John Bonham | |
|---|---|
 Bonham performing withLed Zeppelin in 1973 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Henry Bonham |
| Also known as |
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| Born | (1948-05-31)31 May 1948 Redditch, Worcestershire, England |
| Died | 25 September 1980(1980-09-25) (aged 32) Clewer, Berkshire, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1962–1980 |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Website | johnbonham |
John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock bandLed Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel forgroove,[1] he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drummers in history.[2][3][4]
Bonham was born in 1948 inRedditch, Worcestershire, and took up drums at age 5, receiving asnare drum at age 10 and a full drum set at age 15. He played with multiple local bands both at school and following school, eventually playing in two different bands withRobert Plant. Following the demise ofthe Yardbirds in 1968, Bonham joined Plant, guitaristJimmy Page and bass guitaristJohn Paul Jones to formLed Zeppelin.
Bonham showcased a hard-hittinghard rock style, but also handledfunk and Latin-influenced grooves in later Led Zeppelin releases. LikeKeith Moon ofthe Who, Bonham's drum set grew in size following the band's 1969 concert tours, includingcongas ortimpani and agong. His drum solo "Moby Dick" was featured on the group'ssecond album and was a staple of their concerts, often lasting just over 20 minutes. Outside of Led Zeppelin, Bonham played drums for other artists, includingthe Family Dogg,Screaming Lord Sutch,Lulu,Jimmy Stevens andWings. Bonham played with Led Zeppelin until his sudden death at age 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 byMax Roach,Gene Krupa andBuddy Rich.[5] 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, includingDave Grohl,Neil Peart,Chad Smith andDave Lombardo. He was posthumously inducted into theRock 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.[6]
John Henry Bonham was born on 31 May 1948, inRedditch, Worcestershire, England, to Joan and Jack Bonham.[7] He began learning to play drums at age five, making a kit of containers and coffee tins, imitating his idolsMax Roach,Gene Krupa andBuddy Rich. His mother gave him asnare drum when he was 10. He received his firstdrum kit, aPremier 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[8] and Gerry Levene & the Avengers.[9]
Bonham attendedLodge Farm Secondary Modern School, where his headmaster wrote in his report that he would "either end up adustman or a millionaire."[10][11] After leaving school in 1964, he worked for his father as an apprentice carpenter[12] 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 otherBirmingham bands such asThe Nicky James Movement and The Senators, with whom he made a single, "She's aMod", in 1964, atHollick and Taylor Studios in Birmingham.[13] Bonham took up drumming full-time. Two years later, he joined A Way of Life. After the band's demise, Bonham joined ablues group called Crawling King Snakes, whose lead singer wasRobert Plant.[14]
In 1967, Bonham agreed to return to A Way of Life while keeping in touch with Plant. Plant formedBand of Joy and chose Bonham as the drummer. The band recorded demos but no album. In 1968, American singerTim Rose toured Britain and asked Band of Joy to open his concerts. When Rose returned months later, Bonham joined Rose's band.[14] Bonham may have played on the April 1968 recording ofDonovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" although this is disputed.[citation needed]
After the breakup ofthe Yardbirds in July 1968, guitaristJimmy Page formed another band and recruited Plant, who in turn suggested Bonham.[15] Page's choices for drummer includedProcol Harum'sB. J. Wilson and Paul Francis.[16] However, on seeing Bonham drum forTim Rose at a club inHampstead, north London, in July 1968, Page and managerPeter Grant were convinced he was perfect for the project, first known as the New Yardbirds and later as Led Zeppelin.[17] Bonham was initially reluctant. Plant sent eighttelegrams to Bonham's pub, the "Three Men in a Boat", inWalsall, which were followed by 40 telegrams from Grant. Bonham was also receiving more lucrative offers fromJoe Cocker andChris Farlowe but he accepted Grant's offer. He recalled, "I decided I liked their music better than Cocker's or Farlowe's."[18][19]
During Led Zeppelin'sfirst tour of the United States in December 1968, Bonham became friends withVanilla Fudge's drummer,Carmine Appice. Appice introduced him toLudwig drums, which he then used for the rest of his career.[20] His hard hitting was evident on many Led Zeppelin songs, including "Moby Dick" (Led Zeppelin II), "Immigrant Song" (Led Zeppelin III), "When the Levee Breaks" (Led Zeppelin IV), "Kashmir" (Physical Graffiti), "The Ocean" (Houses of the Holy), and "Achilles Last Stand" (Presence). Page let Bonham use a double bass drum in an early demo of "Communication Breakdown" but scratched the track because of Bonham's "over-use" of it. The studio recording of "Misty Mountain Hop" captures hisdynamics, similarly exhibited on "No Quarter".[21] On cuts from later albums, Bonham handledfunk andLatin-influenced drumming. Songs like "Royal Orleans" and "Fool in the Rain" are examples, respectively displaying a New Orleans shuffle and a half-time shuffle.[22]
