Hal Blaine was an American drummer. He was one of the most recorded studio drummers in the history of music. Hal Blaine net worth before his death is estimated to be around $5 million.
Blaine was born on February 5, 1929, in Holyoke, Massachusetts to Meyer and Rose Belsky. He started playing drums at the young age of 8. Blaine learned drumming skills from Roy Knapp from 1949 to 1952 and he began his career playing overnight sessions in Chicago strip clubs.
Hal Blaine is best known for working with “The Wrecking Crew” which was a group of studio and session musicians based in California. He played on many hits artists like Elvis Presley, the Ronettes, John Denver, Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys, the Carpenters, Nancy Sinatra, the Partridge Family, and Steely Dan.
Blaine was a prolific drummer and has played on over 35,000 recordings, including 6,000 singles. He played on six consecutive Grammy Award Record of the Year winners including “Strangers in the night” by Frank Sinatra, “Mrs. Robinson” by Simon & Garfunkel and “Up, Up and Away” by The 5th Dimension.
His drumming is featured on 40 number 1 hits by a range of popular artists as well as on film and television soundtracks. Due to his huge contribution in the music industry, he was included into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2000. He was also inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2018, he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
On March 11, 2019, at the age of 90, Blaine died of natural causes.