Robert Plant on the “most spectacular right foot in the history of popular music”
If you start looking up rock music, you won’t be reading for long until you come across Led Zeppelin. The band is the pinnacle of rock and why it’s such an important part of the modern industry. Their chaotic approach to sound, experimental attitude, and clear cohesion made them one of the most enticing bands in the world.
It wasn’t just a group effort that made Led Zeppelin great; they were individually excellent musicians. When people are discussing who the best of each instrument is, they end up simply re-creating Led Zeppelin. Each member excelled in what they did, unafraid of pushing the boundaries of music and incorporating various styles into their sound to give audiences something totally brand new. For many, they are completely unmatched both as a collective and as individuals. And the band members would agree.
During an interview, when talking about Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, Robert Plant didn’t hesitate to express his adoration for his fellow bandmate. “Let’s face it: John’s right foot is probably the most spectacular right foot in the history of popular music in the last 60 years, I think,” he said.
It’s true. Two critical elements of Bonham’s playing style made him stand out from other drummers at the time. The first is that he could keep a hold on Led Zeppelin. With Robert Plant’s fluctuating vocals and Jimmy Page’s eccentric runs on guitar, other drummers would have found it incredibly difficult to give Led Zeppelin a rhythm section. However, Bonham can hold it down in an exceptional way.
On top of that, Bonham could hold down the rhythm section while also adding his own brand of chaos. His drums were next level, with so much going on but still keeping the whole band in time, as a good drummer should. He used the bass drum a lot for this, adding a thud for guitar and bass notes that other drummers wouldn’t dare try to do. This is the right foot that Plant was talking about, and it is one of the biggest factors that led to Zeppelin’s success.
“He bothered to play those licks with the bass drum; he didn’t have to do that, but it’s part of him…” he said, “He was just amazing and continued to be so all the way through.”
When John Bonham passed away, it completely shook the musical world. He grabbed the drumming rule book and tore it apart, showing other musicians a completely different way to approach the instrument, one that still kept rhythm at its heart but expanded the parameters of what drumming could be. He was one of the best and a massive contributing factor to one of the biggest bands in the world. Robert Plant says it best as someone who worked with him: the most spectacular right foot in history.
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