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LIBERTY DeVITTO [Billy Joel]: The primary Led Zeppelin album blew me away. Sure – it was undoubtedly an affect. Everyone remembers his fancy footwork on “Good Occasions Dangerous Occasions” – which was superb and the primary time I had ever heard something like that. However I have to let you know this right here – I consider that John Bonham was a R&B drummer sitting behind an enormous rock set.
I used to be all the time into R&B and Roger Hawkins [part of the studio backing band known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section] and all these guys that performed on Aretha Franklin information and Motown and all that type of stuff. And he performs strong like that. Each word that he performs means one thing – there isn’t a nonsense in what he does. Each time he hits that drum it is for a purpose.
RICHARD CHRISTY [Death, Charred Walls of the Damned]: Rising up, I might watch The Tune Stays the Similar on TV, and Bonham enjoying “Moby Dick” – that is among the all-time biggest drum solos, ever. There’s a lot happening in it. I liked that he had the tambourine on his hi-hat. His drum sound was simply good in that live performance video. I used to even take a look at his drumheads, and I used to be like, “His snare drumhead is so worn down.” And that is the signal of a great drummer.
Should you take a look at The Tune Stays the Similar, his snare drumhead, it is worn down proper within the middle. It isn’t worn down all around the snare. And that signifies that he was so exact with hitting that drum within the good spot. However watching it, I used to be all the time scared, like, “His snare head goes to interrupt!” However he was such a exact drummer, and had such an incredible sound, that I believe that attributed to it – utilizing his worn-out heads, that had a heat to them, as a result of they have been damaged in. That is why his efficiency on The Tune Stays the Similar and particularly enjoying “Moby Dick” was an enormous affect on me.
JERRY GASKILL [King’s X]: I believe what made John Bonham distinctive – like every distinctive folks, which all of us are – is the truth that he performed what he felt. I do not suppose he took any classes or something like that – he simply performed what felt proper to him for the music. That is what makes anyone distinctive – to me.
STEVE GORMAN [Black Crowes]: Should you play the intro beat for “When the Levee Breaks,” it by no means feels fairly precisely like Bonzo. No person does the Purdie Shuffle like John Bonham. I can – on paper – play “Idiot within the Rain” precisely like he does, but it surely’s not going to sound the identical and it isn’t going to really feel the identical. As a result of I haven’t got the identical really feel. I’ve the identical strategy perhaps, and I am searching for the identical factor.
ROGER EARL [Foghat]: The primary time I had heard John Bonham play was within the mid-60’s – he was backing an American people singer, named Tim Hardin. He performed on the Speakeasy – which is a membership in London – and I used to be down there that point. Tim Hardin was enjoying an acoustic guitar…and all you can hear have been drums! [Laughs] Anyone informed me the drummer’s title, and I remembered it – as a result of he performed nice. He dominated. I do not even bear in mind if there was a bass participant. It was attention-grabbing – he was undoubtedly a chunk of labor.
However the first time I performed with Zeppelin, I used to be in Savoy Brown. It will have been ’69. We did a variety of dates with them – Savoy Brown, Jethro Tull, and Led Zeppelin. And one of many issues I distinctly bear in mind, it was a few occasions – I believe it was in Chicago [which would have been on either July 18thor 19th at the Kinetic Underground] and one other date in Philly [July 12th at the Spectrum] – the place the drummers all jammed collectively. And that may have been Bonzo, myself, and Clive Bunker from Jethro Tull. That was actually one thing, as a result of all of us had our alternative ways of enjoying. Clive Bunker is an unbelievable drummer, as nicely.
Bonzo was…no one performed like he did. No person performed with that type of energy. And his footwork was unbelievable. I do not suppose anyone actually realized that he really performed triplets on the bass drum pedal. Principally what he did was no matter he may do together with his arms, he was doing together with his foot. I by no means heard him play two bass drums – however apparently he did for some time. He was fairly particular – you can hear him above every thing. I am undecided if Kim Simmonds [of Savoy Brown] was enjoying guitar or whether or not Jimmy was enjoying guitar with the three drummers on stage. We had one guitar participant, and there may need been any individual who was enjoying violin on a few the jams. Nevertheless it was mainly a drumfest.
