience in the palm of their hands.
I think he went un-reined and became show-offy in the song "Be My Baby", but that's what I like about that song. It was great. He gave it life. Other versions of that song that didn't have Hal's drum part were severely lacking. You can hear it here: ua-cam.com/video/ZV5tgZlTEkQ/v-deo.html
@@scottbreseke716 Agreed great drum part, but wouldn't say show-offy even in this song. Hal mostly just played snare and bass drum, the entire song, Loads of space, and even in all those fills, not a single cymbal was played. Very tasteful, perfect.
@@scottbreseke716 his drums definitely stood out on that song. I don't consider it showoffy at all, it just provided the perfect hook that was needed for the song. Hal was perfect at feeling out a song and putting into place exactly what was needed.
It is interesting how the best players always seem to the most humble, Hal has no problem acknowledging the talent of others, take note all you aspiring musicians, be authentic.
There will never be another drummer like Hal Blaine. He is considered one of the greatest drummers ever lived. Blaine played on over 35,000 recordings, including 6,000 singles. He is regarded as one of the most in-demand drummers in rock and roll history, having played on more hit records than any drummer in the rock era.
In 'The Graduate' when Hoffman's character Benjamin is in his Alfa Romeo hauling ass to find Elaine who's heading to the altar, he runs out of gas, and the accompanying soundtrack slows down as the car slows down and ultimately stops. I'd love to hear how that was done in the studio, matching the music to the car running out of gas.
He said in an interview that he fumbled a stick during the iconic intro to that song and missed the snare hit on the "2" and Spectre loved it and said to keep it in. Also heard him say that they were stuck recording Taste Of Honey trying to figure out how to get from the mellow little break in the middle of the song back into the main vamp. Hal came up with just a simple quarter note thumping of the bass drum and it's perfect, just perfect. Sometimes less really is more. Brilliant player. Always, always always served the song.
According to Columbia records, "The Graduate" project was a hot mess: there was a lot of recorded material from Simon and Garfunkel, but no finished songs. The president of Columbia Records, Goddard Lieberson, pulled producer Teo Macero off a Dave Brubeck project and gave him a week to put together a soundtrack album for The Graduate. Macero took the Simon and Garfunkel tapes, including material recorded for other albums, and spliced tape loops together for a soundtrack album that went on to be a best seller. Mr. Macero deserves a mention.
If you listen to the lyrics (at least the ones they bothered to finish), the character in the song has nothing to do with the character in the movie. Indeed, the song seems to be about another movie altogether. (Odds are, a better one) Nobody gave a shit - not S&G, not Buck Henry, not Mike Nichols. As for the movie itself, it was 107 minutes of blank stares. That may have worked in the sixties, but now the cynicism is laid bare.
ihbarddx That’s the whole point: The song was literally a Frankenstein splicing together of tape segments from a myriad of different sources, including ones not originally recorded for the project. It was put together in the editing room by Teo Macero under duress, not in the recording studio by S&G. What Mr. Blaine is talking about is a re-recording AFTER the Frankenstein version became a hit.
Paul Simon says in an interview that the Producer, who was with them in the recording studio, wanted them to write an addt’l song for the “chase scene”. They didn’t have anything developed so they were struggling to come up with something. Art reminded Paul that he was working on something called Mrs. Roosevelt (actually about Marilyn Monroe) So, they changed the name in the lyrics from Mrs. Roosevelt to Mrs. Robinson and, of course, the rest is history. Paul says the dut-du-dut-dut lyrical part was used because they didn’t have any additional lyrics and didn’t have time to write any, so they used that musical phrasing instead of words.
3/11/19 My condolences to HAL's family, close musicians he knew, friends, and the world. HAL shared it all when he played the drums. The listeners heard a beat that they never knew. Hit songs for famous artists that got all the royalty credit for.
