Today’s classic song that featured Hal Blaine on drums of the day is “Cracklin’ Rosie” by Neil Diamond. Mr. Diamond released this single, on the Uni Records label, on July 30, 1970. It shot all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100, Mr. Diamond’s very first number-one record.
Contrary to what the lyrics might have you believe, “Cracklin’ Rosie” is not about a “store-bought woman.” Apparently, Mr. Diamond got the idea for the song from a story he heard when touring in Canada. The story was about an indigenous people’s reservation where the men greatly outnumbered the women. As Mr. Diamond recalls:
“…these poor chaps would rush down to their local general store and get themselves a large bottle of a very cheap wine called Crackling Rose. The story goes that the wine becomes their woman for the weekend.”
So there you have it. “Cracklin’ Rosie” is actually about a wine called Crackling Rose.
After writing the song, Mr. Diamond went into studio with members of the famed Wrecking Crew to put it on tape. The backing musicians included Al Casey on guitar, Larry Knechtel on keyboards, Joe Osborn on bass, and the ubiquitous Hal Blaine on drums.
The remarkable thing about Hal Blaine’s drumming on this tune is that it is totally unremarkable. He lays down a solid four-on-the-floor groove with a heavy backbeat that propels the song forward, throws in a few fills on his monster kit toms, and that’s that. It doesn’t seem like much, and it probably wasn’t to Hal at the time, but it’s perfect for the song. To Hal, it was just another day’s work.
Here’s what Hal told me about his typical day back then when I interviewed him for my Complete Idiot’s Guide to Playing Drums book:
“In the morning I’d play on some rock and roll record, then I’d be doing Barbra Streisand records, some of the most beautiful music in the world, and then three hours later I’d be in playing a Latin session. I mean, it just went on and on and on. It’s amazing to me, and I guess amazing to a lot of people, that we could do that. It was wild, but we were guys who, at that time, had that experience, and we could do it.”
I continue to be amazed at how many and how many different tracks Hal and his contemporaries recorded back then. Like I said, it was just a day in the office to them—but they created a universe of music that we still listen to today.
About that music. Do you have any idea how many number-one songs that Hal played on? Here’s the complete list, in chronological order: it’s an incredible collection (and variety) of music:
- “Johnny Angel” (Shelley Fabares, April 7, 1962)
- “He’s a Rebel” (The Crystals, November 3, 1962)
- “Surf City” (Jan and Dean, July 20, 1963)
- “I Get Around” (The Beach Boys, July 4, 1964)
- “Everybody Loves Somebody” (Dean Martin, August 15, 1964)
- “Ringo” (Lorne Greene, December 5, 1964)
- “This Diamond Ring” (Gary Lewis & the Playboys, February 20, 1965)
- “Help Me, Rhonda” (The Beach Boys, May 29, 1965)
- “Mr Tambourine Man” (The Byrds, June 26, 1965)
- “I Got You Babe” Sonny & Cher, August 14, 1965)
- “Eve of Destruction” (Barry McGuire, September 25, 1965)
- “My Love” (Petula Clark, February 5, 1966)
- “Monday, Monday” (The Mamas & the Papas, May 7, 1966)
- “Strangers in the Night” (Frank Sinatra, July 2, 1966)
- “Poor Side of Town” (Johnny Rivers, November 12, 1966)
- “Good Vibrations” (The Beach Boys, December 10, 1966)
- “Somethin’ Stupid” Frank & Nancy Sinatra, April 15, 1967)
- “The Happening” (The Supremes, May 13, 1967)
- “Windy” (The Association, July 1, 1967)
- “Mrs. Robinson” (Simon & Garfunkel, June 1, 1968)
- “Dizzy” (Tommy Roe, March 15, 1969)
- “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In” (The 5th Dimension, April 12, 1969)
- “Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet” (Henry Mancini, June 28, 1969)
- “Wedding Bell Blues” (The 5th Dimension, November 8, 1969)
- “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (Simon & Garfunkel, February 28, 1970)
- “(They Long to Be) Close to You” (The Carpenters, July 25, 1970)
- “Cracklin’ Rosie” (Neil Diamond, October 10, 1970)
- “I Think I Love You” The Partridge Family,[31] November 21, 1970
- “Indian Reservation” (The Raiders, July 24, 1971)
- “Song Sung Blue” (Neil Diamond, July 1, 1972)
- “Half Breed” (Cher, October 6, 1973)
- “Top of the World” (The Carpenters, December 3, 1973)
- “The Way We Were” (Barbra Streisand, February 2, 1974)
- “Annie’s Song” (John Denver, July 27, 1974)
- “Thank God I’m a Country Boy” (John Denver, June 7, 1975)
- “Love Will Keep Us Together” (Captain & Tennille, June 21, 1975)
- “I’m Sorry”/”Calypso” (John Denver, September 27, 1975)
- “Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To)” (Diana Ross, January 24, 1976)
That’s 39 songs all total (including “Cracklin’ Rosie”), out of 150 songs he played on that reached the Billboard Top Ten. Nobody’s really bothered to detail how many songs he played on that charted in the top forty or Hot 100, there’s just too many to count. Incredible.
