When discussing the greatest drummers of all time, as all percussive-driven musos tend to do from time to time, John Bonham‘s powerhouse name invariably comes up.
It would be shocking not to hear the bearded leviathan’s name mentioned, as he was the man who single-handedly managed the engine room of one of the greatest bands of all time: Led Zeppelin. Without Bonham, there is no Led Zeppelin.
Bonham was a genius in that he married intellect with raw power, creating a sound of the type that no one had ever heard before. He took his earliest cues from jazz and big band music and married them with the unfettered attitude of contemporary rock ‘n’ roll. This diversity is what allowed him to deliver some of the most influential drumming moments in history.
He poured his heart and soul into his work, and whether it be ‘Moby Dick’, ‘Whole Lotta Love’, or otherwise, Bonham’s character colours the sound of Led Zeppelin, and without him, they just would not have been the same. You could even argue that without his input, they wouldn’t have been able to take over the world so quickly, as he was the best imaginable ballast for Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones to lay their magical frills over.
Duly, Bonham became as synonymous with the drums as Hendrix with the guitar. A virtuoso in every sense of the word, it is no surprise then that once upon a time, Mr. Hendrix accurately described Bonham to Zeppelin’s frontman Robert Plant, as detailed in A Thunder of Drums: “That drummer of yours has a right foot like a pair of castanets!”
It’s a testament to Bonham’s playing style that everyone who heard his records immediately perceived his dextrous ability or saw him play live, guitar God or not. When you strip away any fancy grips or patterns or fills, the one thing you need to be a great drummer is the heart. You have to have the guts to go for glory, and that’s something Bonham had in bucketloads.
Given that Bonham is so revered as a drummer, fans have long wanted to dig a little deeper into how he formed his unmistakable sound and find out who inspired him. Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most significant influences on him was the composer, bandleader and jazz drummer-extraordinaire Gene Krupa. The Chicago native was famed for his energy and charismatic showmanship, and this captivated a young Bonzo, who idolised the percussionist and his unique technique.
Noted by his brother Michael on Bonham’s website, John was largely influenced by the 1956 biopic film The Benny Goodman Story, in which Krupa played a starring role as the king of swing. Michael says that “John went to see the film with his dad” and that, simply put, for a young Bonzo, “Gene Krupa was God.” Elsewhere, Bonham also expressed his affection for another Krupa film, Beat The Band, where the percussionist plays a set on some steam pipes.
It’s not that Bonham displayed everything Krupa did when he took his own seat behind his own drums. Krupa played ferociously, but he hit the drums like a swordsman, slashing and stabbing with efficiency. Bonham, on the other hand, was a swinging axe, slamming into the shields of his enemies with a thunderous cacophony of sound. Krupa may have been God, but Bonham was certainly a Thor-like figure.