Kenny Aronoff’s got the beat.
Rock and rolls thundering troubadour.
Music
Rock and rolls thundering troubadour.
So the joke goes:
Q: What do you call someone who hangs out with musicians?
A: The drummer.
Drummers, for reasons that still confound me, never seem to get the respect they deserve. Among other drummers, yes. At live shows (remember those) during the drum solo, they get paid fealty by the fans. But I think if we’re all being honest, getting a bunch of chemically altered rock fans to first pump and air drum to your work is flattering, just maybe not so challenging.
More honesty, it seems the rhythm section in rock bands seldom gets its propers. Arguably, drummers have it marginally better than the abuse bass players take. But I digress.
Of course, there are drummers like Ringo Starr, Sheila E., Stewart Copeland, and Alex Van Halen, et al.
Then there are the rock gods of drumming like Neil Peart, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Ginger Baker, et al.
And then the originators like Gene Krupa, Hal Blaine, Buddy Rich, and Max Roach, et al.
Take your pick of favorite drummer; there are plenty. Let me know who I forgot.
That being said, by and large, drummers occupy a peculiar area of music. They keep time and drive the beat and are just kind of there. Rock bands idolize the singer and guitar player(s). Typically, singers and guitar players can be split down the middle, good or bad.
But drummers can be split into three tiers:
Tier 1 — The shitty ones. You know them when you hear them.
Tier 2 — The nondescript drummers like Don Henley (bet you forgot he was a drummer) just sort of …exist.
Tier 3 — The greats. You know them when you hear them.
Kenny Aronoff is one of the greats.
You may not know his name, but I assure you, you know his work.
HISTORY
Aronoff studied at the Indiana University School of Music. Then spent a summer at the Julliard run Aspen School of Music, and then one summer as a Tanglewood Music Center Fellow (working with conductors like Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copland). After graduating college, he was offered jobs with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Quito Ecuador Symphony Orchestra.
ALL of that was by the time he was 23!
Aronoff turned down the orchestra opportunities to …wait for it …study even more. He moved first to Boston to study with jazz drummer and Berklee School of Music instructor Alan Dawson. Then on to New York to study jazz and fusion with Gary Chester.
After all the schooling and studying, Aronoff decided it was time to return to rock and roll, auditioning for John Mellencamp. I’d love to have heard the conversation with his parents explaining how he was packing all that schooling and studying in to audition for a guy who hadn’t even had a hit song of his own. At the time, Mellencamp had only had a marginal hit when Pat Benatar covered his “I Need A Lover.”
Kenny Aronoff’s first credit with Mellencamp appears on the 1980 album Nothin’ Matters and What If It Did? produced by the legendary Steve Cropper. And while he doesn’t get the “drummer” credit, Aronoff apparently played vibes on the album.
But by 1982’s American Fool, Aronoff was firmly entrenched in Mellencamp’s band. It’s a solid album, but one song still resonates — John Mellencamp’s most successful single, “Jack and Diane.”
A fine acoustic “ditty” but during the bridge of “Jack and Diane,” you hear how Aronoff levels up the song to help bring it across the finish line.
[Fun Fact: the infamous hand claps in “Jack and Diane” were only used to keep time, but when they went back to replace them, the song’s tone got lost. So the claps stayed …and the rest is history.]
When it came time to record Mellencamp’s follow-up, 1983’s Uh-huh, Mellencamp and co-producer (Don Gehman) were fully aware of the massive talent they had sitting behind the drum kit.
Side one, track one, and the first single, “Crumblin’ Down,” begins with an acoustic guitar and Aronoff’s distinctive sound “CRACK,” bringing the album to life.
Play “Crumblin’ Down” and listen to Kenny Aronoff’s fills; even if you don’t know what you’re hearing are “fills,” you notice them.
I’m neither a music historian nor a musician, but I could pick out a Kenny Aronoff drum sound on his contributions to rock and roll (probably). He has a very distinctive sound. To my ears, it sounds most like Stewart Copeland, but more focused and controlled, less frenetic than Copeland could sometimes be.
Aronoff would play, record and tour with John Mellencamp during the artist’s commercial peak from 1980 to 1997.
Despite 17 years with John Mellencamp, Aronoff’s longest solid musical relationship is with the legendary John Fogerty. Over 20 years, Aronoff has recorded five studio albums with Fogerty and toured extensively with the Creedence Clearwater Revival frontman.
While Aronoff’s relationship with BoDeans goes back to the band’s 1988 album Home, he seems to have a more fluid arrangement. He drifts in and out of playing live and recording with the band.
It was in the early 90s when the floodgates opened for Kenny Aronoff. He was one of, if not the most, in-demand drummer in music. He continues to be:
RECORDING (partial list)
Jon Bon Jovi — “Blaze of Glory”
Meat Loaf — Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell
Celine Dion — Let’s Talk About Love
Mick Jagger— Goddess in the Doorway
Alison Krauss — Windy City
Neil Diamond — Lovescape
Kelly Clarkson — Breakaway
Bob Dylan — Under the Red Sky
TOURING (partial list)
John Mellencamp for 17 years
Smashing Pumpkins in 1998
Joe Cocker in 2000
One of four rotating drummers in Daryl Hall’s house band for his Live From Daryl’s House show
Filled in for drummer Chad Smith on supergroup Chickenfoot’s second tour when Smith had commitments with The Red Hot Shitty Peppers.
Modern rock drummers with the fluidity and skill of Kenny Aronoff are rare.
Jeff Porcaro was one of the most sought-after studio musicians in addition to being the drummer of the band Toto, before passing away in 1992.
There was Jim Gordon, who played on almost every classic rock album you can think of, in addition to co-writing “Layla” with Eric Clapton as a member of Derek and the Dominoes. But he proved to be quite mentally ill (see article below).
Josh Freese has played with everyone from Sting to Nine Inch Nails to Paul Westerberg.
You may not know the name Kenny Aronoff, but you know his sound. If you’ve ever listened to the radio, you’ve heard something that Kenny Aronoff has played on. He can jump from artist to artist, genre to genre, with the speed and dexterity of a gazelle.
But having the skills to transcend the drum kit and the genre, to rise above the fray to be recognized as a musician is another thing. It’s a challenge few accept and even fewer succeed at.
Kenny Arnoff excepted the challenge. And continues to set the standard, and the pace, for those behind him.
Jim Gordon: A Songwriter & Sick Drummer — Seriously.
Jim Gordon is the co-author of “Layla”. Jim Gordon is a drummer. Jim Gordon is schizophrenic. Jim Gordon is in prison.medium.com