Kenny Aaronson
Encyclopedia
Kenny Aaronson is an American bass guitar
player.
. As a teenager, he played bass for Brooklyn based hard rock band Dust, which included Marc Bell (a.k.a. Marky Ramone
), which released two albums in 1971 and '72 on the Kama Sutra label. In 1973, Aaronson joined the New York band Stories
, whose single,"Brother Louie", reached #1 on the Billboard
, Cashbox and Record World
charts.
. That year Aaronson also toured with Bob Dylan
, but he was forced to leave the tour after developing skin cancer. Aaronson underwent surgery, which was successful in defeating the disease. Aaronson was the bassist in the house band for the MTV Guitar Greats Show where along with Dave Edmunds
, Chuck Leavell
and Michael Shrieve
, he backed up artists such as Steve Cropper
, Brian Setzer
, Lita Ford
, Tony Iommi
and Dave Gilmore. Kenny also auditioned for the Rolling Stones in 1994.
Kenny Aaronson went on to become a recognized world-class rock and roll bassist with his extensive touring and recording with a variety of artists including Billy Idol
, Billy Squier
, Foghat
, Brian Setzer
, Dave Edmunds
, HSAS (Sammy Hagar
, Neil Schon, Kenny Aaronson, Michael Shrieve
), Mick Taylor
, Graham Parker
, Hall and Oates, Edgar Winter
, Robert Gordon (musician)
, Leslie West
Band, Rick Derringer
and Joan Jett
among others. Kenny was a regular member of Jett's backing group the Blackhearts from 1991 to 1995. Aaronson was one of the few Blackheart band members to co-write a track with Jett. The song, "World Of Denial", was recorded for the 1994 album "Pure and Simple" but was not released in the U.S. until 2001's Fit To Be Tied
- Great Hits by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts".
, played with Corky Laing
& The Memory Thieves He continues to produce music and perform studio work. In 2011, Aaronson recorded with ex Bongo's singer Richard Barone
on a tribute album for The Runaways
. Kenny Aaronson is currently a member of the New York Dolls
and will be touring in the summer of 2011 supporting Motley Crue
and Poison
.
With Stories
With Rick Derringer
With Silver Condor
With Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve
With Brian Setzer
With Blue Öyster Cult
With Billy Idol
With Michael Monroe
With Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
With Billy Squier
With Graham Parker
With Ian McDonald (musician)
With Tom Guerra and Scott Lawson (Mambo Sons
)
With John Eddie
With Mountain
With Dana Fuchs
Others
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player.
Early life and career
He started playing drums at the age of eleven, following in his older brother's footsteps. Kenny switched to electric bass at the age 14 after becoming enamored by the bass on Motown records and was strongly influenced by James JamersonJames Jamerson
James Lee Jamerson was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s , and he is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history...
. As a teenager, he played bass for Brooklyn based hard rock band Dust, which included Marc Bell (a.k.a. Marky Ramone
Marky Ramone
Marky Ramone is an American musician. He is best known for being the drummer for the Ramones, but has also played in other notable bands like Dust, Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, and the Misfits.Although he is not the original drummer , Marky is the only living...
), which released two albums in 1971 and '72 on the Kama Sutra label. In 1973, Aaronson joined the New York band Stories
Stories (band)
Stories was a rock and pop music band, based out of New York in the early 1970s. The band consisted of keyboardist Michael Brown, bassist/vocalist Ian Lloyd, guitarist Steve Love, and drummer Bryan Madey, and had a Number 1 hit with a cover of Hot Chocolate's "Brother Louie."-Band history:Lloyd ...
, whose single,"Brother Louie", reached #1 on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, Cashbox and Record World
Record World
Record World magazine was one of the three main music industry trade publications in the United States, along with Billboard and Cash Box magazines. It was founded in 1946 under the name Music Vendor, but since 1964 changed it to Record World, under the ownership of Sid Parnes and Bob Austin, both...
charts.
Peak success
In 1988 Kenny was named Bassist of the year by Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. That year Aaronson also toured with Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, but he was forced to leave the tour after developing skin cancer. Aaronson underwent surgery, which was successful in defeating the disease. Aaronson was the bassist in the house band for the MTV Guitar Greats Show where along with Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
, Chuck Leavell
Chuck Leavell
Chuck Leavell is an American pianist and keyboardist, who was a member of The Allman Brothers Band throughout the height of their popularity, a founding member of the jazz-rock combo Sea Level, a frequently-employed session musician, and later, the keyboardist for Eric Clapton and The Rolling...
and Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and later, an electronic music composer. He is best known as the drummer in Carlos Santana's eponymous band, playing on their first eight albums from 1969 through 1974...
