Kenney Jones
This page is a work in progress
This page is a work in progress
Kenney Jones
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Kenney Jones
As the drummer with The Small Faces, Faces and
The Who, Kenney Jones has been at the heart of three of the biggest bands ever to have come out of the UK. At the tender age of just 15, being part of a band
had become a way of life. Kenney was 16 when he had his first hit record when he shot to fame with The Small Faces, who were at the heart of the Mod revolution which swept Britain at the time and a band who have been cited as a major influence on musicians during the 50+ years
which have followed. |
Kenneth Thomas Jones, born September 16, 1948, is an English drummer best known for his work in the groups Small Faces, Faces, and the Who. Jones was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012 as a member of both Small Faces and Faces.
Kenney Jones was born in Whitechapel, London, England.
Kenney Jones - Small Faces to Faces
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Having previously been in a band with Ronnie Lane (The Outcasts), Kenney Jones was one of the founding members of the English rock group Small Faces.
Active from 1965 to 1969, Small Faces were part of the Mod trend of the 1960s. Their hits include
"All or Nothing", "Sha-La-La-La-Lee", "Itchycoo Park" and "Tin Soldier". September 8, 2007, Small Faces were honoured by Westminster Council with a commemorative plaque placed at what was Don Arden's offices at 52-55 Carnaby Street, Soho, London, the band's "spiritual home" where Arden reputedly signed the band just half an hour after meeting them.
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Small Faces - Ronnie Lane and Kenney Jones- London, UK October 7, 1969 photo- Hulton Archive
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Jones himself unveiled the plaque. In a BBC interview, Jones said: "To honour the Small Faces after all these years is a terrific achievement. I only wish that Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane and Don Arden were here to enjoy this moment with me". Since the death of Jimmy Winston in September 2020, Jones and Rick Wills (Small Faces reunion, 1977) are the sole surviving members of the Small Faces.
“Don had an office on Carnaby Street” Jones reminisces. “But Carnaby Street didn’t have the same reputation as it does now. It was still a road and there were only about three shops to buy clothes from back then. You had Toppers for your shoes, Lord John on the corner and John Stephens below the office.” Fashion was the band’s currency, running up huge accounts in these shops with the rationale, “We wore the clothes on TV and in magazines and we wanted to look good.”
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Small Faces - Carnaby Street Plaque photo credit- Nick Harrison
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After the departure of lead singer/guitarist Steve Marriott in 1969, the group recruited singer Rod Stewart and guitarist Ronnie Wood to replace Marriott, both were formerly from the Jeff Beck Group. The band eventually changed its name to Faces, as the original name of Small Faces was associated with the small stature of its members, and Stewart and Wood did not fit the description.
Faces took the rock world by storm in the early 1970’s on both sides of the Atlantic and became one of the most raucous, fun-loving bands of the time, with a fanatical following.
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Kenney Jones - Faces -Photo Credit- Peter Sanders
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Jones remained with the band until its dissolution in late 1975, recording four studio albums and a live album with them.
Re-Formation of Small Faces
Faces split in the mid-70’s (Ronnie Lane left the band early June 1973) and Kenney, along with Steve Marriott, Ian McLagan and new man, Rick Wills, re-formed The Small Faces, touring for a couple of years and making two albums before deciding to call it a day. By this time Kenney was recognised as one of the top drummers in the rock industry, and it was no surprise that he was The Who’s choice to replace Keith Moon after his tragic death in 1978.
Kenney Jones - The Who
In November 1978, Jones was invited by guitarist Pete Townshend and manager Bill Curbishley to join The Who, replacing their original drummer Keith Moon, who had died of a drug overdose in September.
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He was invited, in part, because the band had been friendly with him from his days with the Small Faces (he and Moon were friends and were together on the last night of Moon's life in 1978, as part of the viewing party put together by Paul McCartney for The Buddy Holly Story), and because he had played with Townshend, Roger Daltrey and John Entwistle on the Tommy soundtrack. He played on the albums Face Dances and It's Hard and also played on the soundtrack for Daltrey's film McVicar, as well as on the band's tours from 1979 to 1982.
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Kenney Jones - with Pete Townshend The Who -1
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Jones played with the band at Live Aid in 1985. Jones' final appearance as a regular member of the Who was when the group received a lifetime achievement award at the 1988 British Phonographic Industry awards ceremony.
He was frequently at odds with Daltrey, who felt that Jones' drumming style was not right for the band (Jones's playing was usually straighter and less frenetic than Moon's), but Daltrey has denied having anything personal against Jones or his drumming.