I grew up listening to Hal Blaine’s drumming, I never knew it was him, of course; the record companies rarely credited the studio cats who recorded the tracks. Nevertheless, Hal’s drumming was a huge influence on my drumming style...and probably many, many others.
I was learning to play in the sixties listening to 45s and the AM radio. I had no idea how many of those different grooves and pockets were just one guy. Thanks a lot, Hal. Our lives were richer for your work.
Hal - "we did that session with Simon and Garfunkel, they were great" Me - So any instant memories from it, the evolution of ideas, kit you used? Hal - " ...yeah we did that session with Simon and Garfunkel, they were great"
It was common in country music. Merle Haggard and Roger Miller come to mind. Sometimes they would only have one verse, so the tune would be C-V-C-solos-C !
He didn't know who Simon and Garfunkel were before they recorded Mrs Robinson in 1968? Well they'd had a number one 2 years earlier with Sound of Silence plus several other big hits.
Bernard Purdie used to have a sign saying: "YOU DONE IT! YOU DONE HIRED THE HIT MAKER, BERNARD "PRETTY" PURDIE!" He'd put it up at the sessions he played, to drum up more business and build his reputation. Hal Blaine didn't have a sign. He didn't need one. At all.
It's impossible to choose, he played as a session man on six thousand records, his work with Spector, Simon and Garfunkel, Beach boys and others is legendary.
I played "Mrs. Robinson" in a Catholic church that year on two different occasions. Hal, was there a traditional bass drum pattern on surf songs or was it just snare and cymbals?
I'm guessing this guy was getting old and losing his memory. He doesn't remember Anne Bancroft's name. More importantly, he acts like Simon and Garfunkel were unknown when they recorded Mrs. Robinson. There's a reason why Simon was asked to write and record the soundtrack for The Graduate. The duo already had a string of hits: I Am a Rock Sounds of Silence Scarborough Fair Homeward Bound 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy) All prior to Mrs. Robinson. So, they were very well known throughout the industry. Mrs. Robinson was included on their Bookends concept album, which also contained America, Hazy Shade of Winter, and Fakin'It. It is considered by many to be their finest album.
Sounds like Hal didn't know who the hell S&G were when they started the session. To the session guys back in the day, the pop singers were replaceable fads - the session guys laid down the track, and moved on to the next date. If the song was a big hit, THEN they paid attention.
Disappointing content. I didn't learn anything about the song -- only about the reaction to the song. How was it layered? Were there edits during the sessions? How was the mix developed. What was the process and how long did it take?
That is not true. If you have a decent sub woofer, buy a used 45 single. The stereo album track has the drums mixed way down. If you listen to the single mix you can hear the double beat of the bass drum. I assume they wanted the single to "pop" on AM radio. I hate that they mixed the drums down for the other versions. NO bottom end. Shame on you, Paul Simon and Roy Halee.
One of the greatest studio drummers of all time.
THE
#1. period
Rest in peace, Hal. You left a beautiful mark on so many of our lives.
Blaine Osborn and Knectal amazing trio in itself
I see Hal Blaine, I click like. It’s that simple.
He says he's the world's luckiest drummer. That reminds me of the Arnold Palmer quote "The more I practice, the luckier I get". When you're as good as Hal, you get lucky a lot.
I cannot watch enough videos of Hal. Hard working man with a lot of talent and ingenuity.
Hal was a class act & without a doubt one of the best drummers on planet Earth! RIP Hal Blaine........
Hal, you are loved by many of us, here is to your accomplishments, rest well, we miss you!
So nice to see such a humble man with such enormous talent!
I saw Simon and Garfunkel at the Hollywood Bowl a very long time ago. Two guys and one acoustic guitar. They had the audience in the palm of their hands.
He's got a great memory for names, considering how many people he's met, and so generous and humble. God bless you Hal Blaine.
Keep listening, he wasn't that humble and I doubt some of his stories.
He played with every major artist in the 60's as a session drummer.
