Birth Name: John Henry Bonham
Also Known As: Bonzo, The Beast
Born: May 31, 1948
Place Of Birth: Redditch, Worcestershire, England
Died: September 25, 1980
Place Of Death: Clewer, Windsor, England
Age: 32
Genre(s): Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Blues-Rock, Folk Rock
Occupation(s): Musician, Songwriter
Instrument(s): Drums, Percussion
Years Active: 1962–1980
Label(s): Atlantic, Swan Song
Associated Acts: Led Zeppelin, Band of Joy
Website: www.ledzeppelin.com
John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham (May 31, 1948 – September 25, 1980) was an English drummer and songwriter, best known as the drummer of the band Led Zeppelin. Bonham was born in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, to Joan and Jack Bonham.
He first learned how 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 the age of fifteen, a Premier Percussion kit. Bonham never took any formal drum lessons, though as a teen he would get advice from other Redditch drummers. While still at school, Bonham would occasionally perform as a stand-in drummer for bands such as the Blue Star Trio between 1962-63, and Gerry Levene & the Avengers in 1963.
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". After leaving school in 1964, he worked for his father as an apprentice carpenter 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," in 1964. Bonham took up drumming full-time. Two years later, he joined A Way of Life, but the band soon became inactive. In desperation for a regular income, he joined a blues group called Crawling King Snakes whose lead singer was a young Robert Plant.
After the break-up of The Yardbirds, guitarist Jimmy Page met Robert Plant, who in turn suggested Bonham. Bonham already knew Plant, and knew Page from session work, as well as John Paul Jones. 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 in Hampstead, north London, in July 1968, Page and manager Peter Grant were instantly convinced that he was the perfect fit for the new project.
Despite an intensive campaign to snare the drummer, Bonham was initially reluctant to join the band. Plant sent eight telegrams to Bonham's pub, the "Three Men in a Boat", in Walsall, which were followed by forty telegrams from Grant. However, at the same time he was also receiving lucrative offers from established artists Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe. In the end, though, Bonham accepted Grant's offer. He later recalled, "I decided I liked their music better than Cocker's or Farlowe's."
During Led Zeppelin's first tour of the United States in December 1968, Bonham became friends with Vanilla Fudge's drummer, Carmine Appice. Appice introduced him to Ludwig Drums, which he then used for the rest of his career. Bonham used the longest and heaviest sticks available (size 2B), which he referred to as "trees." His hard hitting style was displayed to great effect on many Led Zeppelin songs, including "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). The studio recording of "Misty Mountain Hop" perfectly captures his keen sense of dynamics, and this is similarly exhibited by his precise drumming on "No Quarter." On several cuts from later albums, Bonham rather adeptly handled funk and Latin-influenced drumming. Songs like "Royal Orleans" and "Fool in the Rain" are good examples, the latter displaying great skill with a New Orleans shuffle and a samba rhythm.
He was renowned for his power, fast right foot, distinctive sound and "feel" for the groove. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music by other musicians and commentators in the industry, and one of the most important and influential musicians of his era. Bonham is described as "The perfect model for all hard rock drummers that have followed him".
His famous drum solo, first entitled "Pat's Delight," later renamed "Moby Dick," would often last for half an hour and regularly featured his use of bare hands to achieve different sound effects. In Led Zeppelin concert tours after 1969, Bonham would expand his basic kit to include congas, 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 synthesizers (most likely made by Syndrum) during a performance of the song "Kashmir" in Dallas, Texas in 1977. Many modern rappers would later heavily sample his drumming and incorporate it into their compositions, such as Beastie Boys, who sampled "Moby Dick," "The Ocean," and "When the Levee Breaks."
Bonham performing during Led Zeppelin's 1977 North American TourIn 1974, Bonham appeared in the film Son of Dracula, playing drums in Count Downe's (Harry Nilsson) backing band. This was an Apple film directed by Freddie Francis. Bonham appeared in an overcrowded drum line-up including Keith Moon and Starr on the soundtrack album. Bonham's action sequence for the 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."
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 even bought The Plough pub in the nearby village of Shenstone, which shows signs of conversion work to allow him to drive his bikes or cars right behind the bar. This was not, however, the pub featured in the film The Song Remains the Same. It was in fact the New Inn which is currently boarded up, the only clue to its famous past being a picture hanging close to the bar.
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, with Page and Jones. Bonham also sessioned for Screaming Lord Sutch on his album Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends in 1970. He also played drums on Lulu's 1971 song "Everybody Clap," originally written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie. Later in his career, Bonham drummed for his Birmingham friend, Roy Wood, on his 1979 album, On the Road Again, and for Wings on Paul McCartney's Back to the Egg Rockestra project.
