Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew: by Hal Blaine with David Goggin (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ever wonder what it would be like to be the most recorded musician in popular music? This biography spotlights Hal Blaine, drummer extraordinaire, and his life experiences. From the Sinatras to the Beach Boys, Blaine drumrolled through the '50s, '60s and '70s, driving over 40 songs to the number one slot. His works with Phil Spector and the Wrecking Crew sessions, his touring experiences and other hitmaking pressure sessions are amusingly revealed in this rare glimpse of a golden age. Exclusive scrapbook photos round out this biography to provide an entertaining and educating book for musicians and fans alike.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation (January 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0918371015
• ISBN-13: 978-0918371010
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,274,038 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful behind-the-scenes view of a great era in music, October 14, 1998

By	George Gilbert ([e-mail]) (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

I originally purchased this book after finding out that Hal Blaine was the most recorded musician in musical history: I knew that there had to be something "magical" about his talents! The book did much to reveal at least a bit of that magic: a great sense of humour, a love for the craft, and an abiding respect for the musicians he played with.

Now, I find it impossible to listen to music from the sixties and early seventies without saying to myself "Aha -- that's a Hal Blaine track". The Beach Boys, the Byrds, Neil Diamond, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra...even my all time favorite song, the Cascades "Rhythm of the Rain"...all have been graced by his exceptional drumming.

This is an excellent book for anyone who is interested in the creative process -- musical or otherwise.

Also included is a list of all the top-ten songs he was involved in: the list is four pages long (!)

The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is that I wish it were longer <sigh>.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Music Industry Legend Remembers, December 28, 1999

By A Customer

This is a great book if you are a fan of '60s music. Hal helped lay the foundation for much of it. He also heavily influenced many drummers who followed, including Keith Moon of the Who. He outlines his musical training, inspiration, and dues paying. He features amusing anecdotes about working with legends of the industry, including Phil Spector, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and Sinatra. It makes you realize how much credit he, along with other members of studio musicians known as the "Wrecking Crew", deserve for shaping their artists' visions, as their improv and input helped make those records so great. A must-have, especially if you are a drummer or ever wished you could be one. They don't make 'em like Hal anymore.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dull and superficial, July 6, 2000

By	"snopes" (Agoura Hills, CA USA) - See all my reviews

As much as I enjoy a lot of the music Hal Blaine has contributed to, I found little to enjoy about this book. Blaine offers nothing interesting or insightful about himself or the music business, just superficial outlines of his life and some of the people he worked with. He's curiously vague about the details of his own life (he either got his own birthdate wrong or consistently misstated his age by a year in the early part of the book, and he talks about women he married without even mentioning their names), and he seems to have little real knowledge of the performers he worked with (he repeats the erroneous claim that Mama Cass died from choking on food, for example, and a whole chapter about working with the Monkees actually covers a Mike Nesmith project that had nothing to do with the Monkees). He also played with some of the most popular pop/rock groups of the 1960s and 1970s (the Byrds, the Carpenters, Simon & Garfunkel), but none of them merits even a single mention in the book.

If Blaine had an interesting story he wanted to tell, he should have found a better collaborator.