John Bonham

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Biography

John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948& nbsp;– 25 September 1980) was an English musician and songwriter, best known as the drummer of Led Zeppelin . Bonham was esteemed for his speed, power, fast right foot, distinctive sound, and "feel" for the groove (popular music)|groove .. Allmusic He is widely considered to be one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music by many drummers, other musicians, and commentators in the industry.. Stylus Magazine . Modern Drummer|Modern Drummer Magazine . Gigwise.com Chris Welch . . Drum Magazine . Retrieved 1 June 2010. Over 30 years after his death, Bonham continues to garner awards and praise, including a Rolling Stone readers' pick in 2011 placing him in first place of the magazine's "best drummers of all time".

Biography

Early years

Bonham was born on 31 May 1948, in Redditch , Worcestershire, England, to Joan and Jack Bonham. He began learning to play drums at the age of five, making a drum kit out of containers and coffee tins, imitating his idols Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich . His mother gave him a snare drum at the age of ten. He received his first proper drum kit from his father at fifteen, a Premier Percussion set. Bonham never took any formal drum lessons, though as a teen he would get advice from other Redditch drummers. Between 1962–63, while still at school, Bonham joined the Blue Star Trio, and Gerry Levene & the Avengers.

Bonham attended Lodge Farm Secondary Modern School, where his headmaster once wrote in his school report card that "He will either end up a dustman or a millionaire".Ian Fortnam, "Dazed & confused", Classic Rock Magazine : Classic Rock Presents Led Zeppelin , 2008, p. 38.Chris Welch and Geoff Nicholls (2001), John Bonham: A Thunder of Drums , page 15. Retrieved 7 September 2008 After leaving school in 1964, he worked for his father as an apprentice carpenteribid, page 18. in between drumming for different 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 also played in other Birmingham bands such as The Nicky James Movement and The Senators, who released a moderately successful single "She's a Mod (subculture)|Mod ," in 1964. Bonham then took up drumming full-time. Two years later, he joined A Way of Life, but the band soon became inactive. Desperate for a regular income, he joined a blues group called Crawling King Snakes, whose lead singer was a young Robert Plant .

In 1967, A Way of Life asked Bonham to return to the group, and he agreed—though throughout this period, Plant kept in contact with Bonham. When Plant decided to form Band of Joy , Bonham was first choice as drummer. The band recorded a number of demos but no album. In 1968 American singer Tim Rose toured Britain and invited Band of Joy to open his concerts. When Rose returned for another tour months later, Bonham was formally invited by the singer to drum for his band, which gave him a regular income.

Led Zeppelin

After the break-up of The Yardbirds , guitarist Jimmy Page was forming a new band when he recruited Robert Plant , who in turn suggested Bonham. Page's choices for drummer included Procol Harum 's B.J. Wilson , and session drummers Clem Cattini and Aynsley Dunbar . Ginger Baker was also rumoured to be on Page's list. However, upon seeing Bonham drum for Tim Rose at a club in Hampstead , north London, in July 1968, Page and manager Peter Grant (music manager)|Peter Grant were instantly convinced that he was the perfect fit for the new project, first known as the New Yardbirds and later as Led Zeppelin.Mat Snow, “Apocalypse Then”, Q (magazine)|Q magazine, December 1990, p. 76.

Despite an intensive campaign to snare the drummer, Bonham was initially reluctant to join the band. Plant sent eight telegram s to Bonham's pub, the "Three Men in a Boat", in Walsall , which were followed by 40 telegrams from Grant. However, at the same time he was also receiving lucrative offers from established artists Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe . Eventually, Bonham accepted Grant's offer. He later recalled, "I decided I liked their music better than Cocker's or Farlowe's."

