This week’s final classic song with Hal Blaine on drums of the day is “Indian Reservation,” purportedly by the Raiders. This single was released in February of 1971 and rose all the way to #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Cash Box Top 100 charts.
I say “purportedly” by the Raiders (formerly known as Paul Revere & the Raiders) because it was originally intended as a solo single by Raiders lead single Mark Lindsay, who had had some success on his own with songs like “Arizona” and “Silver Bird.” But before we get into that story, let’s go back a decade or so earlier to when the song was written.
John D. Loudermilk wrote the song back in 1959 with the original title of “The Pale Faced Indian.” It was first recorded, under that title, by Marvin Rainwater in 1959 but it failed to chart.
The song then sat fallow for almost ten years before it was released by Don Fardon in August of 1968. That version was a modest hit, peaking at #20 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Three years later, Mark Lindsay decided to record the song as a follow up to his previous solo hits. His normal producer, Jerry Fuller, was unavailable, so Lindsay opted to produce it himself. He brought in members of Wrecking Crew as backing musicians, including Artie Butler on piano and organ, Louie Shelton and David Cohen on guitars, Carol Kaye on bass, Gary Coleman on vibes and percussion (including the prominent vibraslap), and Hal Blaine on drums. More on that in a moment.
Instead of releasing “Indian Reservation” as a Mark Lindsay single, however, Mr. Lindsay decided to put it out under the the Raiders label, so that Mr. Revere himself could help promote it. Because of this decision, “Indian Reservation” became the first and only number-one for the Raiders, bigger even than “Kicks,” “Hungry,” and “Good Thing.”
Now to the drums. This was one of the first recordings that featured Hal Blaine’s famous monster kit. This configuration took Hal’s basic four-piece Ludwig kit and augmented it with seven single-headed fiberglass concert toms custom manufactured by drum maker Allen Blaemire. Hal’s drum tech Rick Faucher and builder Howie Oliver designed the kit to Hal’s specs and Rick equipped the toms with Ludwig lugs and rims. The toms were mounted on two Klieg light stands that could be rolled right up to Hal’s standard kit in the studio. The toms gave Hal a complete octave of tones to play with and helped define the multi-tom setup of the 1970s, as typified by Ludwig’s Octaplus set (that they really stole from Hal).
Why the extra toms? It’s simple; Hal wanted more sounds in his musical palette. Here’s how he remembered it:
“My set had 12 drums, which no one had ever heard of. It really was a major change, which makes me very proud. I wanted a full, bigger spectrum of sound to be able to do more with drums.”
The first recording Hal made with his monster kit was Al Wilson’s “The Snake,” which was released in August of 1968. “Indian Reservation” followed soon after and was an even better showcase for the new set.
Here’s how Mark Lindsay remembers the “Indian Reservation” session and Hal’s monster kit—it’s a long story but a good one:
“Hal Blaine was always the first musician in the studios of CBS in Hollywood when we had a recording date. And there he was once again, first on the scene for the ‘Indian Reservation’ gig…
“There was a plethora of drums set up and mic’ed, and Hal was at his kit fine tuning. He saw me in the booth and waved me out on the floor of Studio A, the big room at CBS. Hal was really excited. ‘Dig this, man!’ he said, showing me the new set-up. ‘I just had these made, and I can’t wait to try ‘em out!’
“Along with his small, medium, and floor toms, he had a rolling rack of seven toms on a curved tube that stretched around his kit to the right. ‘Look, man! I can do an octave and a half!’ And he showed me as he beat his way around the kit.
“’Wow,’ I said, ‘that’s a lotta drums. Hope we can use some of ‘em today.’ I had no idea what was to come.
“We did a couple of run-throughs, and there were a few starts and stops as the players wanted elucidation about a few notes here and there on their charts. When everything was ironed out, I said, ‘Roll tape!’ and slated Take 1. Artie [Butler] counted it off and away we went.
“When we got to the first chorus, there was a 2-bar fill for drums. I don’t think Artie had written the fills, leaving it up to Hal and his impeccable taste. Hal played 4’s on his hi-hat and cymbals for the first bar and a half, and filled the last half of the second bar with toms.
“I hollered, ‘Stop tape!’ and punched the talk back button. ‘Hal, can you play 4’s on the first bar, but fill the whole second bar?’ We started Take 2 and Hal played accordingly. I stopped tape again. ‘Hal,’ I said, ‘when we get to that section this time, fill both bars…and use as many toms as you want!’
“The result was Hal’s superb drumming on Indian Reservation that to this day I think *made* that record. It ended up becoming the biggest selling 45 in the history of CBS Records, and was only surpassed years later by Michael Jackson with ‘Billie Jean.'”
You can hear the monster kit on those fills each time through the chorus. Hal plays rolling triplets down the toms and really steals the show. It was just one very notable example of how Hal helped revolutionize the sound of drumming during that era.
Mark Lindsay went on to say this about Hal when he passed away:
“Hal Blaine, Drummer Man. What a nice guy, and what a f***ing talented cat. He was one of a kind and I, along with millions of other music lovers, are going to miss him forever.”
And that ends our week of celebrating the legendary drummer Hal Blaine. One can certainly make the claim that Hal’s drumming was the driving force behind popular music in the 1960s and early 1970s. He played on so many hit records it was difficult to narrow it down to just seven for this week, but you’ll hear a lot more of Hal’s drumming during the normal course of this blog.
Hal Blaine passed away on March 11, 2019, 90 years of age. It was the rare celebrity death that greatly affected me personally. Hal continues to be an inspiration to me and legions of drummers; I’ll always have a place in my heart for this dynamic, funny, warm-hearted, and considerably talented man.
