Kenny Aronoff is one of the world’s most influential and in demand drummers and percussionists. Rolling Stone Magazine named him as one of the “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time” and the readers of Modern Drummer Magazine named him the #1 Pop/Rock Drummer and #1 Studio Drummer. The list of artists he’s worked with on the road and/or in the studio is a who’s who of the music industry’s top talent. Names like: Elton John, Bob Dylan, Celine Dion, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Avril Levine, Lady Gaga, Smashing Pumpkins and MANY more.
With a style of playing that combines power and finesse, his unique and versatile sound has been instrumental on over 60 GRAMMY-nominated or awarded recordings representing over 300 million in sales, with more than 1,300 that were RIAA certified Gold, Platinum or Diamond. He is the drummer on four Billboard #1 Hits, and dozens of Top Ten hits.
Kenny’s winning approach to drumming, teamwork, leadership, and life has given him the ability to sustain a successful career for over four decades. He has an extraordinary gift and ability to manipulate sound using drums, cymbals and a variety of percussion instruments, the combination of which create a rare and custom accompaniment for each artist for whom he sets the pace – and raises the bar. Known as the Hardest Hitting Man in Show Business, Kenny has created some of the most iconic drum parts in rock history, including perhaps his most famous moment on John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane”.
Kenny’s Story…
Kenny joined his first band, The Alley Cats, in Massachusetts at age eleven after seeing the BEATLES on the Ed Sullivan Show. A self-taught drummer, he played in local bands throughout junior high and high school. At 16, he decided to focus on classical music studied and played with members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, including world-renowned timpanist Vic Firth. He went on to study at the University of Massachusetts and at Indiana University, where, among other honors, he was awarded the school’s prestigious Performer’s Certificate. During summer breaks he played in the symphony orchestras at the Aspen Music Festival (run by The Juilliard School of Music) and the Tanglewood Music Festival (run by the Boston Symphony Orchestra).
After graduating, Kenny was offered timpani positions in several symphony orchestras, but instead studied drum set in Boston and New York. He began to concentrate on jazz and fusion music, and in 1977 he returned to Indiana and spent several years in a popular local band until 1980 when he joined the John Mellencamp band, recording 10 albums and touring with him over a 17-year period. Kenny’s innovative style and solid backbeat became the driving force behind Mellencamp’s long run of definitive hit records in the ’80s and ’90s, a list that includes American Fool, Scarecrow, Uh Huh, The Lonesome Jubilee, Whenever We Wanted, Dance Naked, Big Daddy, Human Wheels, Mr. Happy Go Lucky and others.
In the mid-80s, Kenny began an enormously successful career as a studio musician. Today he’s among the world’s most in-demand session drummers.
Millions of kids watched the Beatles on February 9th, 1964 on the Ed Sullivan show and wished that someday they could be on stage with the likes of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. For one boy from a small town in New England, that fantasy and much more became a reality 50 years later. On the television program, “The Night That Changed America” – celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Beatles legendary appearance on CBS – Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr thrilled the audience. The drummer playing behind them and many other artists on that monumental night was drummer Kenny Aronoff. During that same show, he also played drums for Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Joe Walsh, Keith Urban, John Mayer, Jeff Lynne, Pharrell Williams and Brad Paisley. A role comfortable to Kenny, who also has played with various artists at multiple Grammy Awards Shows and Kennedy Center Honors.