#BeatlesMonth Drum legend Kenny Aronoff on playing Beatles songs with Ringo Starr

Legendary session god drummer Kenny Aronoff welcomes me to his LA studio for a inspirational chat about childhood dreams coming true. How he went from a child discovering rock’n’roll with the Beatles on Ed Sullivan to playing with Ringo Starr 50 years later on a TV special celebrating that very same Ed Sullivan appearance.

How did John Mellencamp help him become a more Ringo-esque drummer? What does Kenny see as the drummer’s true purpose in a recording session? What story did Paul McCartney tell him about the Beatles first trip to NYC? What’s it like to play Beatles songs in front of and alongside Beatles? What’s the difference between playing ‘Something’ with Joe Walsh and ‘Hey Bulldog’ with Dave Grohl? How did the Beatles use a “less is more” approach to create dynamics in their music.

Plus, great stories of moments in the studio with the Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, John Hiatt, Don Was and more.

My Favorite Album is a podcast unpacking the great works of pop music. Each episode features a different songwriter or musician discussing their favorite album of all time - their history with it, the making of the album, individual songs and the album’s influence on their own music.

Jeremy Dylan is a filmmaker, journalist and photographer from Sydney, Australia. He directed the music documentary Jim Lauderdale: The King of Broken Hearts and feature film Benjamin Sniddlegrass and the Cauldron of Penguins, and writes for Capital News magazine.

If you’ve got any feedback or suggestions, drop us a line at myfavoritealbumpodcast@gmail.com.

 

This episode was originally released in July 2016.