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 Heart of Gold, 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!

Personal life

He lives in both Nashville and Los Angeles with his wife, Windy.

Collaborations

With Trace Adkins
  • Love Will...
With Gary Allan
  • It Would Be You
  • Smoke Rings in the Dark
  • Alright Guy
  • See if I Care
  • Tough All Over
  • Living Hard
  • Get Off on the Pain
  • Set You Free
With Lady Antebellum
  • Lady Antebellum
  • Need You Now
  • Own the Night
  • Golden
With Katie Armiger
  • Believe
  • Fall Into Me
With Sweet Pea Atkinson
With Joan Baez
  • Play Me Backwards
  • Gone from Danger
With The Beach Boys
  • That's Why God Made the Radio
With Drake Bell
  • Ready Steady Go!
With Dierks Bentley
  • Gravel & Gold
  • Broken Branches
With Matraca Berg
  • Sunday Morning to Sunday Night
With Michael Bolton
  • All That Matters
With Joe Bonamassa
  • Dust Bowl
With Danielle Bradbery
  • Danielle Bradbery
With Lee Brice
  • I Don't Dance
With Kix Brooks
  • New to This Town
With Brooks & Dunn
  • Cowboy Town
With Pieta Brown
  • Remember the Sun
  • Mercury
  • Postcards
With Billy Burnette
With Shawn Camp
  • Fireball
With Mary Chapin Carpenter
With Paul Carrack
  • I Know That Name
With Jeff Carson
  • Jeff Carson
With Beth Nielsen Chapman
  • Uncovered
With Steven Curtis Chapman
  • Signs of Life
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
  • Here and Now
  • Born
With Terri Clark
With Mark Collie
  • Book of My Blues
With John Cowan
  • John Cowan
With Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
  • American Dream
With Rodney Crowell
  • The Houston Kid
  • The Outsider
With George Ducas
  • George Ducas
With Ronnie Dunn
  • Ronnie Dunn
  • Re-Dunn
With Radney Foster
With Peter Frampton
  • Now
  • Fingerprints
  • Thank You Mr. Churchill
  • Hummingbird in a Box
With Vince Gill
  • Next Big Thing
  • These Days
  • Guitar Slinger
With William Lee Golden
  • American Vagabond
With Amy Grant
  • House of Love
  • Behind the Eyes
  • Legacy... Hymns and Faith
  • Simple Things
  • Rock of Ages... Hymns and Faith
  • Somewhere Down the Road
With Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell
  • Old Yellow Moon
With Emmylou Harris and Mark Knopfler
  • All the Roadrunning
With Rebecca Lynn Howard
  • Rebecca Lynn Howard
With Sonya Isaacs
  • Sonya Isaacs
With Jewel
  • Picking Up the Pieces
With Jamey Johnson
  • The Dollar
  • Living for a Song
With Toby Keith
  • A Classic Christmas
  • Big Dog Daddy
  • Bullets in the Gun
  • Clancy's Tavern
  • Hope on the Rocks
  • Drinks After Work
  • 35 MPH Town
  • Peso in My Pocket
With Charles Kelley
  • The Driver
With Mark Knopfler
  • Golden Heart
  • Sailing to Philadelphia
  • The Ragpicker's Dream
  • Shangri-La
  • One Take Radio Sessions
With Alison Krauss
  • Windy City
With Miranda Lambert
  • Kerosene
  • Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
  • Revolution
With Jim Lauderdale
  • Whisper
  • Patchwork River
  • I'm a Song
With Cyndi Lauper
  • Detour
With Kenny Marks
  • Attitude
  • Make It Right
With Mac McAnally
  • Word of Mouth
  • Semi-True Stories
  • Aka Nobody
  • Southbound: The Orchestra Project
With Shane McAnally
  • Shane McAnally
With Parker McCollum
  • Never Enough
With Pat McLaughlin
  • Next Five Miles
  • Horsefly
With Jo Dee Messina
  • Unmistakable: Love
With Frankie Miller
  • Long Way Home
With John Michael Montgomery
  • Brand New Me
With Allison Moorer
  • Alabama Song
  • The Hardest Part
  • Down to Believing
With Keb' Mo'
  • Keep It Simple
With Craig Morgan
  • This Ole Boy
With Willie Nelson
  • To All the Girls...
  • First Rose of Spring
  • A Beautiful Time
With Joe Nichols
  • III
With Stevie Nicks
  • In Your Dreams
  • 24 Karat Gold: Songs from the Vault
With Chris Norman
  • Chris Norman
With John Oates
  • 1000 Miles Of Life
  • Good Road to Follow
With Anders Osborne
  • Buddha & The Blues
  • Picasso's Villa
With Jake Owen
  • Barefoot Blue Jean Night
With Orianthi Panagaris
  • Heaven in This Hell
With Lee Roy Parnell
  • Midnight Believer
With Dolly Parton
  • Blue Smoke
With Kellie Pickler
  • 100 Proof
With Kim Richey
  • Kim Richey
With Lionel Richie
  • Tuskegee
With LeAnn Rimes
  • Blue
  • Spitfire
With Bob Seger
With Blake Shelton
  • Blake Shelton
  • Pure BS
With Ashton Shepherd
  • Sounds So Good
With Jessica Simpson
  • In This Skin
With Joss Stone
  • LP1
  • Never Forget My Love
With Livingston Taylor
  • There You Are Again
  • Last Alaska Moon
With Josh Turner
With Bonnie Tyler
  • Rocks and Honey
With Roch Voisine
  • Coup de tête
  • Americana
With Joe Walsh
  • Got Any Gum?
  • Ordinary Average Guy
With Holly Williams
  • Here with Me
With Brian Wilson
  • No Pier Pressure
With Gretchen Wilson
With Lee Ann Womack
  • Some Things I Know
  • I Hope You Dance
With Chely Wright
  • Never Love You Enough
With Trisha Yearwood
With Neil Young
  • This Note's For You
  • Freedom
  • Prairie Wind
  • Living with War
  • Chrome Dreams II
  • Fork in the Road
With Robin Zander
  • ''Countryside Blvd''