I love how Hal's playing was never showoffy. He reined it in and made it perfectly suit each song.
I think he went un-reined and became show-offy in the song "Be My Baby", but that's what I like about that song. It was great. He gave it life. Other versions of that song that didn't have Hal's drum part were severely lacking. You can hear it here: ua-cam.com/video/ZV5tgZlTEkQ/v-deo.html
@@scottbreseke716 Agreed great drum part, but wouldn't say show-offy even in this song. Hal mostly just played snare and bass drum, the entire song, Loads of space, and even in all those fills, not a single cymbal was played. Very tasteful, perfect.
@@scottbreseke716 his drums definitely stood out on that song. I don't consider it showoffy at all, it just provided the perfect hook that was needed for the song. Hal was perfect at feeling out a song and putting into place exactly what was needed.
Barnaby ap Robert like Ringo.
Knew Hal passingly when I was a kid - a friendly and super nice and generous guy.
Great story from Hal Blaine personality. The most respected session drummer will always have his skill remembered.
It is interesting how the best players always seem to the most humble, Hal has no problem acknowledging the talent of others, take note all you aspiring musicians, be authentic.
RIP Hal Blaine. The worlds greatest drummer.
No No No!!!! Buddy Rich has that title. Hal was a great session drummer. He would agree with this.
Earl Palmer was better!
Definitely one of them.
Ahem* Ringo would like a word with you. j
Doubt it.
This man is a gem.
The late great Hal Blaine
These greats should always be remembered
What a humble man
such humility from an all time great.
All that talent might have resulted in an overinflated ego, but Hal is so humble and appreciative!
There will never be another drummer like Hal Blaine. He is considered one of the greatest drummers ever lived. Blaine played on over 35,000 recordings, including 6,000 singles. He is regarded as one of the most in-demand drummers in rock and roll history, having played on more hit records than any drummer in the rock era.
Wow! Hal Blaine was apart of so much.
Hidden hero/master musician of pop music.
A total genius.
Hal's the best
He's up there (Heaven) with the best because he was one of the best! LOVED his amazing contribution to music! WHAT A DRUMMER!
Let’s Hope when he went up there he said Hello to the Brilliant Brit DrummerTony Meehan.My first drum hero
So nice to hear God talk
RIP Hal Blaine there's a concert in Heaven ;(
This man is a national treasure
His legacy will live on for eons through all of his recordings. Long live HAL
Now this is history. It is comparable to being in Sun Studios with Elvis in 1956.
Love his impression of a Northern English accent.
It’s so spo ohn!
I wanna hear all the Mr. Blaine has to say.
In 'The Graduate' when Hoffman's character Benjamin is in his Alfa Romeo hauling ass to find Elaine who's heading to the altar, he runs out of gas, and the accompanying soundtrack slows down as the car slows down and ultimately stops. I'd love to hear how that was done in the studio, matching the music to the car running out of gas.
The best!!!
Brilliant body of work!
R.I.P. Hal Blaine, the very best..
This should be 50 million views. Glad it's not. I found the Gold mine. 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
How many records had Hall’s signature drumming on it.. 100’s .. that wouldn’t be a hit without his inventive drumming.. Be My Baby for one of many.
He said in an interview that he fumbled a stick during the iconic intro to that song and missed the snare hit on the "2" and Spectre loved it and said to keep it in. Also heard him say that they were stuck recording Taste Of Honey trying to figure out how to get from the mellow little break in the middle of the song back into the main vamp. Hal came up with just a simple quarter note thumping of the bass drum and it's perfect, just perfect. Sometimes less really is more. Brilliant player. Always, always always served the song.
@@blujay9191 Yes I’ve told that story too .. it would have been a burger to keep the timing up.
