John Bonham

I have to agree in that he is overrated, or more precisely, given too much credit for stuff that really wasn't that important, and not given the proper credit for other things. As the previous poster said, Good Times, Bad Times and Fool in the Rain are great examples (And not only the shuffle there, when he goes to the ride bell, he plays a cool polyrhythm), they are truly original grooves, there are others, too. Compared to Paice for example, who doesn't really have many grooves as interesting. That said, I don't think his playing was that great, but he had some signature fills and stuff, came up with a few legendary beats, and his sound was quite unique.


Fox.
 
Yes, me! Although I was aware of, and listened to Zep, I really didn't take on much, if anything from Bonzo. I was much more into the drumming of Nigel Olsson, Danny Seraphine, Denis Elliott, Jeff Porcaro, Prairie Prince, Carl Palmer, etc, etc. That said, he certainly carved a style of his own and I'm sure my rock drumming would be better if I had taken influence from him.

Wow, so it is possible! Oh well., with influences like those, you can't (and didn't) go wrong. I was a big fan of those players too, apart from Dennis E but that was later on. At the start, it was all about the famous heavy drummers I mentioned earlier. With Dennis E I never got over the disappointment after buying Foreigner's debut album because the band included King Crimson's Ian McDonald. I was expecting curry and ended up with a hamburger :(

jon e rotten said:
Four words: When the Levee Breaks

is it hard..no....is it awesome...yes

Beautifully put.

Strangelove said:
You have to really listen to the subtleties of his style to appreciate how talented he was. Just try to play along to Good Times, Bad Times, or play that shuffle beat he does to Fool in the Rain before labeling him just an average Joe. Those sixteenth note triplets he could dribble off on the bass drum were also truly unique to him.

Agree, and he continued to develop too. When I first heard Achilles Last Stand and Bonzo played that massive Cobham-esque fill about halfway through my jaw just about hit the floor. His tightness in Nobody's Fault was mind-blowing too. You have to hand it to Zep - the whole band had fantastic timing.

Fox622003 said:
they are truly original grooves, there are others, too. Compared to Paice for example, who doesn't really have many grooves as interesting

True but, to be fair, Purple were a far less eclectic band so Ian P had less opportunity to be original. Ian did come up with some killer lines - Fireball, Burn and, especially, You Fool No One.

Another song with killer Bonzo beats was Gallows Pole.
 
That said, I think he was way above and beyond the "in the pocket drummers" - guys like like Watts and Rudd. You have to really listen to the subtleties of his style to appreciate how talented he was. Just try to play along to Good Times, Bad Times, or play that shuffle beat he does to Fool in the Rain before labeling him just an average Joe. Those sixteenth note triplets he could dribble off on the bass drum were also truly unique to him.

Haha.......I just KNEW someone would express my thoughts on this just splendidly (and I actually shoulda guessed it would be you, doctor!!).

Da best drumma eva???.........No. The best ROCK drummer ever?......open for debate and personal opinion. One of the most influential?.....Indeedy he was. History speaks for him!!
 
John Bonham may be overrated but get it through your mind people, He is the BEST drummer to EVER step foot on this planet. For instance listen to Moby Dick, that'll give you a good taste of just how dang good that guy is. R.I.P John Henry Bonham
 
This guy is the best drummer that has ever stepped foot on this planet. His best solo and the BEST solo ever Moby Dick. Listen to it if you haven't yet. Its personally my favourite drum solo.http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/JohnBonhammobidick.html. Also be sure to check out Carter Beuford's drum solo on Two Step, pretty nice solo too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOatIrazULw. John Bonham's drumming still goes on to many inspired drummers even though he is not with us today. Zeppelin could not replace someone as a drummer to do what Bonham did, its like impossible! Please leave any comments about this amazing and inspiring drummer, Mr. John Henry Bonham. Some people may say He's overrated, and he may be but performance is what matters! Remember that!
 
Yeah, mate....I'm also a huge fan, BUT terms like 'best ever' are hard to swallow I've always found. My current list of "best ever's" runs to more than 100 drummers!!

