1. John Henry Bonham was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin.
41 Facts About John Bonham
1. 2.
John Bonham played with multiple local bands both at school and following school, eventually playing in two different bands with Robert Plant.
3.
John Bonham showcased a hard-hitting hard rock style, but handled funk and Latin-influenced grooves in later Led Zeppelin releases.
4.
John Bonham's drum solo "Moby Dick" was featured on the group's second album and was a staple of their concerts, often lasting just over 20 minutes.
5.
Outside of Led Zeppelin, John Bonham played drums for other artists, including the Family Dogg, Screaming Lord Sutch, Lulu, Jimmy Stevens and Wings.
6.
John Bonham played with Led Zeppelin until his sudden death at age 32, in September 1980 following a day of heavy drinking.
7.
John Bonham has influenced various drummers, including Dave Grohl, Neil Peart, Chad Smith and Dave Lombardo.
8.
John Bonham was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 as a member of Led Zeppelin.
9.
John Henry Bonham was born on 31 May 1948, in Redditch, Worcestershire, England, to Joan and Jack Bonham.
10.
John Bonham began learning to play drums at age five, making a kit of containers and coffee tins, imitating his idols Max Roach, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich.
11.
John Bonham's mother gave him a snare drum when he was 10.
12.
John Bonham received his first drum kit, a Premier Percussion set, from his father at age 15.
13.
John Bonham never took formal drum lessons, although he received advice from other Redditch drummers.
14.
In 1964, John Bonham joined his first semi-professional band, Terry Webb and the Spiders, and met his future wife, Pat Phillips, around the same time.
15.
John Bonham played in other Birmingham bands such as The Nicky James Movement and The Senators, with whom he made a single, "She's a Mod", in 1964, at Hollick and Taylor Studios in Birmingham.
16.
In 1967, John Bonham agreed to return to A Way of Life while keeping in touch with Plant.
17.
John Bonham may have played on the April 1968 recording of Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" although this is disputed.
18.
John Bonham was receiving more lucrative offers from Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe but he accepted Grant's offer.
19.
On cuts from later albums, John Bonham handled funk and Latin-influenced drumming.
20.
In Led Zeppelin tours after 1969, John Bonham included congas, orchestral timpani and a symphonic gong.
21.
John Bonham played for Screaming Lord Sutch on Lord Sutch and Heavy Friends in 1970.
22.
John Bonham played on Lulu's 1971 single "Everybody Clap", written by Maurice Gibb and Billy Lawrie.
23.
John Bonham was the best man of Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi at his wedding ceremony.
24.
In 1974, John Bonham appeared in the film Son of Dracula, playing drums in Count Downe's band.
25.
John Bonham appeared in a drum line-up including Keith Moon and Ringo Starr on the soundtrack album.
26.
John Bonham sang for The Zimmers, a 40-member band set up as a result of a BBC documentary on the treatment of the elderly.
27.
John Bonham was married to Pat Phillips, and the couple had two children.
28.
Zoe John Bonham was born on 10 June 1975 and is a singer-songwriter who appears at Led Zeppelin conventions.
29.
Jason John Bonham was born on 15 July 1966 and is a drummer who has recorded or toured with Sammy Hagar and the Circle, Black Country Communion, UFO, Foreigner, and John Bonham.
30.
John Bonham played in the band covering "Stairway to Heaven" at Led Zeppelin's 2012 Kennedy Center Award ceremony.
31.
On 24 September 1980, John Bonham was picked up by Led Zeppelin assistant Rex King to attend rehearsals at Bray Studios for a tour of North America, to begin 17 October in Montreal; it was the band's first tour since 1977.
32.
John Bonham's remains were cremated and his ashes interred on 12 October 1980 in the graveyard at St Michael's Church, Rushock, Worcestershire.
33.
John Bonham initially used Premier drums, but in the late 1960s was introduced to Ludwig drums by Carmine Appice.
34.
John Bonham's hardware was a mixture of Rogers and Ludwig, including the Ludwig Speed King pedal and Rogers Swiv-O-Matic series of hardware.
35.
John Bonham started using this technique as well as developing a finger-control style, influenced from hearing jazz recordings by drummer Joe Morello, during the early 1960s with his first band the Blue Star Trio.
36.
For music critics who were not receptive to the hard rock aspects of Led Zeppelin's sound, John Bonham's playing was sometimes characterized as bombastic and lacking a sense of swing.
37.
John Bonham can write and compose and arrange, and he has an ear, and he is harmonic.
38.
John Bonham was just rock solid, and one of a kind.
39.
John Paul Jones said Bonham was a "bass player's dream".
40.
John Bonham really knew how to make the instrument sing, and because of that, he could just get so much volume out of it by just playing with his wrists.
41.
John Bonham has been described by AllMusic as one of the most important, well-known, and influential drummers in rock.