Shawn Pelton

Pelton was born in Kansas City, Missouri.

"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."[7]

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.[4] While there, Pelton studied with Kenny Aronoff, who at the time was the drummer for John Mellencamp.[4] During his summer breaks, Pelton sought out experts elsewhere, including Alan Dawson,[7] 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.[8]

He joined the Saturday Night Live band in 1992,[4] saying "It’s a pretty mellow gig...It’s really only 20 days out of the year."[9]

Since 2007, Pelton has been regularly appearing as the drummer on Daryl Hall's internet concert series Live from Daryl's House.

Nicknamed "Cat Daddy" by drum tech, Tim Soya.[10]

Pelton also served periodically as the substitute drummer in the CBS Orchestra on Late Show with David Letterman during regular drummer Anton Fig's absences.

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

• Picture Perfect Morning - Edie Brickell (1994)
• A Few Small Repairs - Shawn Colvin (1996)
• Let's Talk About Love - Céline Dion (1997)
• Credo - Jennifer Rush (1997)
• Campi di Popcorn - Gianluca Grignani (1998)
• Burning The Daze - Marc Cohn (1998)
• Holiday Songs and Lullabies - 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 - George Michael (1999)
• The Bedroom Tapes - Carly Simon (2000)
• Whole New You - Shawn Colvin (2001)
• Look Into the Eyeball - David Byrne (2001)
• M.Y.O.B. - Debbie Gibson (2001)
• It Had to Be You: The Great American Songbook - Rod Stewart (2002)
• C'mon, C'mon - Sheryl Crow (2002)
• As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook, Volume II - Rod Stewart (2003)
• Rules of Travel - Rosanne Cash (2003)
• Hotel Paper - Michelle Branch (2003)
• Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson (2004)
• Indigo: Women of Song - Olivia Newton-John (2004)
• Fijación Oral, Vol. 1 - Shakira (2005)
• Oral Fixation, Vol. 2 - Shakira (2005)
• Black Cadillac - Rosanne Cash (2006)
• These Four Walls - Shawn Colvin (2006)
• Romancing the '60s - Frankie Valli (2007)
• My December - Kelly Clarkson (2007)
• Nobody Left to Crown - Richie Havens (2008)
• The List - Rosanne Cash (2009)
• Everything Comes and Goes - Michelle Branch (2010)
• Time Together - Michael Franks (2011)
• Laughing Down Crying - Daryl Hall (2011)
• The Origin of Love - Mika (2012)
• The River & the Thread - Rosanne Cash (2014)
• This Is Where I Live - William Bell (2016)

• 2013 Audio Interview with Shawn Pelton from the I'd Hit That Podcast