John Bonham
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| John Bonham | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | John Henry Bonham | |
| Also known as | Bonzo | |
| Born | May 31 1948 Redditch, Worcestershire, England, |
|
| Died | September 25 1980 (aged 32) Clewer, Windsor, England |
|
| Type(s) of music | Hard rock, blues-rock, folk rock | |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter | |
| Instrument(s) | drums & Percussion | |
| Years active | 1964-1980 | |
| Label(s) | Atlantic, Swan Song | |
| Associated acts |
Led Zeppelin, Band of Joy, Terry Web and the Spiders | |
| Website | www.ledzeppelin.com | |
John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham (May 31 1948–September 25, 1980) was an English rock drummer, and was known for being a member of London hard rock band Led Zeppelin.
John Bonhams career started when he joined the Band of Joy in 1967 with singer Robert Plant later to be part of Led Zeppelin. After enjoyong some modest success the band broke up as did the Yardbirds. Soon After this lead guitarist for the Yardbirds, Jimmy Page decided to start a band known as the new Yardbirds that would feature Robert Plant on vocals, John Paul Jones on Bass and Keyboards, John Henry Bonham on Drums and Jimmy playing Guitar.
Soon after some small gigs throughout England the bband came out with their first album creatively named "Led Zeppelin I." John Bonhams talents can be seen on such songs as Goood Times, Bad Times, when Bonzo shows of his amazing single bass drum skip throughout the song. Soon after this the band left for a tour of America on Boxing Day(Dec. 26 1969). After a somewhat succsesful tour Zeppelin came out with their second album showing off just how creative they were by naming it "Led Zeppelin II." This albums Bonzo highlight comes in the form of Moby Dick a drums solo lead up to by some great page solo's. Throughout the solo Bonzo shows off his amazing talents by playing hand drums and continuing to use his godly right foot.
By this time Led Zeppelin was begining to become more and more well known and with the release of their third album (which was a suprise because it was named "Led Zeppelin III") they had become one of the biggest bands in the world. Bonzo's song on this album was Out On The Tiles and it was written by Bonzo. Listening to this song you can truly get a feel for Bonham's drumming prowess.
Bit by bit Zeppelins and Bonhams careers took off and they came out with such albums as Led Zeppelin IV (was originally un-named), Houses of the Holy and Physical Grafiti. During this time Zeppelin was touring non-stop and Bonzo was amazing audiences around the world with Moby dick. In the studio he was renowned for such works as "Four Sticks", "The Ocean", and "In My Time Of Dying".
Soon after Physical Grafiti they came to a halt because of a car crash involving Robert Plant. In this time off besides spending time with his family and tinkering with cars Bonham worked on their next album, "Presence". This album opens with a ten minute Tour De Force called, "Achilles Last Stand" and at a speed of 144 beats per minute Bonzo shows just how amazing of a drummer he really is. ...To be continued
