Shawn Pelton is an American drummer and percussionist. He has recorded with a wide range of artists and has been a first call player since moving to New York in the late 1980s.Earthworks Audio Artist's page, Retrieved on 2012-09-18.
/ref> Shawn has recorded with artists such as

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

, Shawn Colvin,

Natalie Merchant Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26, 1963) is an American alternative rock singer-songwriter. She joined the band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and was lead vocalist and primary lyricist for the group. She remained with the group for their first se ...

Ingrid Michaelson Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Her first album, '' Slow the Rain,'' was released in 2005, and she has since released eight more albums: '' Girls and Boys,'' '' Be OK'', '' Everybody' ...

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

, Van Morrison,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

, Rosanne Cash, Pink, Shakira, Kelly Clarkson, Five For Fighting, Michelle Branch, Regina Spektor, Tears for Fears,

Citizen Cope Clarence Greenwood (born May 20, 1968), also known by his stage name, Citizen Cope, is an American songwriter, producer and singer. His music is commonly described as a mix of blues, soul, folk, and rock. Citizen Cope's compositions have been r ...

, Matisyahu, Jonatha Brooke,

David Byrne David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...

, Edie Brickell, Marc Cohn,

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk, soul (both of which he frequently covered), and rhythm and blues. He had a rhythmic guitar style ...

, Joan Osborne, Hall and Oates, Odetta, Pavarotti, Phillip Phillips,

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most significant cultural icons of the MTV generation and is one of the best-selling musici ...

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

, Dixie Chicks, Chris Botti and Buddy Guy, and has played on several Grammy winning albums for artists including Ray Charles, The Brecker Brothers, Shawn Colvin,

Les Paul Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009), known as Les Paul, was an American jazz, country, and blues guitarist, songwriter, luthier, and inventor. He was one of the pioneers of the solid-body electric guitar, and his prototype ...

and the

Hank Williams Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

tribute album with Bob Dylan. Shawn is also the longtime drummer in the house band for the NBC TV network's sketch comedy and music program Saturday Night Live. Shawn was the touring drummer on

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

Destination Anywhere tour Destination may refer to: Music *Destination (group), a disco studio group from New York * ''Destination'' (Eloy album), 1992 * ''Destination'' (FictionJunction Yuuka album), 2005 * ''Destination'' (Ronan Keating album), 2002 * ''Destination'' (EP ...

in 1997-1998.

Early life

Pelton was born in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. "I grew up always banging on things," Pelton said describing his childhood. His first real musical instrument was a cello in 5th grade. But he "bailed as soon as possible to the drums," Pelton said. "I was running around doing gigs at 14, which was a great situation, to actually be in a band that young. The sooner you start making music with other people the better.""New York State of Mind: Shawn Pelton"
2004. Retrieved on 2009-04-23.

Education

Pelton studied at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, earning a bachelor's degree and a Performer's Certificate in 1985. While there, Pelton studied with Kenny Aronoff, who at the time was the drummer for John Mellencamp. During his summer breaks, Pelton sought out experts elsewhere, including Alan Dawson, who is best known as an early teacher of jazz drummer Tony Williams. During his time as a student, Pelton taught for a brief period, and also conducted private drum lessons. One of his students was Pete Wilhoit, who would later become a member of Fiction Plane, the opening act for The Police on their 2007 reunion global tour.

Career

He joined the Saturday Night Live band in 1992, saying "It’s a pretty mellow gig...It’s really only 20 days out of the year." Since 2007, Pelton has been regularly appearing as the drummer on Daryl Hall's internet concert series

Live from Daryl's House ''Live from Daryl's House'' (simply known as ''Daryl's House'' and often abbreviated as ''LFDH'') is an online music series that debuted in the autumn of 2007. The show features singer-songwriter Daryl Hall performing with his band and various gu ...

. Nicknamed "Cat Dadd

by drum tech, Tim Soya.Vater. , Retrieved on 2010-02-25 Pelton also served periodically as the substitute drummer in the CBS Orchestra on ''

Late Show with David Letterman The ''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the The Late Show (franchise), ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by ...

'' during regular drummer

Anton Fig Anton Fig (born 8 August 1952 in Cape Town, South Africa), known as "The Thunder from Down Under", is a South African session drummer, perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Ba ...

's absences. Pelton is also a founding member of the NYC-based band The Cringe.

Selected discography

Collaborations

* ''

Picture Perfect Morning ''Picture Perfect Morning'' is the solo debut album by American singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, released in 1994 (see 1994 in music). The video for "Good Times" was included as part of the multimedia samples included on Microsoft's ''Windows 95 ...