LEE KERSLAKE [Uriah Heep, Ozzy Osbourne]: I sat and watched him play – he was nice. And I mentioned to him, “You are an incredible drummer.” He mentioned, “Thanks very a lot. I such as you, I used to be watching you – we’re very comparable, aren’t we?” We parted firm – I did not see him once more for ages. After which the following factor, I am doing a gig with Cliff Bennett, and he was with the New Yardbirds. I met him then and we had a great previous chat. I might go to a rehearsal room in an previous cinema owned by Greg Lake and Carl Palmer. I walked in there and began enjoying the equipment, and he mentioned, “Get off me bloody equipment!” It was his!
CHAD CHANNING [Nirvana]: On one of many information, they’d his drums arrange down the hallway. They’d two or three mics, so the drums had this pure reverb coming off of it, and he needed to play cymbals very gentle, in any other case, they’d wash over every thing and it will be an excessive amount of within the mics. So, he performed the equipment, however he would hit the cymbals evenly. It’s a problem to do this. However after listening to that story about that, I can hear that within the recording – how large the drums sound.
One factor that’s attention-grabbing about John Bonham is that you could go on YouTube, and there are movies on the way to tune drums like Bonham did – proper right down to the snare drum and the kick drum. All the things. He was the one drummer that I do know of that folks have tried to repeat his sound. I’ve performed that earlier than – simply out of curiosity. I used to be like, “How does he get the drum to sound so large like that?”
I discovered a video of considered one of his drum techs explaining the sound, so I began tuning all my drums to the way in which he did. It is a cool factor I suppose as a drummer that folks would try to emulate your sound – I can not consider every other drummer off-hand that truly had that.
DAVID LOVERING [Pixies]: If I may consider all of the folks that have been an affect, he was in all probability within the top-3. My favourite three drummers could be John Bonham, Neil Peart, after which any drummer that drummed for Steely Dan. That is it. Particularly rising up, you’re impressionable with music on the time, and he was main. His enjoying, the beats, and every thing like that simply took me. He was undoubtedly a significant affect on me. He did a number of stuff like paradiddles, and studying the paradiddle rudiment, he may apply that to drums – and that was one factor that he used loads, that I believe I gathered loads from him, which I nonetheless use to today. Which I believe is a really invaluable device for any drummer – studying the paradiddle and using it on the drum set.
KENNY ARONOFF [John Mellencamp, John Fogerty, Smashing Pumpkins]: “Kashmir” – as a result of it isn’t technical but it surely’s very tough to play. And it actually confirmed that he was a musical drummer. The factor that makes it difficult to choose among the nice songs that John performed on…the repertoire that Zeppelin had was ridiculous. I imply, it was excellent. They’d so many nice songs. You present me a Led Zeppelin music and I am going to present you nice drumming – each single considered one of them. “The Immigrant Tune,” “Good Occasions Dangerous Occasions” is among the most technical drum components that showcases triplets – these triplets that he is doing with this proper foot. However he may do it again and again and he made it sound so even. And that was the first document that got here out – that is ridiculous. It is like a masterpiece, that drumming. You’d get fired when you performed that many notes on a document right now! It is superb how he made it work – it is so musical.
Learn to play “The Immigrant Tune,” “Good Occasions Dangerous Occasions,” “Rock and Roll” the way in which John did it, “Complete Lotta Love,” “When the Levee Breaks,” “Kashmir,” “Black Canine,” “The Crunge” – these songs are like going to highschool and studying the way to play the drums. “Communication Breakdown,” “The Rover” with the precise tempo and the precise really feel, “Custard Pie,” “The Wanton Tune,” “You Shook Me.” Each single music I discussed is totally different. “Stairway to Heaven” – these fills when he got here in. “The Ocean,” “Dancing Days.” Each single a kind of songs is a lesson. It may very well be a chapter – you research the music for every week and be taught to play it precisely. It is a data of components, really feel, time. It is unbelievable.
MIKE PORTNOY [Dream Theater, Sons of Apollo, Winery Dogs]: He was one of many all-time greats. He was simply rock strong, and considered one of a form. His swing and his really feel is unparalleled. No person performed like John Bonham, and nonetheless to today, no one actually can play like John Bonham – as a lot as all people tries. He’ll perpetually be one of many biggest rock drummers within the historical past of music. And he deserves it.
Greg Prato is a longtime AllMusic contributor and creator of a number of books, together with BONZO: 30 Rock Drummers Bear in mind the Legendary John Bonham.
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