Kenny Aronoff: John Mellencamp’s Long-time Drummer Talks Music and Flying - BJT

Read the full interview here: bjtonline.com/business-jet-ne...
Ten-year-old Kenny Aronoff sat mesmerized as TV’s Ed Sullivan Show introduced the Beatles in February 1964. Like millions of young people at the time, he fantasized about being in that group-or at least in a successful rock band. Unlike nearly all those other Beatles fans, however, he wound up living the dream.
Besides serving as John Mellencamp’s drummer for nearly two decades, the now 70-year-old Aronoff has toured with artists such as John Fogerty and the Bodeans and played or recorded with everyone from Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, and the Rolling Stones to Johnny Cash, Celine Dion, Meat Loaf, and B.B. King. On a TV special marking the 50th anniversary of the Beatles’ Ed Sullivan Show appearance that had inspired him as a kid, he even performed alongside Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. You can hear his drumming on records that have sold a total of 300 million copies, and more than 1,300 of the LPs and singles he has played on have been certified gold, platinum, or diamond.
When he was a teenager in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, where his neighbors included Arlo Guthrie and James Taylor, Aronoff taught himself to play drums and performed in local rock bands. Still, his early years gave little hint of his career trajectory. He studied classical music at the University of Massachusetts and the Indiana University School of Music and with the Boston Symphony; performed with orchestras at the Tanglewood and Aspen music festivals; and appeared headed for a position in the classical world. But when he finished college and received offers to join several symphony orchestras, he listened to his heart and turned them down, opting instead to pursue a life in rock and roll.
Three years later, he joined Mellencamp’s band and, today, he ranks among rock’s most in-demand drummers for tours and session work. The author of a 2021 autobiography called Sex, Drums, Rock ‘n’ Roll: The Hardest Hitting Man in Show Business, he finds time to produce a weekly online video show. A frequent user of private lift, he also speaks at corporate events, including a meeting last fall of the International Aircraft Dealers Association.
Aronoff-who exudes enthusiasm about his career and talks as animatedly as he drums-chatted with us from his home studio in Southern California.
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[@sikukudotke]

Music and jets... Gotta love this.

[@DanFrederiksen]

Fractional ownership of an Eclipse 550 is quite manageable to many although all the pilots might need annual type rating renewals that aren't cheap.
Say 4 owners could be around 300k$ each. People pay that for an ancient bonanza.

[@bizjets9128]

Interesting pic .. that's Jefferey Epsteins Gulfstream G550 N212JE

[@AINvideo]

This appears to be a different aircraft. N212JE had the registration on the tail and this aircraft has a white graphic in that space.

[@bizjets9128]

@@AINvideo N212JE reg was cancelled.

[@christopherwillson]

Correct, it's Eptein's Gulfsteam G550. I'm the person who leaked to the media that his jet was put for sale and I recognized it right away from the thumbnail.