His drum solo, first entitled "Pat's Delight", later "Moby Dick", often lasted 20 minutes. In some sections, he used his bare hands on his drums to imitate the sound of a phased hand drum.[23] Bonham's sequence for the filmThe Song Remains the Same featured him in a drag race atSanta Pod Raceway to the sound of his solo, "Moby Dick".[24] In Led Zeppelin tours after 1969, Bonham includedcongas, orchestraltimpani and a symphonicgong.[23]
In 1969, Bonham appeared onThe Family Dogg'sA Way of Life, with Page and Led Zeppelin bassistJohn Paul Jones. Bonham also played forScreaming Lord Sutch onLord Sutch and Heavy Friends in 1970. He played onLulu's 1971 single "Everybody Clap", written byMaurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. In 1972, he played on a Maurice Gibb-produced album byJimmy Stevens calledDon't Freak Me Out in the UK andPaid My Dues in the US, credited as "Gemini" (his star sign). He drummed for hisBirmingham friend,Roy Wood, on "Keep Your Hands on the Wheel", a single subsequently released on his 1979 album,On the Road Again, and onWings' albumBack to the Egg on the tracks "Rockestra Theme" and "So Glad to See You Here". He was also featured on Paul McCartney & Wings' "Beware My Love" demo version first recorded in 1975; it remained unreleased until 2014 with the release of the albumWings at the Speed of Sound boxset. Bonham was thebest man ofBlack Sabbath'sTony Iommi at his wedding ceremony.[25]
In 1974, Bonham appeared in the filmSon of Dracula, playing drums in Count Downe's (Harry Nilsson) band. Bonham appeared in a drum line-up includingKeith Moon andRingo Starr on the soundtrack album.[26]
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.[27][28] She sang forThe Zimmers,[29] a 40-member band set up as a result of a BBC documentary on the treatment of the elderly.[30] Bonham's cousin Billy (born 1950) played keyboards forTerry Reid andAce Kefford.[31]
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 withSammy Hagar and the Circle,Black Country Communion,UFO,Foreigner, andBonham. Jason played withLed Zeppelin at theirAtlantic Records 40th Anniversary reunion show on 15 May 1988 and again on 10 December 2007 at theAhmet Ertegun Tribute Concert. A 1973 film clip of seven-year-old Jason playing drums appears in the Led Zeppelin filmThe Song Remains the Same. He also played in the band covering "Stairway to Heaven" at Led Zeppelin's 2012 Kennedy Center Award ceremony. Zoë and Jason appeared at the induction ceremony for theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin.
On 24 September 1980, Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals atBray Studios for a tour of North America, to begin 17 October in Montreal; it was the band's first tour since 1977. During the journey, Bonham asked to stop for breakfast, where he drank four quadruplevodkascrewdrivers (16 shots, totalling between 400 and 560 ml). He continued to drink heavily at rehearsals. The band stopped rehearsing late in the evening and then went to Page's house, the Old Mill House inClewer,Windsor. After midnight on 25 September, Bonham fell asleep; someone took him to bed and placed him on his side. Jones and the tour manager Benji LeFevre found him unresponsive the next afternoon.[32] Bonham was pronounced dead at 32 years old.[33]
Theinquest on 27 October 1980 showed that in 24 hours, Bonham had consumed around 40 shots (1–1.4 litres) of 40%ABV vodka, after which he vomited and choked, a condition known aspulmonary aspiration. The finding was accidental death.[32] Apost-mortem found no other recreational drugs in Bonham's body. According toRolling Stone, Bonham had recently overcome aheroin problem and was taking an unspecified medication for anxiety and depression at the time of his death.[34][35]
Bonham's remains were cremated and his ashes interred on 12 October 1980 in the graveyard at St Michael’s Church,Rushock,Worcestershire.[33] Rather than replace Bonham, Led Zeppelin chose to disband. They said in a press release on 4 December 1980: "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."[33][36]
Bonham initially usedPremier drums, but in the late 1960s was introduced toLudwig drums byCarmine Appice.[37] Throughout the remainder of his career, Bonham endorsed Ludwig. At times, Bonham'skick drum pedal squeaked. Jimmy Page later commented:
The only real problem I can remember encountering was when we were puttingthe first boxed set together. There was an awfully squeaky bass drum pedal on "Since I've Been Loving You". It sounds louder and louder every time I hear it! [laughs]. That was something that was obviously sadly overlooked at the time.[38]
In 2005, Ludwig reissued Bonham drum kits in several styles and, in 2007, stainless steel kits similar to those Bonham used on the last Led Zeppelin tours in the 1970s.
