John Bonham

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

John Bonham was an English musician, the drummer of Led Zeppelin. He was known for his speed, power, fast single-foot bass drum and sense of groove, and is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential drummers of all time. He was born in Redditch, Worcestershire, in 1948. At five he built a drum kit out of tins and coffee cans, at ten he was given a snare drum and at fifteen a complete drum kit. He was largely self-taught and was influenced by Max Roach, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.

Music and breakthrough

After school he worked as an apprentice carpenter for his father and played in local bands, including two with Robert Plant. In 1968, after the Yardbirds broke up, Jimmy Page formed a new band and Plant suggested Bonham. Page and manager Peter Grant saw him drumming for Tim Rose in a London club. Thus Led Zeppelin came into being, at first as the New Yardbirds.

Influence

You can hear his heavy playing on songs such as Immigrant Song, When the Levee Breaks, Kashmir and The Ocean, and in his drum solo Moby Dick, which often lasted twenty minutes. Later he added congas, timpani and a gong. Besides hard rock he also played funk and Latin influences. He also worked on records by Lulu, among others. Bonham died in 1980. He influenced drummers such as Dave Grohl, Neil Peart and Chad Smith.

Listening