Hal Blaine

I'm sure other people's blogs will mark the death of drummer Hal Blaine at the age of 90 as well as this one. Hal Blaine was one of the most recorded drummers in history, a man who played on over 6000 singles and 40 number one singles including those by The Byrds, Simon and Garfunkel, The Carpenters, The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra, The Mamas And The Papas and The Supremes. He covered for Dennis Wilson on Pet Sounds. But the bottom line is he's the man who did the intro on this...

Be By Baby

The result of a dropped drumstick apparently, a mistake that became one of rock 'n' roll's most instantly identifiable sounds, amplified by Phil Spector's production. The boom-ba-boom-crash sound was borrowed by, to name but two, The Jesus And Mary Chain...

Just Like Honey

And Johnny Boy...

You Are The Generation Who Bought More Shoes And You Get What You Deserve

Coincidentally some of us were discussing the Johnny boy song on Twitter on Sunday night and I discovered that there's a Don Letts directed video for the song I'd never seen before. It's here.

Hal Blaine R.I.P.

Ronettes With Baguettes

This popped up on Twitter today and I thought you might like it. It is a special kind of internet brilliance.

Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love

I've been listening to the girl groups recently- thanks to Drew mainly- and The Ronettes especially, so I thought there could be no better way to bring the working week to close than with some Wall of Sound magic from 1963. Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love was (I think) the first song Phil Spector recorded with the girls, though not the first released. That was Be My Baby. It's got everything  a Ronettes song should have. Boom tish boom Spector production, layers and layers of echo and instruments and a horn section that spins heads. Meanwhile Ronnie and co sing about how their parents won't let them go steady. Perfection.

Why Don't They Let Us Fall In Love

Be My Baby

Be My Baby is, quite clearly, an utterly fantastic pop record derived from the imagination of Phil Spector and the combined voices and attitudes of The Ronettes. It has one of the form's definitive drum beats (which it is impossible to get tired of).

It is also- and this is a fact- a song that can be put on any mixtape/compilation cd, before or after any other song by anybody, and still work perfectly. Try it.

Be My Baby

This Is The Way I Always Dreamed It Would Be

1966, The Ronettes, with Phil Spector co-writing and producing. That's about it for words today. I've been partying/wedding attending/family gathering hosting since Friday night and feel a little bit out of sorts.

I Can Hear Music