By the way, there is also a long running thread on JHB.....check it out as this thread will get moved there.
 
Anyone who's been named the greatest anything is going to be called overrated by somebody. Calling John Bonham or Ringo Starr or Neil Peart or whoever overrated is just something people say when they don't have any real argument to make about the person's drumming.

Not sure I'd call him the best drummer ever, but definitely among the best.
 
terms like 'greatest ever' bear no relevance to me.. there are great drummers, but its not a competition. i feel no need to put anyone on a pedestal.

wasn't there a thread up for him already? hmm. anyway yeah, he is a great drummer.
i use the present tense because he still has a huge influence over rock music today.
 
Yeah, I don't get the "best ever" stuff, either. The guy was a great drummer, no doubt about it. Cool sounding drums: check. Nice strong groove: check. Hugely influential: double check.

But I'll tell you what I don't get: In all my years of drumming I never would have guessed that so many people would one day be using his likeness for their usernames and avatars (obviously wasn't thinking internet forums).

Seriously, I can recall off the top of my head two, maybe three, drummers on this forum using another drummers' likeness on usernames and avatars but probably a dozen who use Bonham's.

Is everyone too embarrassed to admit or remember that Neil Peart was such a huge influence? Because as I remember back on it, Neil Peart was consistently at the top of everyone's favorite drummer list (refer back to MD reader polls from that era). I'm tempted to wonder if it's because he didn't die right after Moving Pictures! Apologies if this is coming across as flippant, but I've been growing increasingly curious about the nature of Bonham's legendary status as it continues to grow.

It also makes me wonder if Bonham would still be so wildly popular if he were still alive and an old geezer trying to live off his glory years. Maybe his drumming might seem a little stale by now and lost some of its luster.

But I really am impressed with Bonham's staying power over the years, even if I don't totally understand it. As a kid growing up playing drums through the late '70s and '80s, Bonham never cracked my top 10 favorite drummers. Perhaps he's higher on my list now, but at this point I have so many favorites, it's not even funny. He's just one among many.
 
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I never thought Moby Dick was the best drum solo, I'd have to give that to Joe Morello for Castilian Drums back when he was part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet. But Bonham was hugely influential in rock drumming in general, anyone who came after Bonham was in some way influenced by Bonham...I think the only contemporary drummer that has a shot at rivaling him is Benny Greb.
 
young players should be expanding upon the stuff that bonham does. yes you should look backwards, but you should do it in such a way that it helps you move forward. my opinion.
 
John Bonham may be overrated but get it through your mind people, He is the BEST drummer to EVER step foot on this planet. For instance listen to Moby Dick, that'll give you a good taste of just how dang good that guy is. R.I.P John Henry Bonham
Wow, not leaving much room for another opinion or perspective on the matter, are you? This kind of thing is subjective, you know. Clearly, he's your favorite drummer.
 
Yeah, I don't get the "best ever" stuff, either. The guy was a great drummer, no doubt about it. Cool sounding drums: check. Nice strong groove: check. Hugely influential: double check.

But I'll tell you what I don't get: In all my years of drumming I never would have guessed that so many people would one day be using his likeness for their usernames and avatars (obviously wasn't thinking internet forums).

Seriously, I can recall off the top of my head two, maybe three, drummers on this forum using another drummers' likeness on usernames and avatars but probably a dozen who use Bonham's.

Is everyone too embarrassed to admit or remember that Neil Peart was such a huge influence? Because as I remember back on it, Neil Peart was consistently at the top of everyone's favorite drummer list (refer back to MD reader polls from that era). I'm tempted to wonder if it's because he didn't die right after Moving Pictures! Apologies if this is coming across as flippant, but I've been growing increasingly curious about the nature of Bonham's legendary status as it continues to grow.

It also makes me wonder if Bonham would still be so wildly popular if he were still alive and an old geezer trying to live off his glory years. Maybe his drumming might seem a little stale by now and lost some of its luster.