Jones was replaced by Simon Phillips for the Who's 1989 reunion tour. In an April 2011 special edition of Uncut magazine.
Pete Townshend said that Jones was a good choice for the band.
Kenney Jones reunited with The Who on June 14, 2014 at the Rock n Horsepower benefit concert held at his Hurtwood Polo Club. The band performed for an event set up by Jones to benefit Prostate Cancer UK, an organization that promotes awareness of the disease that Jones has had. It was the first time that he had appeared onstage with Townshend and Daltrey since 1988. Sharing the bill were contemporaries such as Jeff Beck, Procol Harum and Mike Rutherford.
Kenney Jones - The Law
After leaving The Who, Kenney hooked up with former Bad Company singer, Paul Rodgers to form The Law in the early 1990’s, releasing a critically acclaimed album ‘The Law,’ which reinforced Kenney’s reputation as a gifted and talented musician. Although Small Faces, Faces, The Who and The Law have been the four main bands in his life, Kenney has also been much sought-after during his career and has performed with some of the biggest names around.
Kenney Jones - The Jones Gang
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In 2001, Jones formed a new band; over several months, the line-up solidified to include Rick Wills and Robert Hart. In 2005, The Jones Gang released their debut album, Any Day Now. The album was released in the U.S on August 9, 2005. The debut single "Angel", written by Hart and Russ Ballard, went to number 1 on the ACQB Top 40 charts, staying there for a further 11 weeks. The album overall was commercially successful and another two songs by Hart reached the top ten of Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Sales Chart.
The airline company USA 3000 commissioned 14 planes to have The Jones Gang album cover art work on as drawn by Ronnie Wood from the Rolling Stones. These planes were the first sent in the rescue operation of people affected by Hurricane Wilma.
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Kenney Jones - The Jones Gang - Any Day Now Album 2005
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Listen to The Jones Gang Any Day Now album on Spotify!
https://open.spotify.com/album/2xPs8ISpZzSN2eJuekxWcv
https://open.spotify.com/album/2xPs8ISpZzSN2eJuekxWcv
Kenney Jones - Guest appearances
Kenney Jones has been featured on recordings as a guest drummer on many recording sessions, including appearances on albums by Rod Stewart, The Rolling Stones, Ronnie Wood, Roger Daltrey, Andy Fairweather-Low. Joan Armatrading, Keith Moon, Marsha Hunt, Mike Batt, Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, David Essex, John Lodge and Wings. He was also on a Top of the Pops performance with Status Quo, performing their 1986 hit single, "Red Sky".
Kenney Jones - Outside of Music
Outside of music, Jones is a fan of polo. He has become an accomplished polo player and is the developer and owner of Hurtwood Park Polo Club, in Ewhurst, Surrey.
On behalf of Small Faces and in memory of his late colleagues Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, Jones established a children's charity, the Small Faces Charitable Trust, in 1999.
Jones is a supporter of the Conservative Party and recorded a song called "Mr Brown" written by Robert Hart, criticising the tax policies of the then Chancellor of Exchequer Gordon Brown. He has also performed in support of the Countryside Alliance.
Kenney Jones' memoir, Let the Good Times Roll: My Life in Small Faces, Faces, and The Who, was released in September 2018 (ISBN 9781250193568).
Kenney Jones - Personal Life
Kenney Jones has six children. He is married to the former model Jayne Andrew, the mother of four of his children. He was previously married to former singer Jan, sister of Gary Osborne.
In September 2013 he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, for which he was treated with brachytherapy.
Jones stated that he "virtually taught" Zak Starkey, son of Ringo Starr, how to play drums. Jones was close friends with Starkey's parents. After replacing Moon in The Who, Jones gave Starkey one of Moon's old drum kits. In 1996, Starkey would become The Who's touring drummer.
Kenney Jones - First Drum Kits
From the Desk of Kenney Jones https://kenneyjones.com/about-kenney/drums/
From the Desk of Kenney Jones https://kenneyjones.com/about-kenney/drums/
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"My first ever Kit was a White Olympic Kit made by Premier Drums. As I got to know more about drums I moved on to a Silver Glitter Ludwig Kit which I used in the early days of the Small Faces. It was actually the kit I used for our first TV appearance on Thank Your Lucky Stars" .
Small Faces - Ready Steady Go tv appearance -2
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Kenney Jones - first drum kit
Small Faces - Ready Steady Go tv appearance -3
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Small Faces
https://www.ronnielane.com/small-faces.html
https://www.ronnielane.com/small-faces.html