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John Bonham

John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove,[1] he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drummers in history.[2][3][4]

For other people named John Bonham, see John Bonham (disambiguation).

John Bonham

John Henry Bonham

  • Bonzo
  • The Beast
  • Powerhouse

(1948-05-31)31 May 1948
Redditch, Worcestershire, England

25 September 1980(1980-09-25) (aged 32)
Clewer, Berkshire, England

Musician

  • Drums
  • percussion

1962–1980

Bonham was born in 1948 in Redditch, Worcestershire, and took up drums at the age of 5, receiving a snare drum at the age of 10 and a full drum set at the age of 15. He played with multiple local bands both at school and following school, eventually playing in two different bands with Robert Plant. Following the demise of the Yardbirds in 1968, Bonham joined Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bass guitarist John Paul Jones to form Led Zeppelin.


Bonham showcased a hard-hitting hard rock style, but also handled funk and Latin-influenced grooves in later Led Zeppelin releases. Like Keith Moon of the Who, Bonham's drum set grew in size following the band's 1969 concert tours, including congas or timpani and a gong. His drum solo "Moby Dick" was featured on the group's second album and was a staple of their concerts, often lasting just over 20 minutes. Outside of Led Zeppelin, Bonham played drums for other artists, including the Family Dogg, Screaming Lord Sutch, Lulu, Jimmy Stevens and Wings. Bonham played with Led Zeppelin until his sudden death at the age of 32, in September 1980 following a day of heavy drinking. The surviving members disbanded the group out of respect for Bonham.


A mostly self-taught drummer, Bonham was influenced by Max Roach, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. He was close with Vanilla Fudge drummer Carmine Appice, who introduced him to Ludwig drums. While he was primarily known for his hard-rock style during his lifetime, his reputation as a drummer has grown beyond that genre following his death. He has influenced various drummers, with just a few prominent examples including Dave Grohl, Neil Peart, Chad Smith and Dave Lombardo. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 as a member of Led Zeppelin. In 2016, Rolling Stone named him the greatest drummer of all time.[5]

Early life[edit]

John Henry Bonham was born on 31 May 1948, in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, to Joan and Jack Bonham.[6] He began learning to play drums at age five, making a kit of containers and coffee tins, imitating his idols Max Roach, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. His mother gave him a snare drum when he was 10. He received his first drum kit, a Premier Percussion set, from his father at age 15. Bonham never took formal drum lessons, although he received advice from other Redditch drummers. While at school, between 1962 and 1963, Bonham joined the Blue Star Trio[7] and Gerry Levene & the Avengers.[8]


Bonham attended Lodge Farm Secondary Modern School, where his headmaster wrote in his report that he would "either end up a dustman or a millionaire."[9][10] After leaving school in 1964, he worked for his father as an apprentice carpenter[11] between drumming for local bands. In 1964, Bonham joined his first semi-professional band, Terry Webb and the Spiders, and met his future wife, Pat Phillips, around the same time. He played in other Birmingham bands such as The Nicky James Movement and The Senators, with whom he made a single, "She's a Mod", in 1964, at Hollick and Taylor Studios in Birmingham.[12] Bonham took up drumming full-time. Two years later, he joined A Way of Life. After the band's demise, Bonham joined a blues group called Crawling King Snakes, whose lead singer was Robert Plant.[13]


In 1967, Bonham agreed to return to A Way of Life while keeping in touch with Plant. Plant formed Band of Joy and chose Bonham as the drummer. The band recorded demos but no album. In 1968, American singer Tim Rose toured Britain and asked Band of Joy to open his concerts. When Rose returned months later, Bonham joined Rose's band.[13] Bonham may have played on the April 1968 recording of Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" although this is disputed.

Personal life[edit]

Bonham had a younger brother, Mick Bonham (1950–2000), a disc jockey, author and photographer, and a younger sister, Deborah Bonham (born 1962), a singer-songwriter. Bonham's mother, Joan, died aged 85–86 on 10 February 2011.[26][27] She sang for The Zimmers,[28] a 40-member band set up as a result of a BBC documentary on the treatment of the elderly.[29] Bonham's cousin Billy (born 1950) played keyboards for Terry Reid and Ace Kefford.[30]


Bonham was married to Pat Phillips, and the couple had two children. Zoë Bonham (born 10 June 1975) is a singer-songwriter who appears at Led Zeppelin conventions. Jason Bonham (born 15 July 1966) is a drummer who has recorded or toured with Sammy Hagar and the Circle, Black Country Communion, UFO, Foreigner and Bonham. Jason played with Led Zeppelin at their Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary reunion show on 15 May 1988 and again on 10 December 2007 at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert. A 1973 film clip of seven-year-old Jason playing drums appears in the Led Zeppelin film The Song Remains the Same. Zoë and Jason appeared at the induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin.