On September 25, 1980, Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for an upcoming tour of the U.S.; the band's first since 1977. During the journey Bonham had asked to stop for breakfast, where he downed four quadruple vodkas (roughly sixteen shots, amounting to about 1/2 of an imperial quart or 473 ml). He then continued to drink heavily when he arrived 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. After midnight, Bonham had fallen 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. Bonham lived to the age of 32. He died on September 25, 1980, due to pulmonary edema.
Weeks later at the coroner's inquest, it emerged that in the 24 hours before he died, John Bonham had consumed forty measures of vodka which resulted in pulmonary edema: water-logging of the lungs caused by inhalation of vomit. A verdict of accidental death was returned at an inquest held on October 27. An autopsy had found no other drugs in Bonham's body. John Bonham was cremated and on October 12, 1980 interred at Rushock Parish Church, Worcestershire. His headstone reads:
“Cherished memories of a loving husband and father, John Henry Bonham who died Sept. 25th 1980. Aged 32 years. He will always be remembered in our hearts. Goodnight My Love, God Bless.”
Despite media rumors that drummers including Cozy Powell, Carmine Appice, Barriemore Barlow, 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 December 4, 1980, confirming that the band would not continue without its 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), who is a singer-songwriter.
Bonham was married to Pat Phillips, and the couple had two children; his daughter Zoë Bonham (born 1975), who is a singer-songwriter and also appears regularly at Led Zeppelin conventions and awards and his son Jason Bonham (born 1966), who is a rock drummer, who has gained success with various bands including Foreigner and Bonham. In December 2007, he played with Led Zeppelin on their one-off reunion show, as well as their previous reunion at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary show in 1988. A 1970 film clip of a 4-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 along with the surviving members of Led Zeppelin. His mother, Joan Bonham, is 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.
Equipment
Drums:
Throughout his career, Bonham was a major endorser of Ludwig Drums since the late 1960s. In concert, he used a wide range of different drum kits, but mostly of the same sizes. From 1970 onwards, he used a 14"x26" bass drum, which was the most identifiable part of his setup. He used 16"x16" and 16"x18" floor toms, while occasionally changing his tom sizes, which included sizes 13"x13", 10"x14" and 13"x15".
Studio and Touring Kit (1971-1973)
Drums - Ludwig Green Sparkle:
14" x 10" Tom (mounted on snare stand)
16" x 16" Floor Tom
18" x 16" Floor Tom
26" x 14" Bass Drum
14" x 6.5" 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 favorite 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)
Drums - Ludwig Amber Vistalite:
14" x 10" Tom
16" x 16" Floor Tom
18" x 16" Floor Tom
26" x 14" Bass Drum
14" x 6.5" Ludwig Chrome Supraphonic 402 Snare
29" Machine Timpani
29" 32" Universal Timpani
Ludwig Speed King Bass Pedal
A spare bass drum was kept, as these drums were renowned for cracking or (from his hard foot) failing bass drum heads.
Cymbals:
Bonham used Paiste Cymbals exclusively, until the time of his death. 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 Set-up:
15" 2002 Sound Edge Hi-Hat
24" 2002 Ride
18" 2002 Crash (Switched to 18" 2002 Medium Crash in 1973)
16" Paiste 2002 Medium Crash
36" - 38" Paiste Symphonic Gong
Drum Heads:
Bonham played Remo drum heads throughout his career. For his wood drums, he always used Remo Coated Emperor's (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 resonate head was always tuned way up, for a full, round sound. He never put anything inside his bass drum. He only used a felt strip on the batter side occasionally. The bass drum heads were also tuned a lot higher than one would think. Some have claimed he used to make "Ritchie Rings" cut out of old drum heads for his front bass drum head, but this anomaly is simply the surrounding light producing a shadow from the hoop on the white drum head producing the ring effect (you can produce the same effect with a front bass drum head, as long as the head is coated).
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 Speed King Pedal (AKA "Squeak king") (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", "The Rain Song", "Houses Of The Holy", "Ten Years Gone", "Bonzo's Montreux" and the live version of "I Can't Quit You Baby" on Coda and "All My Love" on In Through The Out Door.
Jimmy Page later commented:
"The only real problem I can remember encountering was when we were putting the 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."
Tribute Kits
In 2005, Ludwig began issuing Bonham reissue kits in Green Sparkle, Maple and Amber Vistalite. Ludwig currently offers various "Zep Kits" in their Vistalite, Classic, and Accent lines, with 26" bass drums, a 13" or 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.
