SKF NOTE: As drummer Max Weinberg points out in this April 1981 note, Hal Blaine’s Modern Drummer interview and columns really hit home with MD readers. Drummers, young and old, would write to Blaine through the magazine. MD editors would forward the letters to Blaine. He, in turn, would record his answers on cassettes, which were transcribed and edited for publication by me and other MD editors.

Ultimately, reader questions stopped covering new ground and Blaine’s column was discontinued.

But, Weinberg’s note from Berlin, on tour with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, is a reminder of how valuable was Blaine’s life-and-drumming wisdom, and how generous he was with his time and knowledge.