'' - Edie Brickell (1994) * ''

A Few Small Repairs ''A Few Small Repairs'' is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin. It was released on October 1, 1996 by Columbia Records. Background ''A Few Small Repairs'' is a concept album about divorce, as Colvin's marriage was ...

'' - Shawn Colvin (1996) * '' Let's Talk About Love'' - Céline Dion (1997) * '' Credo'' - Jennifer Rush (1997) * ''

Burning The Daze ''Burning the Daze'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, released in 1998 on Atlantic Records. The album peaked at number 114 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Chart. Track listing All tracks written by Marc Cohn, except w ...

'' - Marc Cohn (1998) * ''

Holiday Songs and Lullabies ''Holiday Songs and Lullabies'' is a studio album by American singer-songwriter and musician Shawn Colvin. It was released in 1998 on Columbia Records. Tracks #"In the Bleak Midwinter" (Traditional) – 4:04 #" Christmas Time Is Here" (Vince G ...

'' - Shawn Colvin (1998) * '' Barefoot on the Beach'' - Michael Franks (1999) * '' Joy: A Holiday Collection'' - Jewel (1999) * '' Timeless: The Classics Vol. 2'' - Michael Bolton (1999) * ''

Songs from the Last Century ''Songs from the Last Century'' is the fourth studio album by the English singer-songwriter George Michael, released on 6 December 1999 by Aegean Records and Virgin Records. Produced by Phil Ramone and George Michael, it was his only album o ...

'' -

(1999) * '' The Bedroom Tapes'' -

(2000) * '' Whole New You'' - Shawn Colvin (2001) * ''

Look Into the Eyeball ''Look into the Eyeball'' is the sixth studio album by musician David Byrne, released on May 8, 2001. The single " Like Humans Do" was supplied with the Windows XP operating system to showcase Microsoft's Windows Media Player. "" is a Spanish l ...

'' -

(2001) * '' M.Y.O.B.'' - Debbie Gibson (2001) * '' It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook'' -

(2002) * '' C'mon, C'mon'' -

(2002) * '' As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II'' -

(2003) * '' Rules of Travel'' - Rosanne Cash (2003) * ''

Hotel Paper ''Hotel Paper'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Michelle Branch. It was released on June 24, 2003 through Maverick. The production on the album was handled by a variety of record producers such as Josh Abraham, Rick DeP ...

'' - Michelle Branch (2003) * '' Breakaway'' - Kelly Clarkson (2004) * '' Indigo: Women of Song'' - Olivia Newton-John (2004) * ''

Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 ''Fijación Oral, Vol. 1'' (English: ''Oral Fixation, Vol. 1'') is the sixth studio album by Colombian singer and songwriter Shakira. It was released on 3 June 2005 by Epic Records. After attaining international success in 2001 with her fifth st ...

'' - Shakira (2005) * '' Oral Fixation, Vol. 2'' - Shakira (2005) * '' Black Cadillac'' - Rosanne Cash (2006) * '' These Four Walls'' - Shawn Colvin (2006) * ''Romancing the '60s'' -

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

(2007) * '' My December'' - Kelly Clarkson (2007) * ''Nobody Left to Crown'' -

(2008) * '' The List'' - Rosanne Cash (2009) * '' Everything Comes and Goes'' - Michelle Branch (2010) * '' Time Together'' - Michael Franks (2011) * ''

Laughing Down Crying ''Laughing Down Crying'' is the fifth solo album by American recording artist Daryl Hall. It was released on September 27, 2011, on Verve Records. Co-producer and bandmate T-Bone Wolk died during early recording sessions for the disc; Hall dedicat ...

'' - Daryl Hall (2011) * '' The Origin of Love'' - Mika (2012) * '' The River & the Thread'' - Rosanne Cash (2014) * ''

This Is Where I Live ''This Is Where I Live'' is an album by William Bell released on June 3, 2016 in the US and July 8, 2016 elsewhere. It won Bell a Grammy Award for Best Americana Album. Reception ''PopMatters'' gave the album 8 out of 10 stars, calling it "an im ...

'' - William Bell (2016)

Notes

References

External links

2013 Audio Interview with Shawn Pelton from the I'd Hit That Podcast
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelton, Shawn American drummers Living people Hall & Oates members 1963 births Saturday Night Live Band members Daryl Hall and the Daryl's House Band members