Kenny Aaronson

Kenny Aaronson
Background information
Born	14 April 1952 Brooklyn, New York
Instruments	bass guitar
Years active	1971-present
Notable instruments
G&L JB 3Tone Sunburst-Rosewood

Kenny Aaronson (born 14 April 1952 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American bass guitar 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 Jamerson. 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.

Peak success

In 1988 Kenny was named Bassist of the year by Rolling Stone. 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 has toured and recorded 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".

Recent work

More recently, Aaronson has supported singer/songwriter John Eddie and 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.

Discography

With Dust

• Dust (1971)
• Hard Attack (1972)

With Stories

• Brother Louie (1973)
• Traveling Underground (1973)

With Rick Derringer

• Derringer (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

• Through The Fire (1984)

With Brian Setzer

• The Knife Feels Like Justice (1986)

With Blue Öyster Cult

• Club Ninja (1986)
• Imaginos (1988)

With Billy Idol

• Vital Idol (1987)

With Michael Monroe

• Not Fakin' It (1989)

With Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

• Pure and Simple (1994)
• Fit to be Tied writing credit on "World of Denial" (1997, 2006)

With Billy Squier

• Sixteen Strokes lap steel (1995)

With Graham Parker

• Live from New York (1996)

With Ian McDonald (musician)

• Driver's Eye (1999)

With Tom Guerra and Scott Lawson (Mambo Sons)

• Mambo Sons (1999)

With John Eddie

• Guy Walks into a Bar (2001)
• Who the Hell is John Eddie (2003)

With Mountain

• Master of War (2007)

With Dana Fuchs

• 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 Revenge" (1990)
• Tribute to Otis Blackwell "Brace Yourself" with Joe Louis Walker, Debbie Harry, Ronnie Spector, Kris Kristofferson, Graham Parker, Smithereens(1994)
• Sound Track "Boys on the Side" (1995)

Notes

• Colin Larkin: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Third edition. Macmillan, New York, N.Y. 1998.

External links

• Official website: www.kennyaaronson.com
• Interview with Mambo Sons bandmate Tom Guerra for Vintage Guitar Magazine: Kenny Aaronson: From Dust to Dylan. Retrieved September 26, 2006