Hal Blaine, Larry Knechtel, Leon Russell and Joe Osborn were asked to do a Session for a few tracks that they are known to complete quickly. -Video Upload powered by www.TunesToTub...
I was the person who discovered these original Byrds session tapes. This was back around 1989. They were being discarded along with dozens of other Columbia Records artists sessions tapes. Unfortunately I couldn't afford the other tapes so I have no idea what became of them. Thankfully these Byrds tapes were saved. I'm proud I was able to be part of that.
Thank you. These tapes are historical records. You say you couldn’t afford them? They were throwing them out and they were charging you? Thank God you got these with Hal Blaine. What a shame, who knows what was on those tapes. Cheers.
@@buddyrichable1 The guy had them on shelves and I was focused on the Byrds tapes. There were many others by many artists but I wasn't able to afford them. He wasn't throwing them away; Columbia Records did and he grabbed them from a dumpster! I just wish I had the ability to buy all those tapes! Big mistake but this was 30 years ago. I can't change the outcome.
The passing of Hal Blaine is an occasion to celebrate the invaluable contribution made by session musicians to the music those of us of a certain age grew up listening to. Thanks to you all.
And, though barely audible until the 1990's when it was mixed for true stereo, there's a electric piano on this recording, played by one Claude Russell Bridges (A.K.A. Leon Russell)
I still remember driving in my car, playing the stereo album, and hearing the electric piano for the first time. It’s even more evident on the b-side “I Knew I’d Want You.”
Ever heard of Earl Palmer? Both Billy Higgins and Hal Blaine recorded a lot of Jazz and Rock n Roll respectively, but only Palmer covered both genres to any great extent.
Carroll Shelby Yes, originally it was used to sync up music to film. I use click tracks to practice to as way to improve on my timing, but I rarely record with one.
@@egglardo A friend of mine asked me to record over the last 24 bars of a track laid down by one of the best studio trombone players in L.A. two years earlier.
I had the honor and pleasure of knowing Hal Blaine for many years...I was always amazed by the number of songs that he said he forgot he played on!...This actually was one of them. As I recall, he said he played on over 150 records that charted. The impromptu Barbara Ann with the Beach Boys and Jan and Dean remains one of my favorites. We were boat neighbors in Marina del Rey and remained friends until the end.
Wow, the stories you must have heard. I’ve seen videos of him talking about recording with Brian Wilson and playing on so many of their tracks. He seemed like such a gentleman and I could see why he was so in demand as a drummer.
@@buddyrichable1 I only heard Hal speak of Buddy a few of times. I know he respected Buddy's talent. After Hal moved from Marina Del Rey we only spoke on the phone and email. My kids wanted to meet him so badly...just couldn't seem make the timing work. I regret not making more of an effort. Guess I thought there would always be another opportunity. There is a lesson there....
Hal Blaine is probably one of the most important people in popular music history, given the range of his involvement with so many musical genres. You are in a very privileged position to have known Hal. Your first hand expreinces of Hal should be set down for the future.
It's astounding to hear that the iconic bass riff at the intro didn't appear until Take 7 and how much it improved the song. Wikipedia credits Larry Knechtel as the bass player. McGuinn's playing through all those takes was flawless. Thanks so much for saving and posting these tapes.
Nice…..was thinking the same thing…..everyone concentrates on the 12 string, never realized how iconic that bass slide is….and no one even mentions it in the booth! listening to this is so great
I get chills listening to this little piece of music history. I remember as a teenager the first time I heard this. It was a turning point. Bob Dylan had recorded “Like a Rolling Stone “ and I couldn’t get enough of that masterpiece, and later on Jimi did “All Along the Watchtower” one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded. Thanks for posting this.
It was estimated that Hal Blaine played on nearly 35,000 sessions which would have made him if not the most recorded musician then at least close. Blaine himself said that was an exaggeration and was probably closer to 7000. As part of the Wrecking Crew he can be heard on hundreds of records. Rest in peace Hal and many thanks for your talents and all the music you gave us.
@@davefiano4172 Hal Blaine and the Wrecking Crew. there is also a book about just the Wrecking Crew that is the name of it and a DVD doc you can now buy
My little high school band Thee Esquires was recording around this same time on a Sony 777, bouncing tracks, doing reverb in a big concrete garage. Over and over, take after take of our little songs. We learned discipline, and that is what you hear on these band tracks. Oh, yes, and the genius, you can hear the genius too!!! RIP Hal Blaine, like no other.
