Hal Blaine, R.I.P.

Hal Blaine, the prolific session drummer who was part of the Wrecking Crew of studio musicians on some of the greatest rock 'n roll records put to vinyl, has passed away at the age of 90.

His passing was not a surprise as Nancy Sinatra tweeted several days ago that Blaine "was in the fight of his life."

Blaine cut his musical teeth in jazz with Dizzy Gillespie's big band, but his passion would soon turn to rock 'n roll and would find himself in demand as a session player throughout the 1960's and 1970's. Blaine estimated that he played drums on more than 6,000 songs. Here are but a dozen of the songs on which Blaine played drums:

"Be My Baby" - The Ronettes
"Surf City" - Jan & Dean
"This Diamond Ring" - Gary Lewis & The Playboys
"Mr. Tambourine Man" - The Byrds
"These Boots Are Made For Walking'" - Nancy Sinatra
"Monday, Monday" - The Mamas & The Papas
"Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys
"Dizzy" - Tommy Roe
"Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" - The Fifth Dimension
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" - Simon & Garfunkel
"Close To You" - The Carpenters
"Calypso" - John Denver

This but scarcely scratches the surface. You could drive from New York to California and back listening to nothing to records that Blaine played on and have more than enough for another trip. Blaine's drumming wasn't dazzling, but he knew how to punctuate a song. Case in point - "Let's Live For Today" by The Grass Roots. Listen to the end of the bridge right before the final chorus and you'll know exactly of what I speak. R.I.P.