John Bonham
John Bonham was born on May 31,1948 and was the drummer for the extraordinary band Led Zeppelin. Known for for his speed, power, incredibly fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for the groove. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rock drummers in history.
Bonham started playing the drums at the young age of 5 and got his first full drum set at age 15. He played with several band while he was in school and after school. He eventually ended up playing in two bands with Robert Plant called Crawling King Snakes.
After the Yardbirds disbanded in 1968 Bonham joined Plant, Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones and Led Zeppelin was created. Page’s for the drummer was BJ Wilson from Procol Harum, and Paul Francis. However after Page saw Bonham play with Time Rose in 1968, Page and manager Peter Grant, they were convinced that Bohnam would be perfect for their band. The original name for the band was called The New Yardbirds but eventually changed the name to Led Zeppelin.
Bonham was initially reluctant to join the band but after 8 offers from Plant followed by 40 offers from Grant he turned down two other offers from Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe. He decided he liked their music better than Cocker or Farlowe’s music.
Bonham‘s unique style incorporated syncopated rhythms and time signature tricks. He was inspired by Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich who also inspired other drummers, like Neil Peart, who was also inspired by Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa.
Surprisingly, Bonham was mostly a self taught drummer. He was close to the drummer for Vanilla Fudge, Carmine Appice who introduced him to Ludwig drums, which he used for his entire career. His drum kit grew bigger on each album they recorded but he started with a four piece kit on Led Zeppelin 1.
His drum solo originally named “Pat’s Delight” was changed to “Moby Dick” and lasted 20 minutes. In Led Zeppelin tours after 1969, Bonham included Congas, an orchestral timpani, and a symphonic gong.
On September 24,1980 Bonham was picked up by a Led Zeppelin assistant to attend a rehearsal for their North American tour beginning on October 17, 1980. This was their first tour since 1977. During the trip, Bonham asked to stop for breakfast. He ordered 4 QUADRUPLE vodka Screwdrivers which is equivalent to 9-13 regular American cocktails. He continued to drink heavily into the night while at rehearsal. Their rehearsal ended late into the evening and everyone went to Page’s house.
After midnight on September 25, 1980, Bonham fell asleep; someone took him to bed and placed him on his side. Led Zeppelin tour manager Benji LeFevre and John Paul Jones found him unresponsive the next afternoon. Bonham was later pronounced dead at 32 years old.
During the investigation into Bohna’s death on October 27, 1980 showed that Bonham had consumed 40 shots in a 24 hour period. He had pulmonary aspiration and his death ruled as an accidental death. His autopsy did not find any illegal drugs in his system.
Rolling Stone Magazine reported that Bonham had recently overcome a heroin addiction and was taking unspecified medications for both anxiety and depression at the time of his death.
Led Zeppelin decided not to replace Bonham and disbanded out of respect to their dear friend and bandmate. In a press release on December 4, 1980 The remaining members of the band stated: "We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were."
Bonham was married to Pat Phillips and they had two children. Their daughter Zoë Bonham was born on June 10, 1975 and their son, Jason Bonham, was born July 15,1966. Zoë is a singer-songwriter that appears at Led Zeppelin conversations and Jason is a drummer who has played with many bands, but most notably he performed with Led Zeppelin on December 10, 2007 at their reunion at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show on May 15, 1988 as well as at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert. Both Zoë and Jason attended the induction ceremony to the Rick and Roll Hall of Fame with the remaining members of Led Zeppelin in 1995.
Bonham has been described by AllMusic as one of the most important, well-known, and influential drummers in rock. He was ranked #1 Classic Rocks 2005 list of the Greatest Drummers In Rock. Modern Drummer describes him as "the greatest rock 'n' roll drummer in history." Adam Budofsky, managing editor of Modern Drumer said “If the king of rock 'n' roll was Elvis Presley, then the king of rock drumming was certainly John Bonham."
According to the Los Angeles Times, even after all these years, Bonham still ranks as the best drummer of all time saying “Nobody else has brought quite that balance of muscle, groove and showmanship."
In 2010, Modern Drummer Magazine wrote “Like nearly every British rock musician in the mid-'60s, the members of Led Zeppelin played in groups specializing in amped-up versions of black American music like the blues, R&B, jazz, and soul. To play that music convincingly, you had to swing, and few drummers in any genre have swung with as much swagger as John Bonham ... Despite all the deserved attention paid to his brilliant soloing ideas, his rhythmic sophistication, or his bass drum prowess, John Bonham was, above all else, a groover.”
Many drummers were heavily influenced by Bonham including Neil Peart, Tommy Lee, and Dave Grohl, Grohl was quoted as saying “John Bonham played the drums like someone who didn't know what was going to happen next—like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff. No one has come close to that since, and I don't think anybody ever will. I think he will forever be the greatest drummer of all time.”
John Paul stated that Bonham was a “bass players dream” and Page commented “One of the marvellous things about John Bonham which made things very easy [for a producer] was the fact that he really knew how to tune his drums, and I tell you what, that was pretty rare in drummers in those days. He really knew how to make the instrument sing, and because of that, he could just get so much volume out of it by just playing with his wrists. It was just an astonishing technique that was sort of pretty holistic if you know what I mean.”
Bonham’s music has been sampled in music such as The Beastie Boys sampling “Moby Dock,” “The Ocean,” and “When the Levee Breaks“ on their debut album License to Ill. The drum beat of the popular song “ Return to Innocence by Enigma was sampled from the Zeppelin song “When the Levee Breaks.”
So now that both entries to my “Who Was the Best Drummer Neil Peart or John Bonham” are complete, just between these two drummers, (yes I know there are many other phenomenal drummers who I did not mention as I was just curious about knowing what people thought between these two specifically, who do you prefer. I am thinking it’s not really who is a better drummer because they are both at the top of any “best drummer of all time” lists. It’s more of which drummer’s style do you prefer. I still would have a hard time picking because the genre of music isn’t even close to being similar just as their styles are completely different.
Leave your comments and likes below ⬇️ and tell me your thoughts. I truly love both Neil Peart and John Bonham. They were both beasts on the drums.
Keep on rocking everyone! ✌🏼🎶🎵🎶♥️
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