Serious consequences Contributor Greg Prato is also the author of several rock books.His 2020 oral history, titled BONZO: 30 Rock Drummers Remembering Legend John Bonham, a tribute to the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Below he shares excerpts from the book, narrated by Bonham-influenced drummers.
May 31, 2023 is the 75th birthday of legendary Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. Bonham (died September 25, 1980, aged 32 from alcohol poisoning) is widely regarded as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time – both for his gigantic voice (“Kashmir”), widely copied and/or Or sampling drum hits and fills (“When the Levees Burst”), or knowing when to play for a song (drums don’t start until the 4:17 mark in “Stairway to Heaven”).
A while back I interviewed some of rock’s most respected drummers for this book BONZO: 30 Rock Drummers Remembering Legend John Bonham As a tribute to the Led Zeppelin legend. In celebration of Bonzo’s 75th birthday, here are excerpts from the book in which the drummers explain what made Bonham such an important and influential drummer.
charlie benant (Anthrax): I think it’s all on his wrist. I also know for a fact – because I’ve read everything possible on Led Zeppelin over the years – how he wears headphones while recording, and doesn’t use a lot of mics on his rig. But the mic he did use was placed in such a way that when he heard it, it sounded like he was hearing it while sitting there. So sometimes when you hear mixed drum sounds on a record, they can sound a bit out of place because the toms don’t sound like a snare or kick. But with him, everything is nicely mixed and compressed, so the triplets always sound right. He has absolutely mastered this.
I’ve heard two different stories of how they got the “when the levee broke” sound. There’s a story that his drum kit was delivered to the house they were recording in – Headley Grange – and he was so excited that he put them in the hall where they were delivered and set them up right there. Jimmy heard it and said, “Don’t touch them!” I guess they picked up the mics from the stairs and put a couple of mics down there as well, and that’s how they got the sound. That’s a version of it, and it sounds like it might be that.
The second version is what I heard they spent time on this, mics and different techniques—make it out-of-phase, make it in-phase. I’ve heard all the other stories about it. But I heard it was the Ludwig kit that was delivered – I’m guessing it was the Green Flash kit.
Frankie Banally (Quiet Riot): Well, the real great thing about John and Led Zeppelin is that they take risks every time they play live. They never play the exact same song twice – because they’re just playing that moment, and that’s always been important to me, and that’s what I’ve always done in Quiet Riot. You’d be hard-pressed to have any Quiet Riot song sound exactly the same on any given night. Here’s what I learned from Led Zeppelin.
Because I think a lot of the creativity and spontaneity is lost when you start taking a pre-recorded track and playing it the exact same way twice. I mean, you can’t completely ditch the arrangement and play it beyond recognition. But it’s nice to be able to make a different filling every night and take it elsewhere. It’s very important to me – it keeps me energized. It’s what John has been doing, everyone at Led Zeppelin has been doing – you’d be hard-pressed to find any two live recordings that are identical in any way, shape or form.