Bonham usedPaistecymbals[39][40] andRemodrumheads.[41] His hardware was a mixture of Rogers and Ludwig, including the Ludwig Speed King pedal and Rogers Swiv-O-Matic series of hardware.[42] Initially augmenting his kit in live performances withtimbales andcongas as well as thecowbell, he soon settled on his trademarktimpani,gong andching-ring mounted on hishi-hat stand as the percussion in his setup in addition to the aforementioned cowbell.[43]
Bonham drum solos would often feature playingfloor toms and cymbals with his bare hands. He started using this technique as well as developing a finger-control style, influenced from hearing jazz recordings by drummerJoe Morello, during the early 1960s with his first band the Blue Star Trio.[44]
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 ofswing. For example,Rolling Stone'sJim Miller wrote the following in 1975, while reviewingPhysical 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."[45] In the 2012 documentaryBeware of Mr. Baker,Eric Clapton reinforced the idea that Bonham's playing lacked subtlety, and that Bonham and his contemporaryKeith Moon ofthe Who were not equals in terms of musicianship toGinger Baker, Clapton's drummer in the 1960s rock bandCream. "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."[46]
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]
Rock drummers influenced by Bonham includeRoger Taylor,[47]Joey Kramer,[48]Lee Kerslake,[49]Neil Peart,[50]Dave Grohl,[51]Tommy Lee,[52]Peter Criss,[53]Chad Smith,[54]Dave Lombardo,[55]Brad Wilk,[56]John Dolmayan,[57]Ian Mosley,[58]Yoshiki,[59] andShinya.[60]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.[61]
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."[62] 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."[63]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."[64] Other musicians also paid tribute. John Paul Jones said Bonham was a "bass player's dream".[65] 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."[66]
Bonham's drumming has been widelysampled inhip hop music; for example, theBeastie Boys sampled "Moby Dick", "The Ocean", and "When the Levee Breaks" on their debut albumLicensed to Ill.[67] The drum beat of the popular song "Return to Innocence" byEnigma was sampled from the Led Zeppelin song "When the Levee Breaks".[68]
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Bonham has been described byAllMusic as one of the most important, well-known, and influential drummers in rock.[1] Bonham was ranked No. 1 onClassic Rock's 2005 list of 50 Greatest Drummers in Rock,[69] andModern Drummer describes him as "the greatest rock 'n' roll drummer in history."[2] Adam Budofsky,managing editor ofModern Drummer, writes: "If the king of rock 'n' roll was Elvis Presley, then the king of rock drumming was certainly John Bonham."[70]
In 2007,Stylus magazine rated Bonham number one of 50 great rock drummers,[71] as didGigwise.com in 2008,[3] and in September 2008, Bonham toppedBlabbermouth.net's list of "Rockers fans want brought back to life", ahead ofElvis Presley andFreddie Mercury.[72]Rhythm magazine voted him the greatest drummer ever, topping a readers' poll to determine the "50 greatest drummers of all time" in October 2009.[73] At the end of theBBC Two seriesI'm in a Rock 'n' Roll Band! on 5 June 2010, Bonham was named best drummer of all time.[74]
"Bonz: The Groove Remains the Same—A Night in Honor of John Henry Bonham" was produced byWhitesnake drummerBrian Tichy in Los Angeles on 25 September 2010 – the 30th anniversary of his death. Notable drummers that appeared at the tribute includedSteven Adler,Vinny Appice,Kenny Aronoff,Frankie Banali,Fred Coury,Jimmy D'Anda,James Kottak,Chris Slade,Chad Smith, Joe Travers,Simon Wright, and John's son,Jason Bonham.Carmine Appice performed via video.[75] In 1988, thePulitzer laureateChristopher Rouse composed"Bonham" in tribute.
ARolling Stone reader's poll where he "led the list by a significant margin" in 2011, and in 2016, the same magazine ranked him as the greatest drummer of all time in a list of 100 Greatest Drummers of all time.[76] According to theLos Angeles Times, even after all these years, Bonham still ranks as the best drummer of all time, mentioning that "[his] beat still bangs like a mofo ... Nobody else has brought quite that balance of muscle, groove and showmanship."[77]
The surviving members of Led Zeppelin reunited to playLive Aid in 1985 and employed two drummers,Phil Collins andTony Thompson, to take his place.[78] In June 2017, John Bonham's childhood home received ablue plaque in his honour.[79]
On 31 May 2018, on what would have been Bonham's 70th birthday, a statue was unveiled in his hometown of Redditch, England, to commemorate him. The work of sculptor Mark Richards, the bronze sculpture weighs around 2.5 tonnes and was installed in Mercian Square. It is covered in anti-graffiti paint and is emblazoned with the words: "The most outstanding and original drummer of his time, John Bonham's popularity and influence continue to resonate with the world of music and beyond."[80] Following the installation of the bronze memorial on Church Green, a special music event was organised to celebrate Bonham's birthday.[81]
