Chad Cromwell


Chad Cromwell is an American rock drummer whose music career has spanned more than 30 years. He is the founding member of a band called Fortunate Sons, which released a self-titled album in 2004.
Cromwell has worked with multiple prominent artists from various genres, including Neil Young, Mark Knopfler, Joe Walsh, Joss Stone, Bonnie Raitt, and Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

Early life

Cromwell was born on June 14, 1957, in Paducah, Kentucky. When he was three years old he moved with his parents and siblings to Memphis, Tennessee in 1960. In 1970, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and remained there for the rest of his childhood.
He started playing drums at the age of eight, wearing headphones as he played along to records in an upstairs room of his parents' home. By the age of twelve he was playing in garage bands in the local neighborhood.

Career

Cromwell started recording and touring with Joe Walsh in 1986, appearing on two albums, Got Any Gum? and Ordinary Average Guy.
In 1987, Cromwell began a collaboration with songwriter Neil Young. The initial sessions became Neil Young & The Bluenotes. Since then he has recorded and toured with Young on several occasions, and appears on albums such as Freedom, Prairie Wind Living with War and Chrome Dreams II. He has also appeared in , a documentary capturing the debut of Neil Young's album, Prairie Wind. This was filmed at the Ryman auditorium and directed by Jonathan Demme.
Cromwell is also known for his contributions to Mark Knopfler's solo albums Golden Heart, Sailing to Philadelphia, The Ragpicker's Dream and Shangri-La. He was also part of Knopfler's band during the tours of his first solo albums.
Cromwell toured with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young in the summer of 2006.
He has also worked with many other artists including Dave Stewart, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Lady Antebellum, Diana Krall, Willie Nelson, Jackson Browne, Boz Scaggs, Wynonna, Trisha Yearwood, Miranda Lambert, Bonnie Raitt, Peter Frampton, Allison Moorer, Chris Knight, Joss Stone, Rodney Crowell, Marty Stuart, and Stevie Nicks.
In the mid 2000s, Cromwell formed the band Fortunate Sons along with Michael Rhodes, Gary Nicholson, Kenny Greenberg, and Reese Wynans. They released a self-titled album in 2004. He is also a member of the occasional touring band, Big Al Anderson and The Balls, led by former NRBQ guitarist Al Anderson.
In 2012, he appeared on The Beach Boys' studio album entitled That's Why God Made the Radio. In 2013, he was featured on Bonnie Tyler's album, Rocks and Honey.
In 2014, he provided drums on Drake Bell's third studio album, Ready Steady Go!

Collaborations

With Amy Grant
With Mark Knopfler
With Stevie Nicks
With Charles Kelley
  • The Driver
With Alison Krauss
  • Windy City
With Mary Chapin Carpenter
With Steven Curtis Chapman
  • Signs of Life
With Bob Seger
  • Ride Out
  • I Knew You When
With Neil Young
  • This Note's For You
  • Freedom
  • Prairie Wind
  • Living with War
  • Chrome Dreams II
  • Fork in the Road
With Allison Moorer
  • Alabama Song
  • The Hardest Part
  • Down to Believing
With Willie Nelson
  • To All the Girls...
With Joe Walsh
  • Got Any Gum?
  • Ordinary Average Guy
With Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler
  • All the Roadrunning
With Dolly Parton
With Livingston Taylor
  • There You Are Again
  • Last Alaska Moon
With Lady Antebellum
  • Lady Antebellum
  • Need You Now
  • Own the Night
  • Golden
With Beth Nielsen Chapman
  • Uncovered
With LeAnn Rimes
  • Blue
  • Spitfire
With Matraca Berg
  • Sunday Morning to Sunday Night
With Kenny Chesney
  • When the Sun Goes Down
  • Be as You Are
  • The Road and the Radio
  • The Big Revival
  • Cosmic Hallelujah
  • Songs for the Saints
With Rodney Crowell
  • The Houston Kid
  • The Outsider
With Jessica Simpson
  • In This Skin
With Brian Wilson
  • No Pier Pressure
With Joss Stone
  • LP1
With Michael Bolton
  • All That Matters
With Cyndi Lauper
  • Detour
With Miranda Lambert
  • Kerosene
  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
  • Revolution
With Jewel
  • Picking Up the Pieces
With Peter Frampton
  • Now
  • Fingerprints
  • Thank You Mr. Churchill
With Vince Gill
  • Next Big Thing
  • These Days
  • Guitar Slinger
With Joan Baez
  • Play Me Backwards
  • Gone from Danger
With Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell
With Joe Bonamassa'
He lives in both Nashville and Los Angeles with his wife, Windy.