His famous drum solo, first entitled "Pat's Delight," later renamed " Moby Dick (instrumental)|Moby Dick ", would often last for 30 minutes and regularly featured his use of bare hands to achieve different sound effects. Bonham's action sequence for the film, The Song Remains the Same (film)|The Song Remains the Same , featured him in a drag race at Santa Pod Raceway to the sound of his signature drum solo, "Moby Dick". In Led Zeppelin concert tours after 1969, Bonham would expand his basic kit to include conga s, orchestral timpani , and a symphonic gong . Bonham is also credited (by the Dallas Times Herald ) with the first in-concert use of electronic timpani drum synthesisers (most likely made by Syndrum ) during a performance of the song " Kashmir (song)|Kashmir " in Dallas , Texas in 1977. Many modern hip hop music|rappers would later heavily Sampling (music)|sample his drumming and incorporate it into their compositions, such as Beastie Boys , who sampled "Moby Dick," "The Ocean," and "When the Levee Breaks."Duffell, Daniel. Making Music with Samples (2005): 181

During his time with Led Zeppelin, Bonham was also an avid collector of antique sports cars and motorcycles, which he kept on his family's farm called The Old Hyde. He bought The Plough pub in the nearby village of Shenstone, Worcestershire|Shenstone , which shows signs of conversion work to allow him to drive his bikes or cars right behind the bar. This was not the pub featured in the film The Song Remains the Same (film)|The Song Remains the Same . It was the New Inn, which is currently boarded up, the only clue to its famous past being a picture hanging close to the bar.

Work outside Led Zeppelin

As well as recording with Led Zeppelin, Bonham also found time to play on sessions for other artists. In 1969 Bonham appeared on The Family Dogg 's A Way of Life (album)|A Way of Life , with Page and Jones. Bonham also sessioned for Screaming Lord Sutch on his album Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends in 1970. He played drums on Lulu (singer)|Lulu 's 1971 song "Everybody Clap," originally written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. In 1972 he played drums on a Maurice Gibb produced album by Jimmy Stevens called ''Don't Freak Me Out in the UK and Paid My Dues in the US, credited as Gemini (given his star sign). Later in his career, Bonham drummed for his Birmingham friend, Roy Wood , on his 1979 album, On the Road Again'', and on Wings (band)|Wings ' album Back to the Egg on the tracks " Rockestra Theme " and "So Glad to See You Here". Bonham was the Wedding ceremony participants#Best man|best man of Black Sabbath|Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi at his wedding ceremony.

In 1974, Bonham appeared in the film Son of Dracula (1974 film)| Son of Dracula , playing drums in Count Downe's ( Harry Nilsson ) backing band. This was an Apple Corps|Apple film directed by Freddie Francis . Bonham appeared in an overcrowded drum line-up including Keith Moon and Ringo Starr on the soundtrack album.

Death

On 24 September 1980, Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios (UK)|Bray Studios for an upcoming tour of the United States—the band's first since 1977. During the journey, Bonham asked to stop for breakfast, where he drank four quadruple vodka s (sixteen shots, between 400–560 ml). He then continued to drink heavily after arriving at the rehearsals. A halt was called to the rehearsals late in the evening and the band retired to Page's house, the Old Mill House in Clewer , Windsor, Berkshire|Windsor . After midnight on the 25th, Bonham fell asleep and was taken to bed and placed on his side. Benji LeFevre (who had replaced Richard Cole as Led Zeppelin's tour manager) and John Paul Jones found him dead the next afternoon.Chris Welch (1994) Led Zeppelin , London: Orion Books. ISBN 0-85797-930-3, pp. 92–94. Bonham was 32 years old.

Weeks later at the coroner's inquest, it emerged that in the twenty-four hours before he died, John Bonham had consumed forty shots of vodka which resulted in him vomiting and subsequently inhaling his vomit causing asphyxiation. A verdict of accidental death was returned at an inquest held on 27 October 1980. An autopsy found no other drugs in Bonham's body. John Bonham's body was cremated and his ashes were interred on 12 October 1980, at Rushock Parish Church, Worcestershire . His headstone reads:

Despite media rumours that drummers including Cozy Powell , Phil Collins , Carmine Appice , Barriemore Barlow , Roger Meddows-Taylor|Roger Taylor , Simon Kirke or Bev Bevan , among others, would join the group as his replacement, the remaining members decided to disband Led Zeppelin after Bonham's death. They issued a press statement on 4 December 1980, confirming that the band would not continue without their drummer. "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." It was simply signed "Led Zeppelin".

Family

John Bonham had two siblings; his younger brother, Mick Bonham (1951–2000), was a disc jockey, author and photographer and his younger sister, Deborah Bonham (born in 1962) is a singer-songwriter.