Yowza to that Sony 777---1st learned how to multitrack the same way! And… a lot of it was harmonizing w/ McGuinn where he was singing alone, or adding extra lead fills and rhythm trax.
I knew Hal for 30+years and he was one of the nicest guys I have ever met. He was a good, genuine and honest guy. We shared some good times together....and now I wish we had shared more.
Mike Kiker You are right. I’ve seen that custom kit in a RU-vid video. I remember Hal Blaine talking about spending hours oiling up all his gear on a Frank Sinatra session. It was well known that Sinatra didn’t like to do more than one take, so Blaine didn’t want a squeak from his equipment to ruin a take. That kind of attention to detail is what made him the ‘go to guy’ for drums.
Probably played on more hits than any other session drummer? Roger Hawkins (the Swampers) probably isn't far behind. Jeff Porcaro was a great session drummer too. He was the drummer for Toto, and played on some classic albums.
That was Larry Knechtel, usually heard on the keyboards, playing the bass. I always thought it was Chris Hillman. So did everybody else, including Dick Clark, who knew everything, but didn't know, for example, that the Monkees sang on their albums, but didn't play on them.
That slide is one of the many bass riffs that made me put down trumpet and pick up bass :) 49 years ago!LOL The 'Slide" -- He goes from the root to about 3 notes higher on this recording of the bass... At 8:30 and on the finished mass-released recording-- you hear him slide the whole octave--the whole 12 frets... Little nuances like that , are why I LOVE BASS!!
I was able to actually meet Hal Blaine several times because my best friend and next door neighbor growing up was his cousin. (in New Orleans.) He was an incredibly nice man - my friend had great stories of going to his home in Hollywood every year during vacation from school - she was the same age as his kids. Boy was I envious when she told me about riding around Hollywood in his antique Rolls Royce convertible and swimming in the pool, staying at the mansion! He took us backstage for the John Denver show when he was touring with him in the early 1970's - I was about 13 yrs old and thought it was so cool when he introduced the whole group of us to John D. as "this is my family." I'll never forget that whole experience. I knew he played on a lot of important records, but it wasn't until I was an adult and a full time working musician that drummers would tell me WHO HAL REALLY WAS - the most recorded drummer in history who played on hundreds of number one hits!
@@jimmcintyre6664 Umm ...? Don't get me wrong, I love Roger McGuinn. Yes, a very distinguished and accomplished player. But he is not even in the same league as Glen Campbell as an all-around player. No offense, but there's really no argument here. I'm pretty sure Roger would be the first to agree with me.
To note of Hal's playing style here is his ability to keep the volume level of his drumming the same even through fills and crashes - also his unwaivering meter. Qualities that made him invaluable to producers in those days. 😊
@@andhemills the most important ingredient was and is “FEEL” something that digital lacks…and no (IT) can duplicate. I love the session musicians…wrecking crew (LA), funk brothers (Detroit), booker t ( Memphis) and muscle shoals (New Orleans), 95% of all great music came from a select group of creative players from these 4 locations. Today it’s mostly machines and pretenders.
You just don't get documented progression like this any more with digital music, early takes and songs development just don't exist anymore, it all just gets lost in the edit along the way, just hearing the moment Hal first picks up on the snare in the intro is priceless, you literally hear the magic dust sprinkling
CallitHowISeeIt Never mind the fact that within 2 decades at the most no multitrack sessions made in a computer program will be fully supported/readable, plug-ins won’t work etc
thenewyorkpauls: Forced hardware & software obsolescence has become fully incestuous, so I just mothball my systems every few years, complete and working. I can use freeze files if I have to move something from old to new. It still takes up way less physical space than storing tapes.
CallitHowISeeIt: I guess you’re right, but it’s not because it’s not possible. My DAW automatically keeps version backups, and I often “Save As...” new point versions as a song evolves. There’s no need to erase the files; hard disk space is cheap. So, I could do “documented progression” of the tracks I produce...but the key question is, “Would anyone care?” I think not. Anyhow, I suspect that the reason you don’t see “documented progression” of more recent stuff might be that the more recent material isn’t “vintage” or “classic” enough yet for anyone to care. Maybe it won’t ever be. Multiple takes like those from Byrds or Beatles sessions are interesting because they influenced multiple generations of musicians. It remains to be seen whether the same will be true of bands that arose in the digital age.
