Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Episode 89: Steve Ferrone.
A nearly 3 hour deep dive with one of the greatest groove drummers of all time, Steve Ferrone. He joined Average White Band after the passing of their original drummer and went on to create “School Boy Crush,” one of the most sampled grooves in hip-hop history. From there, he played with Duran Duran, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Johnny Cash, and Michael Jackson, before becoming the drummer for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers for the next two plus decades, all the way up until Tom's unfortunate passing.
In this episode, Steve opens up about his journey from Brighton to the biggest stages in the world, his time in the studio with legends like Tom Petty and Rick Rubin, and the philosophy behind his timeless feel and sound.
He also shares stories from recording Unplugged with Eric Clapton, Unchained with Johnny Cash, and why groove always comes first. We talk about the evolution of technology in music, including a hilarious story about click track and Jeff Porcaro, and his personal relationships with George, Tom, Eric and more. Steve is a guy that everyone just wants around.
His work contributed to GRAMMY winning albums with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Wildflowers, Eric Clapton’s Unplugged, Johnny Cash’s Unchained, and Céline Dion’s Falling Into You. He’s also currently the host of The New Guy on SiriusXM. I hope you enjoy my conversation with the legend, Steve Ferrone!
Subscribe for more conversations with the world’s greatest musicians.
0:00:00 - TRAILER
0:01:55 - STEVE INTRODUCTION
0:03:47 - INTERVIEW STARTS
0:04:22 - EARLY LIFE, RINGO STARR
0:11:54 - FRANCE, ITALY
0:14:21 - MOVING TO NEW YORK
0:15:37 - LONDON, GONZALEZ, MICK EVE
0:17:30 - RONNIE SCOTT’S, MIKE VERONON, FREDDIE KING
0:18:26 - STEVE’S EARLY DRUM SOUND
0:27:36 - ROBBIE MCINTOSH
0:29:36 - “PICK UP THE PIECES”
0:29:43 - AHMET ERTEGUN
0:32:33 - BRYAN FERRY “DANCE AWAY”
0:33:59 - ADVICE FROM AHMET ERTEGUN
0:35:35 - “SCHOOL BOY CRUSH” SAMPLING
0:40:34 - RODGER LINN, VINNIE COLAIUTA STORY
0:44:29 - CHANGES IN MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
0:46:07 - CLICK TRACKS, JEFF PORCARO
0:51:39 - POCKET
0:53:17 - AVERAGE WHITE BAND ERA, STUDIO 54
0:55:37 - CHAKA KHAN, GEORGE BENSON SESSION
0:58:17 - BECOMING THE “POCKET” GUY
1:00:15 - SNL
1:03:04 - SETH MYERS
1:07:23 - DURAN DURAN
1:15:55 - ERIC CLAPTON
1:20:34 - UNPLUGGED ALBUM, ERIC CLAPTON
1:28:36 - ERIC CLAPTON, NATHAN EAST
1:31:49 - GEORGE HARRISON
1:33:50 - RINGO STARR STORY
1:34:52 - PLAYING THE BEATLES HITS
1:43:08 - TOM PETTY, MIKE CAMPBELL, WILDFLOWERS ALBUM
1:52:41 - RICK RUBIN, TOM PETTY
1:58:10 - THE HEARTBREAKERS
1:59:41 - TOM PETTY FRIENDSHIP, STEVE’S NAME
2:12:55 - BEST LESSON FROM TOM PETTY
2:14:45 - HOW TO HANDLE LOSS
2:17:27 - MICHAEL JACKSON, “EARTH SONG”
2:22:29 - JOHNNY CASH
2:25:30 - HERBIE HANCOCK
2:32:49 - STEVE’S LEGACY
‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
patreon.com/gowithelmo Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, Zoom hangs, invite only events, and discussions about music and music careers.
Episode 89: Steve Ferrone.
