Success Happy

John Henry Bonzo Bonham May 31 1948 September 25 1980

Summary: John Henry Bonzo Bonham May 31 1948 September 25 1980 was an iconic English drummer and member of the English rock band Led Zeppelin He was renowned for his power speed and feel for the groove Bonham is described by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the perfect model for all modern heavy metal and hard rock drummers that have followed him He first learned how to play drums at the age of five making a drum kit out of containers and coffee tins and copying the moves of his idols Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich His mother Joan gave him a snare drum at the age of ten and he received his first proper drum kit at the age of fifteen a Premier Percussion kit Bonham never took any drum lessons though as a teen would knock on the doors of other drummers and ask for advice After leaving Wiltan House public school some sources say he attended Bedford Modern he worked for his father Jack Bonham in the construction industry in between drumming for different local bands In 1964 Bonham joined his first band Terry Webb and the Spiders meeting his future wife Pat Phillips at a dance in Kidderminster He also played in other Birmingham bands such as The Nicky James Movement The Blue Star Trio and The Senators who released a moderately successful single She s a Mod Bonham enjoyed the experience and decided to take 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 In 1967 A Way of Life asked Bonham to return to their group and he agreed though throughout this period Plant kept in constant 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 Along with Rose singers Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe had also sought out Bonham to play in their touring bands Led Zeppelin When Jimmy Page wanted to start a band in the wake of The Yardbirds break up his first choice for singer was Terry Reid however Reid had already signed with Mickie Most for a solo career Reid suggested Robert Plant who in turn suggested Bonham who had already drummed with 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 During Led Zeppelin s first tour of the United States in December 1968 Bonham became friends with Vanilla Fudge 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 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 His famous drum solo first entitled Pat s Delight then 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 synthesisers 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 composition such as the Beastie Boys who sampled Moby Dick The Ocean and When the Levee Breaks In 1974 Bonham appeared in the film Son of Dracula playing drums in Count Downe s Harry Nilsson backing band This was an Apple film made by Ringo Starr 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 John Henry Bonzo Bonham May 31 1948 September 25 1980 was an iconic English drummer and member of the English rock band Led Zeppelin He was renowned for his power speed and feel for the groove Bonham is described by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the perfect model for all modern heavy metal and hard rock drummers that have followed him He first learned how to play drums at the age of five making a drum kit out of containers and coffee tins and copying the moves of his idols Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich His mother Joan gave him a snare drum at the age of ten and he received his first proper drum kit at the age of fifteen a Premier Percussion kit Bonham never took any drum lessons though as a teen would knock on the doors of other drummers and ask for advice After leaving Wiltan House public school some sources say he attended Bedford Modern he worked for his father Jack Bonham in the construction industry in between drumming for different local bands In 1964 Bonham joined his first band Terry Webb and the Spiders meeting his future wife Pat Phillips at a dance in Kidderminster He also played in other Birmingham bands such as The Nicky James Movement The Blue Star Trio and The Senators who released a moderately successful single She s a Mod Bonham enjoyed the experience and decided to take 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 In 1967 A Way of Life asked Bonham to return to their group and he agreed though throughout this period Plant kept in constant 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 Along with Rose singers Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe had also sought out Bonham to play in their touring bands Led Zeppelin When Jimmy Page wanted to start a band in the wake of The Yardbirds break up his first choice for singer was Terry Reid however Reid had already signed with Mickie Most for a solo career Reid suggested Robert Plant who in turn suggested Bonham who had already drummed with 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 During Led Zeppelin s first tour of the United States in December 1968 Bonham became friends with Vanilla Fudge 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 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 His famous drum solo first entitled Pat s Delight then 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 synthesisers 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 composition such as the Beastie Boys who sampled Moby Dick The Ocean and When the Levee Breaks In 1974 Bonham appeared in the film Son of Dracula playing drums in Count Downe s Harry Nilsson backing band This was an Apple film made by Ringo Starr 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

Image Dimensions: 115 x 115