If music was actually real music played by real musicians on real instruments, then there might be an interesting reason for audible documentation. And if such was the case, you'd probably be documenting an individual instrument as bands don't enter a recording studio anymore. Although I do love technology, we definitely do miss out on a lot of things because of it. You notice bands don't put out live albums anymore because everyone has the concert captured on their cell phones, etc. So anyway we have the finished product, but we don't have the spirit that went into it.
You can tell this was a four track recording. McGuinn's 12 string, the "chip chip" guitar, and a low rhythm electric on one track (right); drums, center on their own track; electric rhythm, electric piano, and bass, left. 4th track usually left open for bounce / comp or sync striped to lock up with another 4 track machine....
Of course Hal was the greatest he proved it by playing on so very many hit records. I love everything about the man and the interviews on RU-vid are priceless.
Thoroughly enjoyed this upload. Hal Blaine was in a class of his own. I doubt there will ever be another drummer who will come close to his creative and diverse talent.
@@thomastrout9997 Earl Palmer almost certainly played more sessions than Hal Blaine in the L.A. studio scene. Earl wasn't a self-promoter like Hal was, but he got more calls than Hal did. Earl was a great jazz drummer, hence was more versatile than Hal, who was really more attuned to rock stuff. I'm not knocking Hal at all, and he was involved in lots of hits, but Carol Kaye mentioned to me once that Earl got more calls than anyone, because of that versatility. Remember that lots of session calls were for jazzier stuff, plus television and movie work. Earl was more suited to that stuff than Hal was. But Hal was the god of rock drummers in LA, that's for sure. Both were fantastic at what they did!
It's fascinating to listen to these raw tracks from back when analogue was king.This is a hairs on the back of the neck stuff a snapshot into a whole different era, that is now sadly lost . The warmth and sound of the instruments in the room is sublime
I hate that analog is gone. Digital just doesn't cut it for me. I miss recording analog in the studio, the sound of the reel rewinding, watching a really good engineer do a splice, riding the faders for a harmony vocal mix, the whole 9 yards.
Wow, I could listen to this all night. Takes me back to my youthful love of folk rock. BTW, IMO, worth enough to buy a small cup of coffee, this instrumental could be used in a movie soundtrack, like Stranger in a Strange Land in Ford v Ferrari (2019). Thanks 🙏 for the upload.
Beautiful piece of music I'm in the studio tomorrow laying down an album for 2 days found this very inspiring. All the best . 1965 i was 5 playing on my brothers Ajax
I heard a doc on public radio shortly before Hal Blaine died in which he told stories about this session, Pet Sounds, and many others. It was fascinating. He even told how he made those thundering sounds on Simon and Garfinkel's "The Boxer" ("The biggest floor tom I could find."). He was a great drummer and a wonderful raconteur.
@@ptownscribe1254 McGuin is the only Byrd on the recording so my guess would be either Tommy Tedesco or Barney Kessel as part of the legendary 'Wrecking Crew' session musicians who did the guitar work..
The background track is so good it could almost be a stand alone background track. Of course Jim's vocals were sensational when added as well. The wrecking crew were truly a one of a kind musical version of the 1927 Yankees. What a team. Since pop music has ended, you can truly say they will never be reprecated.
@@josephbarth2714 He as born James Joseph McGuinn III. In (I think) 1965 he joined a religious group (subud) whose members -- I've met some, they're just regular folks -- are often recommended to take new names in consultation with the group's leader. Look him up on Wikipedia for more details of how he arrived at Roger. He changed his middle name officially to Roger some time after, so he's now James Roger McGuinn. ----- As to who did the vocals, do you know whether Gene Clark also sang this one? I'd assume he would have.
Hal was an absolute gentleman. He helped me connect with my father's family. I am for ever in this great man's debt... R.I.P. , Sir Hal -- the Legend, the Man...
it's amazing how you can hear Leon in this mix whereas in the ultimate version either he's been ducked considerably or really mixed low. gives a new perspective to the song. I almost wish they'd left him at the level he's at here.
You can hear him pretty good on the stereo album. I’d say the mix probably ended up just right. While he’s not distinct on the mono single, I think there’d be a big hole if the electric piano wasn’t there. “Satisfaction” by The Rolling Stones is similar.
