This entry was originally going to be about John Bonham but I found much of it to be true of the other members as well. Who is John Bonham? In most of the Led Zepp biographies he seems to be this powerful drummer whom everyone loves but behaves like a thug when drunk. You read stories about him throwing people in a pool because he can, throwing vodka and orange juice on Alvin Lee’s guitar while he’s performing, grabbing Bill Ward’s ankles when he’s trying to perform, insulting Ronnie James Dio from the crowd, he and Peter Grant nearly beating a man to death for doing his job, etc. . . . But you read very little about the man himself and why so many loved him despite the ugliness he could inflict while drunk. I’ve read “Hammer of the Gods” by Stephen Davis, When Giants Roamed the Earth by Mick Wall, “Jimmy Page Magus, Musician, Man” by George Case, and “Light and Shade” by Brad Tolinski . These books give a lot of info (or in the case of “Hammer of the Gods” misinfo according to Jimmy Page) but little about Bonzo the man. I know there’s probably one out there. Most of the attention is on Page and Plant, though. The best glimpses of Bonzo are the interviews (few as they are) I have been able to scrape up. Understand, stories about a young man being drunk and stoned while being on the road with a overwhelmingly successful Rock band does not really tell you who that person really is. To me, the most telling quote was one I read in Circus Magazine when I was 14. The article mentioned an interview in which Bonham was asked what technique he used. His answer was (and this is probably not an exact quote because this is from my memory but I know it is at least close because it really had an impact on me): “Technique? This (showing his hands) is my technique. When I play, I don’t imagine myself around a bunch of drummers and critics. I play for people!”
If John Bonham had not been in Led Zeppelin, he might disappeared in obscurity as a construction worker or if he pressed on with the music, he would have been considered a loud but very good session drummer. If Led Zeppelin had not existed, who knows where Robert Plant would have been. Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones would have gone on to do what they had always done, be excellent and well-respected session musicians. It was Jimmy Page’s determination to be the captain of his own fate and form a band that started it. His great ear, vision and instincts for whom to play with finished it. In George Case’s book, it was mentioned that part of what was behind the idea for the symbols that graced Zeppelin IV was that the four become one. Together they were a force to be reckoned with. Each knew exactly where they were going.
Just notice the looks John Bonham and John Paul Jones exchanged with each other throughout The Song Remains the Same. They continue to be a very, very underrated rhythm section! Jimmy Page used to lean his back toward Bonzo’s kick drum to latch on to the feel. Plant followed Page’s guitar through many part of songs. Total communication. They would improv at certain times throughout the shows and they could always anticipate each other. Bonham would not have fit so well in any other band. Bonzo had a very individual style. For musicians like that, a good fit is very rare. When it happens though . . LOOK OUT!
Yes, with Zeppelin there was always the hype but the hype was low key. It was done in whispers and rumour. Album covers without title. No singles. Very few interviews and TV appearances. There was the showmanship and imagery in their performances. There was the movie. But what really fueled everything was the music. The contrast between light and shade, soft and loud along with the melting of influences. As with all great bands, the sum was greater than the parts. No member has done anything that approaches what they accomplished with Zeppelin.
The feel that Bonham had for the music they were doing, no other drummer could do. Just like there was no true replacement for Keith Moon, there is no true replacement for John Bonham. Listen to some of the fills on some tracks. Yeah, you can play them but not with the same feel. Some will listen and say, “That guy’s playing like John Bonham.” But you listen and if you really know the originals, you will see it’s not true. It wasn’t how hard he hit drums, it was his timing, the inflection . . . . The power in his drumming didn’t just come from physicality, it came from spirit. It came from somewhere that you can’t explain, it’s beyond technique. Drumming can be as individual as the guitar if it’s done with soul. Any drummer worth anything knows this. Even though Jimmy Page could hear a lot of similarities between Bonzo and his son, Jason, it wasn’t Bonzo. Bonzo could only sound like Bonzo.
As burnt out of Led Zeppelin as I had been for several years (overkill is not a good thing, especially involuntarily), they have remained a monument along the journey of music. As many my age will testify it was personal. Many who are younger testify the same. They give no quarter.