Blaine was born to Jewish Eastern European immigrants, Meyer and Rose Belsky, in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
He moved with his family to California in 1943. The following year, aged 15, Blaine survived the Hartford circus fire - one of the worst disasters in American history. In the 1940s, Blaine learned drums from Roy Knapp, who had also taught jazz drummer Gene Krupa. He played as part of Count Basie's big band and toured with Patti Page and Tommy Sands before taking up session work. Unlike many of his jazz contemporaries, Blaine enjoyed playing rock 'n' roll and this meant he played on numerous such sessions during the 1950s. He was a key member of The Wrecking Crew, the close-knit group of Los Angeles session musicians that played on hit records during the 1960s.
"Hal Blaine Strikes Again" is a rubber stamp used by Blaine to mark music scores and places where he has played. Drummer and author Max Weinberg, in his introduction to the chapter on Blaine in his book, writes:
Eleven years later our band played Wembley Arena, near London. After the show, while we were relaxing backstage, Bruce asked me to come into his dressing room. I went in, he pointed to the wall and said, "Look at that." I looked at the wall but didn't see anything except peeling wallpaper. "Look closer," he said. Finally, I got right down on the spot he was pointing to. and right there, in a crack in the paper, rubber stamped to the wall, it said HAL BLAINE STRIKES AGAIN. When asked to explain about the stamp Blaine replied, "I always stamp my charts. And there's a reason why I started that; it wasn't all ego." He went on to describe that occasionally he would need to find a particular chart amidst "five hundred pieces of music in a pile" and he needed some mark to do so. "Eventually I had a rubber stamp made up, and from that day on I've always stamped every piece of music I play, whether it's a demo or something I play at a friend's house."
Another drummer, Mike Botts, then with the band Bread, recalled: "Every studio I went to in the late sixties, there was a rubber stamp imprint on the wall of the drum booth that said, 'Hal Blaine strikes again.' Hal was getting so many studio dates he actually had a rubber stamp made. He was everywhere!"
Grammy Awards
A little known Grammy Awards record held by Blaine is that he played on 6 consecutive Record of the Year winners:
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass in 1966 for "A Taste of Honey";
Frank Sinatra in 1967 for "Strangers in the Night";
The 5th Dimension in 1968 for "Up, Up and Away";
Simon & Garfunkel in 1969 for "Mrs. Robinson";
The 5th Dimension in 1970 for "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In"; and
Simon & Garfunkel in 1971 for "Bridge over Troubled Water".
Blaine died on March 11, 2019 aged 90.
#1 hits
"Johnny Angel" – Shelley Fabares (03/03/62)
"He's a Rebel" – The Crystals (10/06/62)
"Surf City" – Jan & Dean (06/22/63)
"Everybody Loves Somebody" – Dean Martin (07/11/64)
"Ringo" – Lorne Greene (11/07/64)
"This Diamond Ring" – Gary Lewis & the Playboys (01/23/65)
"Help Me, Rhonda" – The Beach Boys (05/01/65)
"Mr Tambourine Man" – The Byrds (06/05/65)
"Eve of Destruction" – Barry McGuire (08/28/65)
"My Love" – Petula Clark (01/15/66)
"These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" – Nancy Sinatra (02/05/66)
"Monday Monday" – The Mamas & the Papas (04/16/66)
"Strangers in the Night" – Frank Sinatra (07/02/66)
"Poor Side of Town" – Johnny Rivers (10/08/66)
"Good Vibrations" – The Beach Boys (10/29/66)
"Somethin' Stupid" – Frank & Nancy Sinatra (03/25/67)
"The Happening" – The Supremes (04/15/67)[8][9]
"Windy" – The Association (06/03/67)
"Mrs. Robinson" – Simon & Garfunkel (05/04/68)
"Dizzy" – Tommy Roe (03/15/69)
"Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" – The 5th Dimension (04/12/69)
"Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" – Henry Mancini (05/24/69)
"Wedding Bell Blues" – The 5th Dimension (10/04/69)
"Bridge Over Troubled Water" – Simon & Garfunkel (02/14/70)
"(They Long to Be) Close to You" – The Carpenters (06/27/70)
"Cracklin' Rosie" – Neil Diamond (08/29/70)
"I Think I Love You" – The Partridge Family (10/31/70)
"Indian Reservation" – The Raiders (05/29/71)
"Song Sung Blue" – Neil Diamond (05/13/72)
"Half Breed" – Cher (09/01/73)
"Annie's Song" – John Denver (06/15/74)
"Top of the World" – The Carpenters (10/20/74)
"The Way We Were" – Barbra Streisand (12/22/74)
"Thank God I'm a Country Boy" – John Denver (04/05/75)
"Love Will Keep Us Together" – Captain & Tennille (05/24/75)
"I'm Sorry"/"Calypso" – John Denver (08/30/75)
"Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)" – Diana Ross (01/24/76)
Discography
1963 "Deuces, T's, Roadsters and Drums
1966 Drums! Drums! A Go Go
1967 Psychedelic Percussion
1968 Have Fun!!! Play Drums!!!
Hal Blaine's drums can be heard as part of the Wall of Sound on the Ronettes' 1963 No. 2 hit "Be My Baby", produced by Phil Spector at Hollywood's Gold Star Studios. Max Weinberg wrote, "If Hal Blaine had played drums only on the Ronettes' "Be My Baby", his name would still be uttered with reverence and respect for the power of his big beat." Rolling Stone magazine listed the song as No. 22 on The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
In March 2000, Hal Blaine was one of the first five sidemen inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. (One of the other inductees was Hal's long-time friend and drumming colleague, Earl Palmer.)
