“Wouldn’t It Be Nice” — The Beach Boys

To celebrate the life and work of Hal Blaine, one of the most prolific musicians in pop history, who passed away this week, let’s take a look at just one of the many great record he played drums on.

Unless you’ve got the sort of mildly-obsessive interest in the music industry that people who feel compelled to write about it on Medium have, Hal Blaine might not be a name you instantly recognise.

That’s because he made his name as a session musician. Initially a feature of Phil Spector’s house band, he really came into his own in the 1960s when, as one of what came to be called the Wrecking Crew, a loose grouping of Los Angeles session musicians, he played on some of the biggest records in popular music.

The Ronettes’ “Be My Baby”, with Phil Spector in the producer’s chair, was an early success and cemented Hal Blaine’s reputation as the drummer people wanted in the studio.

Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers In The Night”, Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and “Close To You” by the Carpenters were just three of the timeless classics which boasted Hal Blaine on the drums.

So prolific was his work in the studio, that Hal Blaine featured on six consecutive Grammy-winning Records of the Year between 1966 and 1971.

And of course, he played on “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”…and many other songs too…for the Beach Boys.

I’ve chosen “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” as you hear a very distinctive Hal Blaine drum…