LONDON- Hal Blaine, one of the most prolific and influential drummers of his generation, has died at the age of 90. Over the course of his career, he played on countless hits by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys and John Lennon, amongst others.

But his most recognisable riff was the “boom-ba-boom-crack” bar that opened The Ronnettes’ Be My Baby. On hearing of his death, the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson called him “the greatest drummer ever”.

“Hal Blaine was such a great musician and friend that I can’t put it into words,” Wilson said in a tweet, posting a photo of him and Blaine sitting at a piano. “Hal taught me a lot, and he had so much to do with our success - he was the greatest drummer ever.”

“Today I regrettably have to say goodbye to Hal,” added Ronettes singer Ronnie Spector on Facebook, thanking him “for the magic he put on all our Ronettes recordings… and so many others throughout his incredible career.”

Although he was never a household name, anyone with a record collection almost undoubtedly owns one of Blaine’s songs. By his own count, he played on more than 6,000 tracks over the course of his career.

He was also known to carry a rubber stamp saying “Hal Blaine Strikes Again” that he would imprint on every record he worked on and every studio he played in.

According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2000, Blaine “certainly played on more hit records than any drummer in the rock era, including 40 number one singles and 150 that made the [US] top 10.”

Among those songs were Elvis Presley’s Return to Sender, The Byrds’ Mr Tambourine Man, the Beach Boys’ Good Vibrations, Simon & Garfunkel’s Mrs Robinson, The Mamas and the Papas’ California Dreamin’ and the theme song to Batman.

Blaine also played on eight songs that won a Grammy for record of the year, including Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, 5th Dimension’s Aquarius/Let The Sunshine and Frank Sinatra’s Strangers In the Night.

“Godspeed Old Friend,” said Sinatra’s daughter Nancy Sinatra - who was backed by Blaine on Somethin’ Stupid - as she posted a picture of her performing with the drummer.