This is great material to listen to just like The Beach Boys Sea of Tunes( Vol 1 -22 )1962-1969 with Hal on most all of drumming, if not all. RIP Hal and thanks for signing my book you wrote...Thanks Steve...have any more :)
@@gregoryantoniono3673 i heard larry played the piano on bridge over troubled water too. thats legendary. campbell and all those guys had an ear for great music.. we'll never see the likes of them again
When I first heard this record I had no idea, of course, how it was made and by whom. The 12-string guitar was so prominent and hypnotic that I thought that it was the only guitar on the record. Of course, there was another guitar (Jerry Cole) and an electric piano (Leon Russel) as well, but in mono on the 4" speaker in my car radio or on the oval POS speaker in my record player, who could tell that? Well, when I tried to learn to play it, I tried to make my Gretsch Streamliner, one-pickup 6-string sound like McGuinn's Rick 12 as well the other instruments all at the same time, so I overplayed the sh-t out of it and, surprise, surprise, it didn't sound right. Gee, I wonder why? Anyway, it was a while later that I realized that something else was going on, calmed down, and played the song like a musician who knows something, along with another guitarist. I think that younger musicians and fans today don't realize how primitive most of our listening systems were in the day and how difficult it was to figure out what the chords and parts of these records were. Being in a band in the mid-'60s was tough, and I mean it, but it was exciting and the music was magic.
In addition to Roger McGuinn ("Jim" as he was known then) and Jerry Cole on guitars, there was also Bill Pittman on guitar. Don't know if it's Pittman or Cole doing the "high chop" a la Beach Boys. Often times there would be a piano on the session just to guide the other musicians through. In this case, Leon's piano track was either muted or completely erased in the final mix, as the Byrds weren't a keyboard band. Though Van Dyke Parks would add some keys to a couple of their later songs in '66.
Not exactly accurate to say "The Byrds w/Hal Blaine." The only Byrd allowed to play on their first album was Jim McGuinn on his Ric. Everyone else was one of the L.A. studio musicians.
@@dbailey62 According to a friend of mine who played on the sessions, the backing tracks on the entire first album are studio musicians plus Jim (now Roger) McGuinn. Columbia Records insisted on it, because studio time was expensive, and McGuinn was the only one that had experience as a studio player. The other Byrds were hugely pissed. When it came time to record their Turn, Turn, Turn lp, Columbia had enough confidence in their playing to let them do it themselves. Since my friend played on most of the cuts, and has the contracts to prove it, I'm sticking with it. But hey, believe what you want. It makes no difference to me. In those days, very few bands got to play on their recordings, because the studio musicians could play their parts better and with fewer mistakes, hence less studio time. Anyway, best to you!
@@selmer862 These rumours have been spread for decades of course but in all honestly, listen to the drums on the first album. Those are not the drums of a session ace. Listen to the rhythm guitar. That is distinctive Crosby. Yes, absolutely, the session aces like the WC played on so many great tracks and hit singles, absolutely. I don't question that at all. The thing is, if Johnny Rogan could have told us that the WC played on the entire first LP, don't you think he would have done so? He's not one to pull his punches.
A thankless task, being a studio cat. They played on thousands of songs with zero credits and a one time fee with no residuals. When you were a kid and you saw the Byrds on TV doing Tambourine, you had the CBS LP with Jim's BS about our sound goes jet whoosh as opposed to post war Rooaaaar..it was all so rock n roll glamorous. Baloney. Trade craft is HARD I don't care if it's painting sets or being a studio pro guitar player or drummer - it is lunchbox punch the clock HARD. Hundreds of hours and how many union pros to make ONE 3 minute ditty? Then you read the Beatles Recording Sessions book and realize they were cuttin' and pastin' tape WAAAAAY before digital DAWs with easy peasy cut n paste - again hundreds of takes to make one cohesive Beatle song? Glamorous my patootie. Much love to Hal, Carol, Tommy, Ray, Leon, Glen and the gang that made the memories for us. 🎶🎵
I'm distraught. I didn't know that Hal Blaine passed away 3/11/19. He was the greatest! The Byrds actual drummer (Michael Clarke) couldn't play like this. Either could any of the drummers that had "a session drummer" record for them. This is interesting.
Don Johnson says it exactly right. Michael Clark was no virtuous, no question. And Hal Blaine was undeniably brilliant. But Clark could have easily taken on this track and nailed it. Just like, Ringo would have been fine on the final take of "Love Me Do" instead of George Martin electing to hire session man Andy White. Just one of those things. A decision not made by the band.
@@Bidjje Ringo is the drummer on Love Me Do. George Martin hired Andy White because he did not think Pete Best was up to it. He told the band after their first meeting and Lennon/McCartney got the message and recruited Ringo. They tried Love Me Do with both drummers and everyone decided that the track with Ringo was best suited for release.
