Day 72. The beat goes on. (13/3/19)

This is probably a day or so late but it needs to be commented upon.

We need to talk about legacy. We need to talk about legacy as opposed to fame. It's becoming quite easy to become famous for a short time. You can do it with exceptionally little talent. You can be a 'celebrity' without really doing anything. The fact that a Kardashian has become a 'self made' billionaire is proof of that. 

We need to talk about a man who wasn't known world wide. Not by name, at least. His work though? God, everybody knows at least some of his work. It's difficult to know all of it. I credit myself as knowing this kind of stuff but I saw an incomplete list and my response to a couple of things was, "didn't know he did that."

Hal Blaine was 90. That's a good age.

He was 90 and most people had no idea that they'd been listening to his work for nearly 60 years. And will continue to listen to his work for decades to come. Possibly centuries.

Because Hal Blaine performed on some of the biggest songs you've ever heard. Without the general public, certainly at the time of release, knowing that it was him playing. In fairness, it wouldn't be the kind of thing that most people would think about. "Who drummed on that Frank Sinatra song? Who is it that opens Be My Baby with a drumbeat that is so simple anybody could play but nobody ever had, yet?"

The answer is Hal Blaine.

When people talk about the greatest drummers of all time they talk about those with identities, those who were in bands, those who were visible. They talk of Keith Moon. They talk of John Bonham. And they talk of them rightly. They were drummers who stood out. They were drummers you noticed. Hal Blaine's brilliance was that he didn't stand out. You didn't notice him. You hear the drums at the start of The Ronette's 'Be My Baby' and you don't 'hear' the drums. You just know that it's the start of Be My Baby. That's genius. That's skill. Everything in support of the song.

He was part of The Wrecking Crew, the legendary LA session group who backed up stars on recordings. Alongside Carol Kaye on bass, Glen Campbell on guitar, and so many others, he 'was' a Beach Boy, a Monkee, he's 'in' Steely Dan, he's one of the reasons Simon & Garfunkel weren't just an acoustic duo. He plays for Leonard Cohen, Love, David Cassidy, Barry McGuire, The Mamas & Papas, Neil Diamond, Bobby Darin. When Bill Murray wakes up again and again and again in Groundhog Day, Hal Blaine is drumming. He played soul, he played Jazz, he played rock. He played on the Batman theme.

Think of these:
California Girls
California Dreamin'
Can't Help Falling in Love
Da Doo Ron Ron
Dedicated To The One I Love
Dizzy
Didn't We

And that's just some of C and D from the very incomplete list that wikipedia publishes. He's on Wichita Lineman. That would be enough to be a legend. That was just another day at work.

There are so many musicians whose names we don't know who do so much work and leave so much more behind than some who are far more widely recognised. Hal Blaine was one of those.

We're led to believe that fame is everything. The modern world has told us that everybody should be known.

That's nonsense.

It's the work that matters.

And this is some of the greatest work ever produced.