According to Columbia records, "The Graduate" project was a hot mess: there was a lot of recorded material from Simon and Garfunkel, but no finished songs. The president of Columbia Records, Goddard Lieberson, pulled producer Teo Macero off a Dave Brubeck project and gave him a week to put together a soundtrack album for The Graduate. Macero took the Simon and Garfunkel tapes, including material recorded for other albums, and spliced tape loops together for a soundtrack album that went on to be a best seller. Mr. Macero deserves a mention.
If you listen to the lyrics (at least the ones they bothered to finish), the character in the song has nothing to do with the character in the movie. Indeed, the song seems to be about another movie altogether. (Odds are, a better one) Nobody gave a shit - not S&G, not Buck Henry, not Mike Nichols.
As for the movie itself, it was 107 minutes of blank stares. That may have worked in the sixties, but now the cynicism is laid bare.
ihbarddx
That’s the whole point: The song was literally a Frankenstein splicing together of tape segments from a myriad of different sources, including ones not originally recorded for the project. It was put together in the editing room by Teo Macero under duress, not in the recording studio by S&G. What Mr. Blaine is talking about is a re-recording AFTER the Frankenstein version became a hit.
@@jstasiak2262 Take it easy, Friend. I was just trying to agree with you.
@@colderbeer I'm flattered that you considered it, but... nah! I really couldn't!
Paul Simon says in an interview that the Producer, who was with them in the recording studio, wanted them to write an addt’l song for the “chase scene”. They didn’t have anything developed so they were struggling to come up with something. Art reminded Paul that he was working on something called Mrs. Roosevelt (actually about Marilyn Monroe) So, they changed the name in the lyrics from Mrs. Roosevelt to Mrs. Robinson and, of course, the rest is history. Paul says the dut-du-dut-dut lyrical part was used because they didn’t have any additional lyrics and didn’t have time to write any, so they used that musical phrasing instead of words.
Great video. Thanks for posting this interview. So well done. Long live HAL. His legacy will live on for eons through recordings.
3/11/19 My condolences to HAL's family, close musicians he knew, friends, and the world. HAL shared it all when he played the drums. The listeners heard a beat that they never knew. Hit songs for famous artists that got all the royalty credit for.
What a great generous guy, seems like an ordinary bloke but you dont walk with the greats unless you are a great yourself
I was sitting next to art Garfunkel at the music fair in cherry hill before they performed later that night.
I was 16.
I grew up listening to Hal Blaine’s drumming, I never knew it was him, of course; the record companies rarely credited the studio cats who recorded the tracks. Nevertheless, Hal’s drumming was a huge influence on my drumming style...and probably many, many others.
I was learning to play in the sixties listening to 45s and the AM radio. I had no idea how many of those different grooves and pockets were just one guy. Thanks a lot, Hal. Our lives were richer for your work.
The first time I knew of Hal,Joe,Larry...was off Johnny Rivers records... he ALWAYS listed the musicians
Working men’s clubs in the U.K.
They are still the same now. People talking when you play! Bingo takes priority.
RIP Hal.
Hal - "we did that session with Simon and Garfunkel, they were great"
Me - So any instant memories from it, the evolution of ideas, kit you used?
Hal - " ...yeah we did that session with Simon and Garfunkel, they were great"
great music biz stories! there's gotta be a book somewhere
t
gee kay; there is...it's called "the wrecking crew"...try your local library.
Try the fiction section!
Great Drummer, RIP Hal.
Brilliant..
beautifully
One of the few songs that begins with the chorus .
It was common in country music. Merle Haggard and Roger Miller come to mind. Sometimes they would only have one verse, so the tune would be C-V-C-solos-C !
He didn't know who Simon and Garfunkel were before they recorded Mrs Robinson in 1968? Well they'd had a number one 2 years earlier with Sound of Silence plus several other big hits.
Imagine a certain point in time when you turn on the radio and you hear yourself drumming on just about any given song!
Bernard Purdie used to have a sign saying: "YOU DONE IT! YOU DONE HIRED THE HIT MAKER, BERNARD "PRETTY" PURDIE!" He'd put it up at the sessions he played, to drum up more business and build his reputation.