The idea of new bands having the backing tracks done by, The Crew,,etc..was because of the investors, financial backers of new talent needed the product done at lowest cost, reliable musicians..studio time cost being the controlling factor...once a band had established marketability, the money men stepped back ... simple really,...
For the first Byrds single, Mr. Tambourine Man/I Knew I'd Want You, the producer felt bassist Chris Hillman and drummer Michael Clarke were untested in the studio and the label wanted the record out quickly. Jim McGuinn played his Rickenbacker, and Roger, Gene Clark and David Crosby sang. The Byrds played all the instruments on the rest of the album.
I doubt it... and I didn't hear it. By this time McGuinn was a seasoned pro, having backed the Limeliters, the Chad Mitchell Trio, Judy Collins and Bobby Darin. He was more than technically competent, hence he's the only actual Byrds member on this session.
@@stephenhawkingsfootballboo7885 - True, he was a pro by this time in his career, but I agree with Uncle Ned, he was dragging this session, must have been having an off day. I've done a lot of recording in my past, and there are days when the fingers just don't work right. Playing an electric 12 string in those days was a workout.
@@tomkatf I've listened to this three times and nowhere do I hear anyone say "Jim, you're draggin'." Perhaps your hearing is more acute than mine. What I take umbrage with is the perception that somehow Roger was this green kid that the session guys were just tolerating. Roger had a life-long relationship with Hal Blaine, so it's apparent that Hal didn't think of Roger as anything other than a peer. And here's a young Jim McGuinn playing banjo with the Chad Mitchell Trio a full year before founding the Byrds. I challenge anyone to watch this and tell me that he somehow couldn't hack it in the studio. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s54PIUVqnL8.html
disagree somewhat...he just plays a bit farther back in the pocket, west coast style. If anything the others seem to be pushing the tempo, in particular the rhythm guitars a bit. Yes, one or twice McGuinn stumbles a tiny bit on the first three or four notes but always settles in nicely after that.
The Wrecking Crew. Leon Russell on piano, Jerry Cole on guitar, Hal Blaine on drums and Larry Knechtel on bass. Byrd Roger McGuinn on his 12 string Ric.
@@recordguy4321 do you know which electric guitar? I hear Roger and the 'hits' plus what sounds like muted fifths along with the bass. Am I missing something?
I just know there are 3 guitars Mcgunn, Cole and Pittman according to the session logs. Cole and Pittman are doing the "hits' while roger is doing the jingly jangly stuff. Leon Russell is playing piano but was turned almost completely off in the mix as you can hardly hear him
At first I was confused about who “Jim” was, and then I remembered that was Roger McGuinn’s original name! I really think Leon Russell’s electric piano was the secret sauce on both sides of the “Mr. Tambourine Man” single. I could never make it out until I heard the stereo album. Same on the Stones’ “Satisfaction.”
@@futbolt That was almost certainly the producer, Terry Melcher, who was pretty prominent in the '60' s LA music scene (and who was also, among other things, Doris Day's son). He passed away a few years ago.
@Stork Legs this session was before guys were told to beat the F out of their drums...this groove is relaxed...the entire track is...but there's great energy at the same time
This was in Jan 65 /single released in May becomes a hit and Columbia give the go ahead for an Album which is all Byrds! Byrds had a recorded versions of MTT with Acoustic and Electric versions in 1964 while rehearsing their craft! Electric one pretty good not as Slick as with WC you can find them on Preflyte album on RU-vid
The producer talking here, Terry Melcher, is the dude who turned down Charles Manson as a recording artist and who was the real target of the Manson family murders when Sharon Tate and the others were killed. He’d previously lived in the house before Tate and her husband Roman Polanski moved in- and Charlie didn’t know he’d moved out. He’s also Doris Days’ kid
Manson knew, he just didn't know where Melcher had moved to and he didn't care that much. He figured whoever was in the Cielo Drive house had to be rich so the murder would make all the newspapers.
Wow what a treat , Im 58 and these songs inspired me to learn to play . I have been a semi pro player for 39 yrs . clubs , casinos and studio work. Thanks for sharing this Mr Escobar . Hal Blaine and the wrecking crew were GREAT !.
That was interesting to find out how that bass intro part didn't have that legato slide up to the note part at first and just sounded flat and plain but when it was added it made that whole into a masterpiece !