, he backed up artists such as Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
, Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
, Lita Ford
Lita Ford
Lita Ford is a British-born, American rock musician and singer who was the lead guitarist for The Runaways and achieved popularity for her solo career between the 1980s and late 2000s.-Early life:...
, Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...
and Dave Gilmore. Kenny also auditioned for the Rolling Stones in 1994.
Kenny Aaronson went on to become a recognized world-class rock and roll bassist with his extensive touring and recording with a variety of artists including Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
, Billy Squier
Billy Squier
William Haislip "Billy" Squier is an American rock musician. Squier had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No...
, Foghat
Foghat
Foghat are a British rock band that had their peak success in the mid- to late-1970s. Their style can be described as "blues-rock," or boogie-rock dominated by electric and electric slide guitar. The band has achieved five gold records...
, Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
, Dave Edmunds
Dave Edmunds
David 'Dave' Edmunds is a Welsh singer, guitarist and record producer. Although he is primarily associated with Pub rock and New Wave, and had numerous hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s style rock and roll.-Early bands:As a teenager Edmunds first...
, HSAS (Sammy Hagar
Sammy Hagar
Sam Roy "Sammy" Hagar , also known as The Red Rocker, is an American rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Also sings Country Music....
, Neil Schon, Kenny Aaronson, Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve
Michael Shrieve is an American drummer, percussionist, and later, an electronic music composer. He is best known as the drummer in Carlos Santana's eponymous band, playing on their first eight albums from 1969 through 1974...
), Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor is an English musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and The Rolling Stones...
, Graham Parker
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
, Hall and Oates, Edgar Winter
Edgar Winter
Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...
, Robert Gordon (musician)
Robert Gordon (musician)
Robert Gordon is an American rockabilly musician. Gordon rose to fame performing in several genres including alternative rock, punk rock, and rock and roll.- Early days:...
, Leslie West
Leslie West
Leslie West is an American rock guitarist, singer and songwriter.-Biography:Originally named Leslie Weinstein, West was born in New York City, grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey, and in East Meadow, Forest Hills and Lawrence. After his parents divorced, he changed his surname to West...
Band, Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer.-1960s:When he was seventeen years old, his band The McCoys recorded "Hang on Sloopy" in the summer of 1965, which became the number one song in America before "Yesterday" by The Beatles knocked it out of the top spot. The song was...
and Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
among others. Kenny was a regular member of Jett's backing group the Blackhearts from 1991 to 1995. Aaronson was one of the few Blackheart band members to co-write a track with Jett. The song, "World Of Denial", was recorded for the 1994 album "Pure and Simple" but was not released in the U.S. until 2001's Fit To Be Tied
Fit to Be Tied
Fit to Be Tied may refer to:*Fit to Be Tied , a Joan Jett and the Blackhearts albums*Fit to Be Tied , a Tom and Jerry short*"Fit to Be Tied", a song by Quiet Riot from their self-titled album...
- Great Hits by Joan Jett and The Blackhearts".
Recent work
More recently, Aaronson has supported singer/songwriter John EddieJohn Eddie
John Eddie is an American folk rock singer. Eddie moved to New Jersey in the 1970s and became a popular club circuit musician there, occasionally performing with Bruce Springsteen. Eddie signed with Columbia Records and released two albums, in 1986 and 1990. The 1986 single, "Jungle Boy" peaked on...
, played with Corky Laing
Corky Laing
Laurence Gordon "Corky" Laing is a Canadian rock drummer, best known as a longtime member of pioneering American hard rock band Mountain...
& The Memory Thieves He continues to produce music and perform studio work. In 2011, Aaronson recorded with ex Bongo's singer Richard Barone
Richard Barone
Richard Barone is a rock musician born in Tampa, Florida who gained attention as frontman for The Bongos. He works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and producer, releases albums as a solo artist, tours, and has created major concert events at Carnegie Hall, Hollywood Bowl and New York's...
on a tribute album for The Runaways
The Runaways
The Runaways were an American all-girl rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s. The band released four studio albums and one live set during its run. Among its best known songs: "Cherry Bomb", "Queens of Noise", "Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin", "California Paradise"...
. Kenny Aaronson is currently a member of the New York Dolls
New York Dolls
The New York Dolls is an American rock band, formed in New York in 1971. The band's protopunk sound prefigured much of what was to come in the punk rock era; their visual style influenced the look of many new wave and 1980s-era glam metal groups, and they began the local New York scene that later...
and will be touring in the summer of 2011 supporting Motley Crue
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
and Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
.
Discography
With DustDust
Dust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution...