But I really am impressed with Bonham's staying power over the years, even if I don't totally understand it. As a kid growing up playing drums through the late '70s and '80s, Bonham never cracked my top 10 favorite drummers. Perhaps he's higher on my list now, but at this point I have so many favorites, it's not even funny. He's just one among many.

I think there is some kind of cult following developing for all things Zeppelin for some reason. My son is at a worship phase for Bonham right now too, and his guitarists have the same hots for Page and Jones. I don't even try to figure it out - maybe their generation's music sucks so bad that they are reaching out for my generation's mega-bands. Another worship of theirs is Pink Floyd and The Doors - neither band whose drummers were ever on my radar screens back in the day. I am not dissing Nick Mason, or John Densmore, but I think the fact that they played for such legendary mega rock bands gets them much more noteriety than they would have gotten anywhere else. Bonham was a cut above most rock drummers in those days, but so was Ginger Baker, Carl Palmer, Danny Seraphine, Neil Peart, and Bill Bruford. Which one was the absolute best? Ginger Baker will probably scarf that titlle up himself personally - or maybe he and Carmine Appice can duke it out for top dog, lol - who really cares? I personally think it was Neil Peart, but that is my opinion and I am only one of too many. Rush however, was not and probably never will get as popular as the Zep. Jimmy Page deserves most of the artistic credit for every place that band has been, though, and as much credit as Pagey loves to shower on Bonzo, I don't think John Paul Jones will ever dispute that fact. I wonder if Page doesn't have some inner hauntings for all that Allistair Crowley/Black Magic crap and the fact that Bonham died in his house. All I know is that back in the 1970's nobody worshipped Bonham the way they do now. Bill Ludwig didn't even pay him much attention. Still, he was a cut above most rock drummers.
 
John Bonham is Moby Dick.
His feeling and technique were unique, love those Paiste Giant Beats cymbals that he played in the beginning and his bass drum triplets.

I would say D.I.P = Drum In Peace ~ Dear Bonham.
 

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Its impossible to quantify how good "X" drummer is compared to "Y." Attempting to do so is simply going to cause undue animosity. That said, there are drummers who obviously stand out for whatever reason from their peers, just like bands as an entity sometimes do.

John Bonham is obviously one of those drummers. Is he as technically proficient as some modern drummers or some drummers back in his day? Probably not. But drums aren't an instrument that rely soley on technique. Feel, groove, and taste are all arguably more important that any technical prowess.

Bonzo is a rock drumming legend who has insipred hundreds of thousands of drummers. His influence cannot be overstated. He is inextricably part of one of the largest bands of all time, much like Ringo to the Beatles, and is one of the few drummers who defines the instrument.

I know that people can sometimes get caught up in looking for technical frills in drummers, but holy-****, listen to that groove.
 
John Bonham may be overrated but get it through your mind people, He is the BEST drummer to EVER step foot on this planet. For instance listen to Moby Dick, that'll give you a good taste of just how dang good that guy is. R.I.P John Henry Bonham
To ever step foot on this planet! Really. Seems there was this cat. Tony Williams. Born in 1945. Played with Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter in 1962. Tony was 17 years old at the time.
First Zepp. album was in 1969, which would make Bonham 21 (born in 1948). Sure, I enjoy listenning to and playing Zepp/Bonham stuff. I can't even begin to play some of the stuff Tony Williams threw down. So.....BEST drummer to EVER step foot on this planet......sorry, I'm not buying what your selling.​
 
love those Paiste Giant Beats cymbals that he played in the beginning and his bass drum triplets.

Would it be disrespectful to admit that I love his cymbals more than his playing? The shimmer of those white label Giant Beats is what got me interested in Paistes to begin with. Immigrant Song is a classic Giant Beat 18" Multi crash sound and Stairway - lord, that beautiful silvery ping and wash of that 24" Ride..............................you guys that worship Tony's ride have no idea what Bonzo's ride does for us rockers, lol.
 
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