Bonham was married to Pat Phillips, and the couple had two children; his daughter Zoë Bonham (born July 1975), who is a singer-songwriter and also appears regularly at Led Zeppelin conventions and awards, and his son Jason Bonham (born 1966), a rock drummer who has gained success with various bands including UFO (band)|UFO , Foreigner (band)|Foreigner , and Bonham (band)|Bonham . He currently plays in a band called Black Country Communion which includes Glenn Hughes , Derek Sherinian , and Joe Bonamassa . They recorded an album called Black Country (album)|Black Country in 2010. On 10 December 2007, he played with Led Zeppelin on the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert , as well as their previous reunion at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show on 15 May 1988. A 1970 film clip of a four-year-old Jason playing drums appears in the Led Zeppelin film The Song Remains the Same (film)|The Song Remains the Same . Zoë and Jason appeared at the induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 along with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin.

John's mother, Joan Bonham, died aged 81 on 10 February 2011.. Accessed February 2011 She was one of the lead vocalists for The Zimmers , a 40-member band set up as a result of a BBC documentary on the treatment of the elderly.

Bonham's cousin Billy Bonham (born 1950), also played keyboards for Terry Reid and Ace Kefford .

Legacy

Awards and accolades

While Bonham is widely considered to be one of the greatest and most influential rock drummers by other musicians and commentators in the industry, he continues to enjoy his greatest acclaim from fans, and several opinion polls and critic lists continue to list him in first place before any other drummer in rock history. In 2007, Stylus Magazine|Stylus magazine rated Bonham number 1 on its list of the 50 greatest rock drummers, as did the online music magazine Gigwise.com in 2008, and a Rolling Stone reader's poll where he "led the list by a significant margin" in 2011. Bonham was ranked at no. 1 on '' Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock's 2005 list of "50 Greatest Drummers in Rock", and Modern Drummer '' magazine describes him as "the greatest rock 'n' roll drummer in history." In September 2008, Bonham topped the Blabbermouth.net 's list of "Rockers fans want brought back to life", ahead of Elvis Presley and Freddie Mercury .. Music Radar Rhythm (music magazine)|Rhythm magazine voted him the greatest drummer ever, topping their reader's poll to determine the "50 greatest drummers of all time" for its October 2009 issue.. MusicRadar . At the end of the BBC Two series '' I'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band! on 5 June 2010, John Bonham was named the best drummer of all time.. BBC

John Bonham has been described by Allmusic as one of the most important, well-known and influential drummers in rock. Adam Budofsky, managing editor of Modern Drummer magazine, writes "If the king of rock 'n' roll was Elvis Presley, then the king of rock drumming was certainly John Bonham."Adam Budofsky, The drummer: 100 years of rhythmic power and invention , Hal Leonard Corporation , ISBN 1-4234-0567-6, p.63.

Influence on notable musicians and tributes

Many rock drummers were influenced by John Bonham's work with Led Zeppelin. A few of them include Joey Kramer , Lee Kerslake , Tony Thompson , Dave Grohl , Tommy Lee , Peter Criss , Stewart Copeland , Chad Smith and Dave Lombardo .

Several of these drummers have testified to Bonham's influence, such as Roger Meddows-Taylor|Roger Taylor of Queen (band)|Queen , who stated:

The greatest rock 'n' roll drummer of all time was John Bonham who did things that nobody had ever even thought possible before with the drum kit. And also the greatest sound out of his drums—they sounded enormous, and just one bass drum. So fast on it that he did more with one bass drum than most people could do with three, if they could manage them. And he had technique to burn and fantastic power and tremendous feel for rock`n`roll.. IMDB

Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters , Nirvana (band)|Nirvana and Them Crooked Vultures has 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.Dave Grohl. . Rolling Stone

Similarly, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers has 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.Chad Smith. . BBC Two

Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones told '' Guitar Player 's Jas Obrecht:

John Bonham is the best at being John Bonham and doing what he does. Or did—unfortunately, he's dead. He was the best. There wasn't anyone better than John Bonham at doing that, and thank goodness we've got some records so that you can hear it.