Legacy[edit]

Reception[edit]

For music critics who were not receptive to the hard rock aspects of Led Zeppelin's sound, Bonham's playing was sometimes characterized (along with the other elements of Led Zeppelin's music) as bombastic and lacking a sense of swing. For example, Rolling Stone's Jim Miller wrote the following in 1975, while reviewing Physical Graffiti: "Bonham ... is a steak-and-potatoes percussionist, handpicked, one assumes, for his ability to supply a plodding, stolid, rock-solid bottom—no one has ever accused Led Zeppelin of swinging."[44] In the 2012 documentary Beware of Mr. Baker, Eric Clapton reinforced the idea that Bonham's playing lacked subtlety, and that Bonham and his contemporary Keith Moon of the Who were not equals in terms of musicianship to Ginger Baker, Clapton's drummer in the 1960s rock band Cream. "No, no, no, no, [scoffs]. Ginger was nothing like those players. His musical capabilities are full spectrum. He can write and compose and arrange, and he has an ear, and he is harmonic. He is a fully formed musician."[45]


Since his death, however, Bonham's reputation has continued to grow beyond the world of hard rock, and his playing is now commonly recognised by critics and musicians as worthy of close study. Modern Drummer had the following to say about Bonham in 2010. "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."[2]

Influence[edit]

Rock drummers influenced by Bonham include Roger Taylor,[46] Joey Kramer,[47] Lee Kerslake,[48] Neil Peart,[49] Dave Grohl,[50] Tommy Lee,[51] Peter Criss,[52] Chad Smith,[53] Dave Lombardo,[54] Brad Wilk,[55] John Dolmayan,[56] Ian Mosley,[57] Yoshiki,[58] and Shinya.[59] Phil Collins, who became a drummer for Plant's solo career, told Plant he wanted to play with him because he "loved" Bonham's drumming.[60]


Grohl said: "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."[61] Smith remarked: "To me, hands down, John Bonham was the best rock drummer ever. The style and the sound was so identifiable to one person. Any drum set that he would play, it sounded like him."[62] Mike Portnoy said: "He was one of the all-time greats. He was just rock solid, and one of a kind. His swing and his feel is unparalleled. Nobody played like John Bonham, and still to this day, nobody really can play like John Bonham – as much as everybody tries. He will forever be one of the greatest rock drummers in the history of music. And he deserves it."[63] Other musicians also paid tribute. John Paul Jones said Bonham was a "bass player's dream".[64] Page has commented: "One of the marvellous things about John Bonham which made things very easy [for a producer] was 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."[65]


Bonham's drumming has been widely sampled in hip hop music; for example, the Beastie Boys sampled "Moby Dick", "The Ocean", and "When the Levee Breaks" on their debut album Licensed to Ill.[66] The drum beat of the popular song "Return to Innocence" by Enigma was sampled from the Led Zeppelin song "When the Levee Breaks".[67]

Bonham, Mick (2003). Bonham by Bonham: My Brother John. Solihull: Icarus Publications.  0-9545717-0-3.

ISBN

Bonham, Mick (2005). John Bonham: The Powerhouse Behind Led Zeppelin. Southbank Publishing.  1-904915-11-6.

ISBN

Lewis, Dave (1990). . Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-711-92416-1.

Led Zeppelin: A Celebration

Paul McCartney & Wings. Archived 10 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine (box set).

Wings at the Speed of Sound

Power, Michael (2016). No Quarter: The Three Lives of Jimmy Page. . ISBN 978-1-4683-1214-0.

Omnibus Press

Prato, Greg (2020). BONZO: 30 Rock Drummers Remember the Legendary John Bonham. Independently published.  979-8-645-37000-8.

ISBN

Welch, Chris & Nicholls, Geoff (2001). John Bonham: A Thunder of Drums. San Francisco: Backbeat Books.  0-87930-658-0.

ISBN

Led Zeppelin official site

JohnBonham.co.uk

Drummerworld John Bonham page

John Bonham videos, pictures, and quotes at TotalDrumsets.com

The 23 John Henry Bonham Drum Outtakes

at IMDb

John Bonham