- DustDust (Dust album)Dust is the debut album album by Dust, released by Kama Sutra Records in 1971.-Track listing:# "Stone Woman" – 4:03# "Chasin' Ladies" – 3:39# "Goin' Easy" – 4:30# "Love Me Hard" – 5:30# "From a Dry Camel" – 9:52# "Often Shadows Felt" – 5:12...
(1971) - Hard Attack (1972)
With Stories
Stories (band)
Stories was a rock and pop music band, based out of New York in the early 1970s. The band consisted of keyboardist Michael Brown, bassist/vocalist Ian Lloyd, guitarist Steve Love, and drummer Bryan Madey, and had a Number 1 hit with a cover of Hot Chocolate's "Brother Louie."-Band history:Lloyd ...
- Brother Louie (1973)
- Traveling Underground (1973)
With Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer
Rick Derringer is an American guitarist, vocalist, and entertainer.-1960s:When he was seventeen years old, his band The McCoys recorded "Hang on Sloopy" in the summer of 1965, which became the number one song in America before "Yesterday" by The Beatles knocked it out of the top spot. The song was...
- DerringerDerringer (album)Derringer is a 1976 album by Derringer and was released on the Blue Sky Records label.-Track listing:# "Let Me In"# "You Can Have Me"# "Loosen Up Your Grip"# "Envy"# "Comes a Woman"# "Sailor"# "Beyond the Universe"# "Goodbye Again"-Personnel:...
(1976) - Sweet Evil (1977)
- Derringer Live (1977)
- If I Weren't So Romantic, I'd Shoot You (1978)
- Guitars And Women (1979)
- Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo: The Best Of Rick Derringer (1996)
With Silver Condor
- Trouble At Home (1983)
With Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve
Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve
Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve were a band featuring lead vocalist Sammy Hagar, lead guitarist Neal Schon, bassist Kenny Aaronson and drummer Michael Shrieve. The group reportedly rehearsed for less than a month before playing in concert...
- Through The FireThrough the Fire (album)Through the Fire is the first and only recording by the band Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve, also known as HSAS. The album was recorded live with guitar overdubs added later...
(1984)
With Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer
Brian Setzer is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He first found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly revival group The Stray Cats, and revitalized his career in the late 1990s with a jazz-oriented big band.-Career:Setzer was born in Massapequa, New York...
- The Knife Feels Like JusticeThe Knife Feels Like JusticeThe Knife Feels Like Justice was released in 1986 by Brian Setzer on the EMI America record label. The album was not promoted well by the label, possibly because Setzer had progressed from playing rockabilly music to the more adult-oriented and more topical rock-roots sound, as several of his...
(1986)
With Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...
- Club NinjaClub NinjaClub Ninja is the tenth studio album by the U.S. hard rock group Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1986 . The album was intended as a comeback for the band, whose previous album The Revölution by Night failed to attain Gold status following the Platinum success of 1981's Fire of Unknown Origin and...
(1986) - ImaginosImaginosImaginos is a 1988 concept album by Blue Öyster Cult.The "Imaginos" concept was originally begun by producer Sandy Pearlman in 1967, before BÖC was even formed. Drummer Albert Bouchard began writing music for it following the release of the band's first album in 1972...
(1988)
With Billy Idol
Billy Idol
William Michael Albert Broad , better known by his stage name Billy Idol, is an English rock musician. A member of the Bromley Contingent of Sex Pistols fans, Idol first achieved fame in the punk rock era as a member of the band Generation X...
- Vital IdolVital IdolVital Idol is a compilation of remixed singles from Billy Idol's first three albums. Peaking at number 10 on the Billboard 200, the album was supported by a live single version of "Mony Mony"....
(1987)
With Michael Monroe
Michael Monroe
Matti Antero Kristian Fagerholm , best known by his stage name, Michael Monroe, is a Finnish rock musician, and multi-instrumentalist who rose to fame as the vocalist for the glam punk band Hanoi Rocks, and has served as the frontman for all-star side projects, such as Demolition 23...
- Not Fakin' ItNot Fakin' ItNot Fakin' It is the second studio album by former Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe, released in 1989 through PolyGram Records; a remastered edition was reissued through Lemon Recordings in 2003...
(1989)
With Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
- Pure and SimplePure and Simple"Pure and Simple" is a popular song, released as the debut single by Hear'Say, the original winners of the UK version of Popstars. It was released as a double A-side with "Bridge Over Troubled Water", which was a fan favourite at the live shows....
(1994) - Fit to be TiedFit to Be Tied (album)Fit To Be Tied- Great Hits of Joan Jett and The Blackhearts is a compilation CD released by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. The collection was released in the United States in 1997...
writing credit on "World of Denial" (1997, 2006)
With Billy Squier
Billy Squier
William Haislip "Billy" Squier is an American rock musician. Squier had a string of arena rock hits in the 1980s. He is best known for the song "The Stroke" on his 1981 album release Don't Say No...
