Voted one of the top 100 drummers of all time by Rolling Stone, I have no doubt that you have heard the drumming of Kenny Aronoff. For starters, Aronoff played on all of John Mellencamp’s hits from the 1980s through 1990s. Beyond the title track of the film “That Thing You Do!” – which was nominated for an Oscar – Aronoff’s touring and/or studio credits include a “who’s who” of pop and rock. This includes Paul McCartney, Smashing Pumpkins, Jon Bon Jovi, Meat Loaf, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Bob Dylan, Mick Jagger, The Killers’ Brandon Flowers, Stevie Nicks, Joe Cocker, John Fogerty and Brian Wilson. And that’s really just a small portion of the big names the Los Angeles-based Aronoff has worked with.
While long associated with mainstream music, Kenny Aronoff is actually classically-trained. An alumnus of the prestiguous Indiana University School Of Music, he was a performance major in classical music. This led to a summer at the also-prestiguous Tanglewood at which he worked with conductors Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and Arthur Fiedler. This acclaimed led to a job offer with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, which Aronoff turned down.
Beyond finding success as a top-tier drummer, Kenny Aronoff is also a best-selling author, thanks to 2016’s “Sex, Drums, Rock ‘N’ Roll! The Hardest Hitting Man In Show Business” memoir; its foreword was written by Rush drummer Neal Peart. And that book would ultimately lead Aronoff – who is still drumming regularly for recording projects via his home studio in the midst of the current COVID-19 pandemic – into becoming an in-demand motivational speaker.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Kenny Aronoff – a man who happens to be simultaneously talented, witty, patient and menschy – via Zoom on July 2, 2020 about his multi-faceted career, his Jewish roots and plenty more. The full chat is embedded below for your viewing and/or listening pleasure.