Hal Blaine didn't have a sign. He didn't need one. At all.
Wonder why so many LA session musicians are great storytellers
This guy was the real deal. One of my favorites is his drumming on America's Hat Trick album. God bless him, RIP.
Top ten storytellers my grandpa is afraid to diss
PLEASE, what is the best disc to buy - which BEST illustrates MOSTLY Hal Blaine's music ??
It's impossible to choose, he played as a session man on six thousand records, his work with Spector, Simon and Garfunkel, Beach boys and others is legendary.
Give Good Vibrations a go.
I played "Mrs. Robinson" in a Catholic church that year on two different occasions. Hal, was there a traditional bass drum pattern on surf songs or was it just snare and cymbals?
hal blaine talks about Hal Blaine
It's his favorite subject true or not!
- I wonder if Hal ever played with Nelson Riddle ... ? 🤔
Luckiest drummer? Well, maybe. Best drummer? Absolutely. Miss you, brother.
I'm guessing this guy was getting old and losing his memory. He doesn't remember Anne Bancroft's name.
More importantly, he acts like Simon and Garfunkel were unknown when they recorded Mrs. Robinson. There's a reason why Simon was asked to write and record the soundtrack for The Graduate. The duo already had a string of hits:
I Am a Rock
Sounds of Silence
Scarborough Fair
Homeward Bound
59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)
All prior to Mrs. Robinson. So, they were very well known throughout the industry. Mrs. Robinson was included on their Bookends concept album, which also contained America, Hazy Shade of Winter, and Fakin'It. It is considered by many to be their finest album.
Watching the great Hal Blaine, I can`t help thinking of his style & mannerisms compared to the great Joe Morello.
Did he play with the Wrecking Crew?
Sure did. Rog. Pacific sunset records.
I Bet they buried Hal with a pair of drum sticks.
He told me once his favorite drumstick is right between his legs.
Very seldom had a less-than-kind word to say about anyone ...
WHAT IS HAL BLAINES REAL NAME,,, I WAS TOLD THAT HE WAS JEWISH AND I DON'T THINK BLAINE IS A JEWISH NAME??
Harold Belsky
Sounds like Hal didn't know who the hell S&G were when they started the session. To the session guys back in the day, the pop singers were replaceable fads - the session guys laid down the track, and moved on to the next date. If the song was a big hit, THEN they paid attention.
Didn't know who Simon and Garfunkel were before Mrs. Robinson? Not exactly with it, at the time.
Disappointing content. I didn't learn anything about the song -- only about the reaction to the song. How was it layered? Were there edits during the sessions? How was the mix developed. What was the process and how long did it take?
Alco-Hal-ic!
2nd luckiest drummer in the world, Ringo Starr is the luckiest.
Somebody should make a drum kit like Ringo has and call it "Lucky Starr Drum Kit."
UNluckiest drummer in the world - Pete Best
@@cz6301 yes, I think he was, I think it was Howard stern that said he was the most depressed person he ever met.
@@rocktober1327 : I guess Howard Stern never met Dick Rowe then…
Sorry to say but Hal do not really talk about "Mrs Robinson" here, everything else though.
Second luckiest drummer in the world surely Ringo has to go down as the luckiest lol
But I couldn't imagine anyone but Ringo being the Beatle's drummer
I thought you were leading somewhere with all this
Too bad there are no drums on this song
😆😆😆 you beat me to it. I'm like... wtf?
That is not true. If you have a decent sub woofer, buy a used 45 single. The stereo album track has the drums mixed way down. If you listen to the single mix you can hear the double beat of the bass drum. I assume they wanted the single to "pop" on AM radio. I hate that they mixed the drums down for the other versions. NO bottom end. Shame on you, Paul Simon and Roy Halee.
@@TPOrchestra I love how the drums are quiet an subliminal. Keep it the same.