Eric Carr , former drummer of Kiss (band)|Kiss , stated:

At least 85% of all of the rock drummers today have gotten influences from Bonham, and all have recognised how great he was. Every band in the business – guaranteed – has tried to do something with that Bonham sound, which shows that everyone from A to Z has listened to him.

Musicians other than drummers have also paid tribute to Bonham. John Paul Jones, who formed a very tight musical partnership with him as Led Zeppelin's power rhythm section, stated that Bonham was a "bass player's dream".Sam Rapallo, , October 1997. Jimmy Page has also commented:

One of the marvelous 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. National Public Radio , , 2 June 2003.

A major tribute for John Bonham entitled "Bonzo: The Groove Remains the Same—A Night In Honor of John Henry Bonham" was performed on 25 September 2010—the 30th anniversary of his death. Notable drummers that appeared at the tribute included Steven Adler , Vinny Appice , Kenny Aronoff , Frankie Banali , Jason Bonham, Fred Coury , Jimmy D'Anda , James Kottak , Chris Slade , Chad Smith, Brian Tichy , Joe Travers and Simon Wright (musician)|Simon Wright , while Carmine Appice performed via video.. Gibson Guitar Corporation|Gibson

Bonham is also admired outside of rock music. In 1988, for example, the Pulitzer Prize|Pulitzer laureate Christopher Rouse composed Bonham (Rouse)| Bonham in tribute to the drummer.

Equipment

Drums

Bonham initially used Premier drums, but in the late 1960s was introduced to Ludwig drums by Carmine Appice of Vanilla Fudge .Flans, Robyn. "Carmine Appice: Power Drumming Forever". Modern Drummer. Vol. 31 No. 4. Apr 2007 Throughout the remainder of his career, Bonham was a major endorser of Ludwig drums|Ludwig Drums . In concert, he used a wide range of different drum kits, but mostly of the same sizes. From 1970 onwards, he used a 14×26" bass drum , which was the most identifiable part of his setup. He used 16×16", 16×18" and (on certain live performances) a 18×20" floor tom , while occasionally changing his tom sizes, which included sizes 12×14", 10×14", and 12×15".

Studio and touring kit (1969–1970)

12×15" Tom (mounted on snare stand, and later a Rogers mount was added)

16×16" Floor Tom

16×18" Floor Tom

14×26" Bass Drum

(Bonham did have a second bass drum that can be seen in the "Communication Breakdown" promo; however, it was never used in any recordings. This double bass drum set-up was once used live during a tour with Vanilla Fudge. Also included a 20" floor tom which were rarely used due to their size.)

Studio and touring kit (1970–1973)

Drums —Ludwig Green Sparkle

*10×14" Tom (mounted on a rail consolette mount)

*16×16" Floor Tom

*16×18" Floor Tom

*14×26" Bass Drum

*6.5×14" Ludwig-Musser|Ludwig Chrome Supraphonic 402 Snare

*29" Machine Timpani (1972+)

*29" 32" Universal Timpani (1972+)

* Ludwig Speed King Bass pedal

John was known for telling the band that the Green Sparkle kit was his favourite and best sounding kit, and it was used on all recordings from IV onwards, excluding Presence where he used the Silver Sparkle kit.

' " The Song Remains the Same " kit (1973–1975)
The drums were switched out depending upon the night and what Bonham felt like using—according to A Thunder of Drums

Drums —Ludwig Amber Vistalite

*10×14" Tom

*16×16" Floor Tom

*16×18" Floor Tom

*14×26" Bass Drum

*6.5×14" Ludwig-Musser|Ludwig Chrome Supraphonic 402 Snare

*29" Machine Timpani

*32" Universal Timpani

*Ludwig speed king bass pedal

A spare bass drum was kept, as these drums were renowned for cracking

Touring kit (1977–1980)

Drums —Ludwig Stainless Steel

*12×15" Tom (mounted on a rail consolette mount)

*16×16" Floor Tom

*16×18" Floor Tom

*14×26" Bass Drum

*6.5×14" Ludwig-Musser|Ludwig Chrome Supraphonic 402 Snare—42 Strand Snare (vs.20)John Bonham: A Thunder of Drums By Chris Welch, Geoff Nicholls

*29" Machine Timpani (1972+)

*32" Universal Timpani (1972+)

* Ludwig Speed King Bass pedal

Cymbals

Bonham used Paiste|Paiste Cymbals exclusively. His cymbal setup included Paiste Giant Beat cymbals until 1970. The Paiste Endorsement Agreement shows he experimented with cymbals including the 602 series before changing to a complete set of what is now the 2002 series in '71, which he used for the rest of his career.