A nearly 3 hour deep dive with one of the greatest groove drummers of all time, Steve Ferrone. He joined Average White Band after the passing of their original drummer and went on to create “School Boy Crush,” one of the most sampled grooves in hip-hop history. From there, he played with Duran Duran, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Johnny Cash, and Michael Jackson, before becoming the drummer for Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers for the next two plus decades, all the way up until Tom's unfortunate passing.
In this episode, Steve opens up about his journey from Brighton to the biggest stages in the world, his time in the studio with legends like Tom Petty and Rick Rubin, and the philosophy behind his timeless feel and sound.
He also shares stories from recording Unplugged with Eric Clapton, Unchained with Johnny Cash, and why groove always comes first. We talk about the evolution of technology in music, including a hilarious story about click track and Jeff Porcaro, and his personal relationships with George, Tom, Eric and more. Steve is a guy that everyone just wants around.
His work contributed to GRAMMY winning albums with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Wildflowers, Eric Clapton’s Unplugged, Johnny Cash’s Unchained, and Céline Dion’s Falling Into You. He’s also currently the host of The New Guy on SiriusXM. I hope you enjoy my conversation with the legend, Steve Ferrone!
Subscribe for more conversations with the world’s greatest musicians.
0:00:00 - TRAILER
0:01:55 - STEVE INTRODUCTION
0:03:47 - INTERVIEW STARTS
0:04:22 - EARLY LIFE, RINGO STARR
0:11:54 - FRANCE, ITALY
0:14:21 - MOVING TO NEW YORK
0:15:37 - LONDON, GONZALEZ, MICK EVE
0:17:30 - RONNIE SCOTT’S, MIKE VERONON, FREDDIE KING
0:18:26 - STEVE’S EARLY DRUM SOUND
0:27:36 - ROBBIE MCINTOSH
0:29:36 - “PICK UP THE PIECES”
0:29:43 - AHMET ERTEGUN
0:32:33 - BRYAN FERRY “DANCE AWAY”
0:33:59 - ADVICE FROM AHMET ERTEGUN
0:35:35 - “SCHOOL BOY CRUSH” SAMPLING
0:40:34 - RODGER LINN, VINNIE COLAIUTA STORY
0:44:29 - CHANGES IN MUSIC TECHNOLOGY
0:46:07 - CLICK TRACKS, JEFF PORCARO
0:51:39 - POCKET
0:53:17 - AVERAGE WHITE BAND ERA, STUDIO 54
0:55:37 - CHAKA KHAN, GEORGE BENSON SESSION
0:58:17 - BECOMING THE “POCKET” GUY
1:00:15 - SNL
1:03:04 - SETH MYERS
1:07:23 - DURAN DURAN
1:15:55 - ERIC CLAPTON
1:20:34 - UNPLUGGED ALBUM, ERIC CLAPTON
1:28:36 - ERIC CLAPTON, NATHAN EAST
1:31:49 - GEORGE HARRISON
1:33:50 - RINGO STARR STORY
1:34:52 - PLAYING THE BEATLES HITS
1:43:08 - TOM PETTY, MIKE CAMPBELL, WILDFLOWERS ALBUM
1:52:41 - RICK RUBIN, TOM PETTY
1:58:10 - THE HEARTBREAKERS
1:59:41 - TOM PETTY FRIENDSHIP, STEVE’S NAME
2:12:55 - BEST LESSON FROM TOM PETTY
2:14:45 - HOW TO HANDLE LOSS
2:17:27 - MICHAEL JACKSON, “EARTH SONG”
2:22:29 - JOHNNY CASH
2:25:30 - HERBIE HANCOCK
2:32:49 - STEVE’S LEGACY
‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.
Please SUBSCRIBE / FOLLOW this podcast to catch new episodes as soon as they drop! Your likes, comments and shares are much appreciated!
patreon.com/gowithelmo Become a Patreon Member to stay in the loop as we post Patreon-only exclusive content, Zoom hangs, invite only events, and discussions about music and music careers.