Some of the famous musicians with whom Blaine has worked include:
The 5th Dimension
Alessi
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
Nancy Ames
America
Paul Anka
The Association
Frankie Avalon
Hoyt Axton
Baja Marimba Band
The Beach Boys
Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans
Pat Boone
Elkie Brooks
Sam Butera and the Witnesses
The Byrds
J.J. Cale
Glen Campbell
Freddy Cannon
Captain & Tennille
The Carpenters
Mel Carter
The Cascades
Johnny Cash
Rosanne Cash
David Cassidy
Ray Charles
Cher
Petula Clark
Leonard Cohen
Nat King Cole
Sam Cooke
Johnny Crawford
The Crystals
Bobby Darin
James Darren
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Doris Day
John Denver
Jackie DeShannon
Neil Diamond
Patty Duke
Judith Durham
Duane Eddy
The Everly Brothers
Jose Feliciano
Connie Francis
Frizzell and West
Art Garfunkel
Bobby Gentry
Lesley Gore
The Grass Roots
Lorne Greene
Roosevelt Grier
Hamilton, Joe Frank and Reynolds
Albert Hammond
Emmylou Harris
Richard Harris
Neal Hefti
The Hondells
Thelma Houston
Jan and Dean
Jay and the Americans
Frankie Laine
Michael Landon
John Lennon
Gary Lewis and the Playboys
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Bob Lind
Jackie Lomax
Trini Lopez
Love
The Mamas & the Papas
Henry Mancini
Ann-Margret
The Marketts
Dean Martin
Barry McGuire
Scott McKenzie
The Monkees
Hugo Montenegro
Gerry Mulligan
Juice Newton
Wayne Newton
Jack Nitzsche
Roy Orbison
Patti Page
The Partridge Family
Bernadette Peters
Elvis Presley
Louis Prima
Gary Puckett & The Union Gap
Helen Reddy
Paul Revere & the Raiders
The Rip Chords
Johnny Rivers
Howard Roberts
Tommy Roe
The Ronettes
Diana Ross
The Sandpipers
Tommy Sands
Paul Simon
Simon & Garfunkel
Frank Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Keely Smith
Sonny & Cher
Spanky and Our Gang
Dusty Springfield
Steely Dan
Barbra Streisand
The Supremes
Tanya Tucker
Ike and Tina Turner
Leslie Uggams
Jerry Vale
Bobby Vee
The Ventures
The Vogues
Shelly West
Andy Williams
Mason Williams
Money
Hal Blaine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But you can keep them for the birds and bees
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want
You're lovin' gives me a thrill
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want
Money don't get everything it's true
What it don't get, I can't use
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want, wah
Money don't get everything it's true
What it don't get, I can't use
Now give me money
That's what I want
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want
Well now give me money
A lot of money
Wow, yeah, I wanna be free
Oh I want money
That's what I want
That's what I want, well
Now give me money
A lot of money
Wow, yeah, you need money
Now, give me money
That's what I want, yeah
That's what I want
Hal Blaine's song "Money" is a representation of materialism in modern society and how it has affected people's priorities. The first verse talks about how the best things in life are free, but the singer doesn't seem interested in that. Instead, they want money and tell their partner to keep the free things for the birds and bees. In the second verse, the singer acknowledges that their partner's love rouses them, but it doesn't help pay their bills. Hence, they want money to be financially stable.
In the chorus, the singer repeats the phrase "money don't get everything it's true, what it don't get I can't use," which means that money may enable them to buy things, but it cannot buy true happiness or love. However, the singer still insists on wanting money and repeatedly says, "that's what I want." In the final verse, they demand a lot of money as they want to be free financially.
Overall, the song is a critical commentary on materialism and how money has become a symbol of happiness and success, even to the extent of prioritizing it over love and other important things in life.
Line by Line Meaning
The best things in life are free
While it's true that some of the best experiences in life don't have a price tag, I'm not interested in those. I want something that only money can buy.
But you can keep them for the birds and bees
I don't care about the things that you might consider priceless. Let the animals have them for all I care, because they can't buy me what I want.
Now give me money
I'm not asking for anything else but cold, hard cash. That's what will bring me true happiness.
That's what I want
I don't want love, friendship, or any other abstract concepts. Money is the only thing that truly matters.
You're lovin' gives me a thrill
Sure, your love might be nice, but it doesn't pay the bills or put food on the table. It's not enough for me.
But you're lovin' don't pay my bills
As grateful as I might be for your love, at the end of the day it won't help me financially. It's simply not enough.
Money don't get everything it's true
It's true that money isn't the answer to all of life's problems, but it's certainly the answer to mine. I need money to get what I want most.
What it don't get, I can't use
If there's something that money can't buy that I need or want, then it's useless to me. Money is the only thing that matters.
Well now give me money
I'm reiterating my request loud and clear: give me money. It's the only thing that can truly make me happy.
Wow, yeah, I wanna be free
Money equals freedom. With enough cash, I can have the freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want. That's the kind of life I want to live.
Oh I want money
In case you weren't listening before, let me make myself clear: I want money. I need it to get what I want.
Now give me money
This is my final plea for cash. I'm not asking for anything else but money. It's what I want, what I need, and what I must have.
A lot of money
Just to clarify, I need more than a few bucks. I need a lot of money to get what I want in life.
Wow, yeah, you need money
I'm not the only one who needs money. You need it too, whether you realize it or not. Money makes the world go round.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy Jr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind