John Bonham

**John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham** (31 May, 1948 – 25 September, 1980) was an English rock drummer. He was best known for being a member of the band Led Zeppelin, two members being from the West Midlands. Bonham from Redditch, Worcestershire is considered one of the greatest rock drummers of all time.

John Bonham's career started in 1967, when he joined the Band of Joy with singer Robert Plant. After having some success, the band broke up. At around the same time, another band called The Yardbirds also broke up. Soon after this, Jimmy Page, the lead guitarist for the Yardbirds, decided to start a new band. This new band, called Led Zeppelin, had Plant on vocals, John Paul Jones on bass and keyboards, Bonham on drums and Page playing guitar.

Bonham died after choking on his own vomit in his sleep after drinking forty shots of vodka, and bassist John Paul Jones found him the next morning.

## Led Zeppelin

After playing some small gigs throughout England, the band came out with their first album, named _Led Zeppelin I_. John Bonham's talents can be heard on such songs as "Good Times, Bad Times", featuring his single bass drum skip throughout the song. Soon after this, the band left for a tour of America, on Boxing Day (26 December 1969). After a rather successful tour, Zeppelin came out with their second album, naming it _Led Zeppelin II_. This album included the song "Moby Dick", which had a famous drum solo by Bonham. Throughout the solo, Bonham showed off his talents by playing hand drums while continuing to use his right foot.

By this time, Led Zeppelin was becoming more well known. With the release of their third album (not surprisingly named _Led Zeppelin III_), they became one of the biggest bands in the world. Bonham's featured song on this album, which he wrote, was "Out On The Tiles".

Led Zeppelin later released the albums _Led Zeppelin IV_ (which was originally unnamed), _Houses of the Holy_, and _Physical Graffiti_. During this time, Zeppelin was touring non-stop. In addition to still playing "Moby Dick", Bonham also received attention for his work on songs such as "Four Sticks", "The Ocean", and "In My Time Of Dying".

Soon after _Physical Graffiti_, the band took time off because Robert Plant was injured in a car crash. In this time off, besides spending time with his family and tinkering with cars, Bonham was working on their next album, _Presence_.

## Death

On 24 September 1980, Bonham was picked up by his personal assistant, Rex King. They were going to a rehearsal for the upcoming tour. During the day, Bonham drank many alcoholic beverages. After the rehearsal the band left and went to Page's house. The next day, Benji LeFevre, Led Zeppelin's new tour manager, and John Paul Jones found Bonham dead.

The coroner ruled that Bonham had drank forty shots of vodka, and his cause of death was pulmonary edaema. Bonham had vomited in his sleep, and suffocated on his own vomit.

After Bonham died, Led Zeppelin decided to quit because they felt that Bonham was too good to be replaced.

## Other websites

- Led Zeppelin Official Site
- John Bonham Dedicated Site
- Drummerworld John Bonham Page
- The 23 John Henry Bonham Drum Outtakes

## Infobox (musical artist)

- **name**: John Bonham
- **img**: John Bonham 1975.jpg
- **background**: non_vocal_instrumentalist
- **birth name**: John Henry Bonham
- **alias**: Bonzo
- **birth place**: Redditch, Worcestershire, England
- **death place**: Clewer, Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor, England
- **instrument**: drums & Percussion
- **genre**: Hard rock, blues-rock, folk rock
- **occupation**: Musician, songwriter
- **years active**: 1964–1980
- **label**: Atlantic Records, Atlantic, Swan Song Records, Swan Song
- **associated acts**: Led Zeppelin, Band of Joy, Terry Web and the Spiders
- **url**: [http://www.ledzeppelin.com www.ledzeppelin.com]