John "BONZO" Bonham Memorial site profile picture

John "BONZO" Bonham Memorial site

Tribute to John BONZO Bonham

About Me



Born John Henry Bonham (named after his father and grandfather) on May 31, 1948 in Redditch, Worcestershire UK. After 26 hours of labour, baby John's heartbeat had stopped and the drunken doctor on duty had left. Thankfully, the nurse had quickly called another doctor who managed to revive him. The nurse said, "it was a miracle".
Describing the style of John Bonham's drumming instantly conjurs up visions of the thunderous power he created. His contributions to rock music were revolutionary, and his talent unmatched and irreplaceable. You can only imagine Jimmy Page's reaction to first seeing him in 1968, ending his search for a new drummer to form a new band, the New Yardbirds (later renamed Led Zeppelin.)
A childhood friend of Robert Plant, they played together in the 'Band of Joy', resulting in local gigs and a few studio demos. At first, Bonham was reluctant to join the well-known guitarist because of a steady gig with Tim Rose. But... the rest of history...
As John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have all stated many times, Led Zeppelin wouldn't have been half as good without him. Along with JPJ, they provided the solid foundation and backbone of the band, which made it all possible. Live performances truly showcased his abilities during the numerous improvised jams throughout every concert and of course his famous "Moby Dick" drum solo; reaching a half-hour in length at times! Immitators are usually left frustrated, since Bonham made it look so easy - not only in his playing but also in the incredible drum sound he acheived. His legendary right foot (on his bass pedal) and lightning-fast triplets were his instant trademark. He later refined his style from the hard skin-bashing approach to a more delicate wrist controlled one - which produced an even more powerful & louder sound with less effort.

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Music:

Member Since: 2/10/2006
Band Members: MOBY DICK vid clip
ACHILLES LAST STAND
THE OCEAN
KASHMIRE MOBY DICK
Influences: Special Message to fans From Debbie Bonham, (John's younger sister): As anyone who visits my house will know, by the end of the evening I play Led Zeppelin and the only thing I can say is "listen to that - it doesn't get any better does it". I sometimes marvel at the talent of John - he truly was a genius that broke the boundaries of rock drumming and certainly has made history. I do feel honoured to be associated with that. As many of the fans will already know, my other brother Michael has written a book about his life growing up with John and John's meteoric rise to fame with Led Zeppelin. Strangely, he finished the book a few weeks before his death. There are some beautiful never before published family pics and some lovely contributions from the band and other people such as Phil Collins, Carmine Appice, Lulu and many others. It talks of John as how we knew him - most of the fans only hear the "Hammer of the Gods" stories - well that's not for me to comment . However, not only was John the genius drummer - he was a lovely, funny, kind man and I am working very hard to realise Michael's dream and get this book published. (book was published in August 2003)

I know John and Michael are together somewhere, probably having more great nights and hard fights together. In the meantime we will continue to remember the man who gave us "Kashmir" and personally, I will continue to carry both my much loved brothers in my heart always.

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My Blog

John Henry Bonham grave site

Saint Michael's Church and cemetery, Rushock, England
Posted by John "BONZO" Bonham Memorial site on Sat, 04 Nov 2006 01:16:00 PST