R.I.P.: Drummer Hal Blaine Tributes

Hal Blaine - 2008

The music industry, radio and pop culture lost an iconic figure this past week when Rock Hall of Famer Hal Blaine died of natural causes at age 90.

As a session musician, the drummer came to be associated with the Wrecking Crew, a loose collective of Los Angeles-based artists who backed a host of hit makers from the 1960s and '70s.

Blaine was a prolific session player and by his estimation played on over 35,000 recordings, including 6,000 singles.  He plays on "A Taste of Honey," the Grammys' 1965 record of the year, by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. "Strangers in the Night," Frank Sinatra's 1966 Grammy winner; the 5th Dimension's "Up, Up and Away," which won the Grammy the year after that ... in fact, Blaine's beat can be heard on six consecutive Record of the Year winners, up through Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water."

A number of tributes have circulated this week as remembrances and to honor his contributions to the soundtrack of our lives.  Each one is worthy of a listen...