“I haven’t met anyone who can”: The drum performance Jimmy Page said no one could replicate
When we talk about Led Zeppelin, we think of each member as one of the greatest in their field. Robert Planet is often hailed as one of the most versatile singers ever to take to the mic. Jimmy Page was famed for his guitar work and was the original inspiration behind the band. John Paul Jones, while he might have often flown under the radar, held the whole thing down. And then there was John Bonham.
We could dedicate a million words to John Bonham and it still wouldn’t be enough. Never has somebody joined a band and immediately taken the world by storm like he did, as he became renowned not just for being the drummer of Led Zeppelin but also for being a huge personality.
For instance, his close friend and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi remembers when Bonham took him to a bachelor party the night before his wedding and how chaos ensued. Bonham walked up to the bar, ordered 12 bottles of champagne and told Iommi that they were all for him, given he was celebrating getting married in the morning.
“He said, ‘That’s for you.’ I said, ‘I’m not gonna drink that!’ He said, ‘Come on, you’ve got to drink it, you’re getting married tomorrow!’ I said, ‘I’m not gonna turn up if I drink that!’” Recalled Iommi, “I had one glass, and he just went down the line drinking them, and he was paralytic.”
Bonham still showed up for the wedding the next day and delivered a good best-man speech. It highlights his rowdy nature but also the fact he was a loving friend. This directly trickled down into his family life as well, as Jimmy Page remembers the wholesome family side of Bonham as well as the rambunctious side.
“When I met him, he was already the family man. He and Pat were married; Jason was born,” recalled Page, “John was very conscious of providing for the family. But people wouldn’t know. Because it wasn’t anybody’s business. It was their business — family business.”
However, at the height of his legacy, while being a good friend and a family man are no doubt notable traits, he will be remembered for being one of the best drummers in the world. Decades after his death, and despite playing in multiple musical outfits since then, Page admits that he has never performed alongside anyone who can play like Bonham.
“What was people’s business was listening to what he did, how hard he pushed himself to be able to deliver that bass-drum roll in ‘Good Times Bad Times’ [on Led Zeppelin]. I haven’t met anybody who can play that all the way through, with that swing and approach,” said Page, “That’s what one should be listening to: the inspiration he had on other drummers, on this and that movement in rock, not the fact that he drank too much.”
It’s not just Page who felt this way. Despite the time that has passed since John Bonham sat behind a drum kit, his rhythm can still be heard across music, as he inspired generations of drummers with his lawless approach to keeping time.
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