His Paiste "Giant Beat" series cymbal setup (1969–1970):

15" Giant Beat Hi-Hats (w/ hi-hat tambourine)

18" Giant Beat Multi

20" Giant Beat Multi

24" Giant Beat Ride

His Paiste "2002" series cymbal setup (1970–1980):

15" 2002 Sound Edge Hi-Hats (w/ hi-hat tambourine)

24" 2002 Ride

18" 2002 Medium Crash

20" 2002 Medium Crash

18" 2002 Medium Crash (only some of the time)

38" Paiste Symphonic Gong

Ludwig Cowbell (made by Paiste)

Drum heads

Bonham played Remo drum heads throughout his career. For his wood drums, he always used Remo Coated Emperors (or Ludwig equivalent) on his batter sides, while using coated ambassadors on the resonant side of his toms, and a Diplomat or clear Ambassador on the resonant side of his snare drum. The bass drums front head was always a medium weight head, for instance a Remo Coated Ambassador. The batter head was always tuned medium-tight, (almost jazz-like) and the resonant head was always tuned way up, for a full, round sound. He never put anything inside his bass drum (although his band members have said that he would sometimes fill it with crumpled tin foil, so that it would project). He only used a felt strip on the batter side occasionally. The bass drum heads were also tuned a lot higher than normal.

On the Vistalites he used Remo CS black dots on the batter side of the toms and the bass drum and clear Ambassadors on the resonate side. The snare always had a coated Emperor on the batter side and an Ambassador or a Diplomat on the snare side. He sometimes used a Gretsch 42-strand snare wires to fatten the snare sound.

Bass drum pedal

Bonham used Ludwig-Musser|Ludwig Speed King Pedal (with tight spring tension) throughout his career. His trademark bass drum "triplets",—played interchangeably with doubles and singles—which are most notable in " Good Times Bad Times ", were played on a single bass pedal, and not a double bass pedal. Unlike some contemporary drummers, Bonham did not use a double-bass drum kit. He did once own one (it was featured in the demo "Communication Breakdown"), but it was removed from his kit by the rest of the band. John Bonham did play double bass drums while the band was touring with the band Vanilla Fudge .
It is possible to hear the squeak of the pedal in several recordings, including " Since I've Been Loving You ", The Ocean (Led Zeppelin song)|"The Ocean" , " The Rain Song ", Over the Hills and Far Away (Led Zeppelin song)|"Over the Hills and Far Away ", " Dancing Days " Houses of the Holy (song)|"Houses of the Holy" , " Ten Years Gone ", " Bonzo's Montreux " and the live version of " I Can't Quit You Baby " on Coda (album)|Coda and All My Love (song)|"All My Love" on In Through The Out Door . Jimmy Page later commented:

Tribute kits

In 2005, Ludwig began issuing Bonham reissue kits in green sparkle maple and amber Vistalite. Ludwig currently offers "Zep Kits" in their Vistalite and Classic lines, with a 26" bass drum, a 14" tom mounted on a snare stand, and 16" and 18" floor toms. In 2007 they issued a limited edition stainless steel kit similar to the ones Bonham used on the last Led Zeppelin tours in the 1970s. The stainless steel shells were manufactured by Ronn Dunnett of Dunnett Classic Drums .

Copyright Citations

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1. Bad Company 2. Keith Moon 3. Led Zeppelin 4. Pete Townshend 5. Red Hot Chili Peppers 6. Robert Plant 7. Rush 8. Yes 9. Foreigner 10. Jimmy Page 11. Neil Peart

Pop & Rock Music Artists

John Bonham

Biography

Biography

Early years

Led Zeppelin

Work outside Led Zeppelin

Death

Family

Legacy

Awards and accolades

Influence on notable musicians and tributes

Equipment

Drums

Cymbals

Drum heads

Bass drum pedal

Tribute kits

References

Sources

External links

Copyright Citations