- Sixteen Strokes lap steel (1995)
With Graham Parker
Graham Parker
Graham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
- Live from New York (1996)
With Ian McDonald (musician)
Ian McDonald (musician)
Ian McDonald is an English multi-instrumental musician, best known as a founding member of progressive rock group King Crimson, formed in 1969, and of the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. He is well-known as a rock session musician, predominantly as a saxophonist...
- Driver's Eye (1999)
With Tom Guerra and Scott Lawson (Mambo Sons
Mambo Sons
Mambo Sons is an American guitar-based rock and roll indie trio led by guitarist Tom Guerra and vocalist/bassist Scott Lawson, and rounded out by drummer Joe "the Cat" Lemieux...
)
- Mambo Sons (1999)
With John Eddie
John Eddie
John Eddie is an American folk rock singer. Eddie moved to New Jersey in the 1970s and became a popular club circuit musician there, occasionally performing with Bruce Springsteen. Eddie signed with Columbia Records and released two albums, in 1986 and 1990. The 1986 single, "Jungle Boy" peaked on...
- Guy Walks into a Bar (2001)
- Who the Hell is John Eddie (2003)
With Mountain
Mountain (band)
Mountain is an American hard rock band that formed in Long Island, New York in 1969. Originally comprising vocalist and guitarist Leslie West, bassist Felix Pappalardi and drummer N. D. Smart, the band broke up in 1972 before reuniting in 1974 and remaining active until today...
- Master of War (2007)
With Dana Fuchs
Dana Fuchs
Dana Fuchs is an American singer, songwriter, actress and voice over talent most famous for her performance in the 2007 film Across the Universe, in which she played the role of Sadie.-Early life:...
- Lonely for a Lifetime (2003)
- Love to Beg (2011)
Others
- Contributor to "Standing in the Shadows of Motown", The biography of James Jamerson (1989)
- Soundtrack "Porky's RevengePorky's RevengePorky's Revenge! is the 1985 third installment to the Porky's film trilogy. The film was directed by James Komack.-Plot:The sex-crazed teenagers of Angel Beach High School are back for the third and final time. They continue to be harassed by the gym teacher, Beulah Balbricker, who catches them...
" (1990) - Tribute to Otis BlackwellOtis BlackwellOtis Blackwell was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist, whose work significantly influenced rock 'n' roll...
"Brace Yourself" with Joe Louis WalkerJoe Louis WalkerJoe Louis Walker, also known as JLW is an American musician, best known as a electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. A feature of his work is his recourse to older material or playing styles, which revealed his knowledge of blues history.-Career:Joe Louis Walker was born in San...
, Debbie HarryDebbie HarryDeborah Ann "Debbie" Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for being the lead singer of the punk rock and new wave band Blondie. She has also had success as a solo artist, and in the mid-1990s she performed and recorded as part of The Jazz Passengers...
, Ronnie SpectorRonnie SpectorVeronica Yvette "Ronnie" Spector is an American rock and roll and popular music vocalist, and was the lead singer of the 1960s hit-making girl group, The Ronettes, who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. She is known as the "original bad girl of rock and roll."-Personal...
, Kris KristoffersonKris KristoffersonKristoffer "Kris" Kristofferson is an American musician, actor, and writer. He is known for hits such as "Me and Bobby McGee", "For the Good Times", "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", and "Help Me Make It Through the Night"...
, Graham ParkerGraham ParkerGraham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the popular British band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
, SmithereensThe SmithereensThe Smithereens are a rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio , Jim Babjak , Mike Mesaros , and Dennis Diken...
(1994) - Sound Track "Boys on the SideBoys on the SideBoys on the Side is a 1995 comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross . It stars Whoopi Goldberg, Drew Barrymore and Mary-Louise Parker as three friends on a cross-country road trip...
" (1995)
External links
- Official website: www.kennyaaronson.com
- Interview with Mambo SonsMambo SonsMambo Sons is an American guitar-based rock and roll indie trio led by guitarist Tom Guerra and vocalist/bassist Scott Lawson, and rounded out by drummer Joe "the Cat" Lemieux...
bandmate Tom GuerraTom GuerraTom Guerra of Hartford, Connecticut is an American guitarist.Since the late 1970s, Guerra has been a popular guitarist on the New England club circuit, playing with a host of leading blues, rock n' roll and R&B acts...
for Vintage GuitarVintage GuitarVintage Guitar is a guitar magazine, published monthly since 1986. Writers for the magazine include Seymour W. Duncan, George Gruhn, and Wolf Marshall...
Magazine: Kenny Aaronson: From Dust to Dylan. Retrieved September 26, 2006