John Bonham - Great Rock Drummer

John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham (May 31, 1948 -- September 25, 1980) was an 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 considered one of the most influential and respected drummers of the modern rock era and continues to be cited as an influence on drummers of varying styles to this day.

Death

On September 24, 1980, John Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for the upcoming tour of the United States, 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 (~2/3 imperial quart, or ~8dl) of vodka), with a ham roll. After taking a bite of the ham roll he said to his assistant, "Breakfast". He then continued to drink heavily when he arrived at the studio. 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 morning. Bonham was 32 years old.

The cause of death was asphyxiation from vomit. A subsequent autopsy found no other drugs in Bonham's body.The alcoholism that had plagued the drummer since his earliest days with the band ultimately led to his death. John Bonham was cremated on October 10, 1980, at Rushock Parish Church, Worcestershire. A cymbal sits in front of his headstone in his memory. His headstone reads:

" Cherished memories of a loving husband and father, John Henry Bonham Who died Sept. 25th 1980. He will always be remembered in our hearts, Goodnight my Love, God Bless."

Equipment

Drums

1.Pre Led Zeppelin Kit (?-'68), Ludwig Super Classic Green Sparkle

* Bass Drum "22x14"
* Floor Tom 16"x16"
* Rack Tom 13"x9"
* Supraphonic Snare 14"x5"

2.Led Zeppelin Kit ('68/Tour U.S.A), Ludwig Black Diamond Pearl

* Bass Drum 24"x14"
* Floor Tom 16"x16"
* Floor Tom 18"x16"
* Rack Tom 13"x9"
* Snare 20's/30's COB Tube Lug

3.Ludwig Representation kit, Ludwig Thermo Gloss Natural Maple (1969-'70)

* Bass Drum 26"x14"
* Tom 14"x12" Mounted on a snare stand
* Floor Tom 16"x16"
* Floor Tom 18"x16"
* 14"x6.5" Chrome Supraphonic 402 Series Snare
* Twin Congas Ludwig 12"
* Cowbell Ludwig Gold Tone

4.Studio Kit ('70 - '73), Ludwig Green Sparkle

* Bass Drum 26"x14"
* Rack Tom 14"x10"
* Floor Tom 16"x16"
* Floor Tom 18"x16"
* 14"x6.5" Chrome Supraphonic 402 Series Snare
* Ludwig 29" Machine Timpani (1972+)
* Ludwig 32" Universal Timpani (1972+)

5.The Song Remains The Same Kit ('73), Ludwig Amber Vistalite

* Bass Drum 26"x14"
* Rack Tom 14"x10"
* Floor Tom 16"x16"
* Floor Tom 18"x16"
* 14"x6.5" Chrome Supraphonic 402 Series Snare
* Ludwig 29" Timpani
* Ludwig 30" Timpani

6. Studio Kit('75) Ludwig Sparkle Silver Finish

* Bass Drum 26"x14"
* Rack Tom 15"x12"
* Floor Tom 16"x16"
* Floor Tom 18"x16"
* 14"x6.5" Chrome Supraphonic 402 Series Snare
* Ludwig 29" Timpani
* Ludwig 30" Timpani

7.Final Kit ('77-'80), Ludwig Stainless Steel

* Bass Drum 26"x14"
* Tom 15"x 12" (Mounted on Bass Drum)
* Floor Tom 16"x16"
* Floor Tom 18"x16"
* 14"x6.5" Chrome Supraphonic 402 Series Snare

Cymbals

John Bonham played Paiste cymbals. He used Paiste Giant Beat cymbals until 1975. 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 '75, which he used for the rest of his career. His set up (of both the Giant Beat's and 2002's) consisted of:

* 15" Paiste Sound Edge Hi-Hat
* 16" or 18" Paste Medium Crash (on left)
* 18" or 20" Paiste Crash or Medium Crash
* 24" Paiste Ride
* 38" Paiste Symphonic Gong

Despite what the Paiste Endorsement Agreement reads he used 2002s live from about 1973 on. And you could clearly see he was using all 2002s for the 1973 Song Remains The Same concert footage

Drum Heads

For his wood drums, Bonham always used remo coated emperors (or Ludwig equivalent) on all of his batter heads, while using coated ambassadors on the resonant head, and the batter head was always tuned medium-tight, (almost jazz like) and the resonate head was always tuned way up, for a nice full,round sound. He never put pillows or other laundry in the kick drum and he only used a felt strip on the batter side from time to time. The kick drum head was also tuned a lot higher than one would think. On the vistalites he used Remo CS black dots on the batter side of the toms 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.

Bass Drum Pedal

Bonham used Ludwig Speed King Pedals throughout his career.

Picture from profile.myspace.com

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John Bonham Moby Dick




Led Zeppelin website