1980s Time Capsule By Donn Bennett 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 DRIVE Machined Chain Drive + Machined Direct Drive Pedals

The Cool Caddy In Hal Blaine’s Gear Locker

al Blaine is believed to be one of the endorsement agreement with the Pearl commonplace in the drum industry. I world’s most recorded musicians. drum company, which supplied him with plan on writing a column in the near Between the 1950s and the 1980s, this month’s featured drum set. They future devoted to Faucher and several he played on countless thousands were considered the state of the art at the of his innovations. Hof tracks with such artists as Frank Sinatra, time, with all maple shells, heavyweight I once read an interview where Blaine Elvis Presley, Phil Spector, The Beach Boys, hardware, and a beautiful White Marine compared playing this Pearl set to driving John Lennon, Neil Diamond, and the list goes Pearl nish. The set includes a 22" x 16" a Cadillac, while his old Ludwigs were on. During this period, he racked up 150 Top bass drum; a 14" x 6.5" free- oating brass more like driving a Mustang. The Pearls 10 hits, including 40 #1 singles. snare drum; and 12" x 10", 13" x 11", and were big, strong, and powerful while the Between 1966 and 1971 he played on 16" x 16" toms. Ludwigs were lighter and more nimble. the Grammy Awards’ Record Of The Year It’s doubtful that he ever used the 12" Both are great sets, but very different for six consecutive years. To say that Hal tom. Every photo I’ve ever seen of him from each other. Blaine was in high demand would be a playing this set shows the single 13" tom I acquired the Pearl set directly from dramatic understatement. For decades, mounted on Blaine’s left-hand side. The Blaine in the late 1990s. He had just entered he worked constantly, playing on as many bass drum features Blaine’s legendary into a new endorsement agreement with as ve different sessions per day. His “Hal Blaine Strikes Again” logo, which the Mapex drum company and planned to discography is loaded with some of the was copied from a rubber stamp Blaine donate the set to a local elementary school most signi cant recordings of our time. used to identify sheet music he had band. Having witnessed rsthand the torture During the 1960s and ’70s, Blaine’s played on, and eventually became his and abuse elementary school drummers most proli c period, he played various unof cial trademark. can in ict on a drum set, I offered to buy con gurations of a blue sparkle Ludwig The bass drum also features a calfskin this set. In short order, it was on display in drum set. By the 1980s, his pace slowed to batter head with a piece of foam weather my drum shop near Seattle where they can a degree, but Blaine still worked steadily stripping attached to the inside, in a sort still be seen today. both live and in the studio. Some of the of amoeba shaped pattern, which acted artists he worked with in this period as a muf er (see inset photo above). It included John Denver, J.J. Cale, Emmylou was the brainchild of Blaine’s longtime Donn Bennett is an eminent collector and dealer Harris, Johnny Cash, and Nancy Sinatra. friend and drum tech, Rick Faucher, who of rare and vintage drums. His collection is on Blaine also became a very popular deserves credit for inventing numerous display at Donn Bennett Drum Studio in Bellevue, clinician. During this time, he entered an drum accessories that have since become Washington. [email protected]

The drive to engineer the optimal drive system. PERIODICAL - Drum (ISSN – 1097-0614, USPS - 23586) is published monthly by String Letter Media, Inc., 501 Canal Blvd., Suite J, Richmond, CA 94804. Periodical postage paid at Richmond, CA 94804 and additional mailing offices. Printed in the USA. Canada Post: mfg Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns to be sent to Imex Global Solutions, PO Box 32229, Hartford, CT 06150-2229. POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Drum, String Letter Media, Inc., PO Box 92227, Long Beach, CA 90809-2227. Geometry, fulcrum and motion become one. Direct Drive or Chain Drive, always The Drummer’s Choice®. www.DWDRUMS.COM/hardware/dwmfg/ U.S.A. 82 DRUM! March 2017 DRUMmagazine.com ©2017 DRUM WORKSHOP, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

MCD/MDD Drive AD - 2017 (DRUM).indd 1 1/19/17 11:33 AM 082 - 084_249_Time Capsule.indd 82 1/26/17 12:19 PM