Jump to content

Paul Rodgers Talks About Effect of Bonzo's death


kenog

Recommended Posts

Paul Rodgers Says John Bonham's Death Influenced His Decision to Quit Bad Company

http://www.spinnermu...d-company-free/

A couple of years after Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died a 'Shooting Star' type of death, you left your own band to be with your family. How did his death influence that decision?

It influenced me very much. But I was ready for it, anyway. I was ready to come off the road, and I could sense the feeling that we were just flying a little too high and getting a little too crazy, and something had to give along those lines.

It happened so many times before -- that was really the inspiration for the song 'Shooting Star.' John was such a lovely guy. It was such a sad thing to lose him as a friend and for the world to lose such an amazing talent. Because I do think he was probably one of the greatest rock 'n' roll drummers that ever lived. So it was really a blow. And it was a harsh taste of reality.

So I decided I needed some time to live some life. But I never ever got very far away from music. I built a studio in the house and just continued recording. And before I knew it, Jimmy


was coming around, and we were writing songs, the Firm was born and we were back on the road again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So I decided I needed some time to live some life. But I never ever got very far away from music. I built a studio in the house and just continued recording. And before I knew it, Jimmy


was coming around, and we were writing songs, the Firm was born and we were back on the road again.

This is true, as it was Jimmy who called Paul and asked if he would fancy joining him on the six-date December 1983 ARMS North American tour (Steve Winwood had performed with Jimmy at two Royal Albert Hall dates in September 1983). Paul agreed to join him for the tour and it eventually lead to formation of The Firm. Jimmy later described Paul's decision to join him for the ARMS tour as "quite valiant, really".

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Paul Rodgers Says John Bonham's Death Influenced His Decision to Quit Bad Company

http://www.spinnermu...d-company-free/

A couple of years after Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died a 'Shooting Star' type of death, you left your own band to be with your family. How did his death influence that decision?

It influenced me very much. But I was ready for it, anyway. I was ready to come off the road, and I could sense the feeling that we were just flying a little too high and getting a little too crazy, and something had to give along those lines.

It happened so many times before -- that was really the inspiration for the song 'Shooting Star.' John was such a lovely guy. It was such a sad thing to lose him as a friend and for the world to lose such an amazing talent. Because I do think he was probably one of the greatest rock 'n' roll drummers that ever lived. So it was really a blow. And it was a harsh taste of reality.

So I decided I needed some time to live some life. But I never ever got very far away from music. I built a studio in the house and just continued recording. And before I knew it, Jimmy


was coming around, and we were writing songs, the Firm was born and we were back on the road again.

I didn't realize that 'Shooting Star' was related to John Bonham's death. I'll have to listen to it with a new focus.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is true, as it was Jimmy who called Paul and asked if he would fancy joining him on the six-date December 1983 ARMS North American tour (Steve Winwood had performed with Jimmy at two Royal Albert Hall dates in September 1983). Paul agreed to join him for the tour and it eventually lead to formation of The Firm. Jimmy later described Paul's decision to join him for the ARMS tour as "quite valiant, really".

Wow, I didn't know that Jimmy played with Steve Winwood! I would love to see/hear them together!

I always wondered if "Shooting Star" was about Bonzo. "Johnny", in the song, was a guitar player, not a drummer. And "Shooting Star" was recorded in 1974, released in 1975, so it couldn't have been writen about Bonzo's death. But it turned out to be prophetic in relation to Bonzo. Too bad that some people in the music business don't take those lyrics to heart and heed the message that it sends.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't realize that 'Shooting Star' was related to John Bonham's death. I'll have to listen to it with a new focus.

Shooting Star was released in 1975, five years before John Bonham's death, so the relation here is an indirect one - he died a 'Shooting Star' type of death.

The song tells a story about the rise of a boy named Johnny to stardom and his eventual death. In the first verse, Johnny is inspired by the song, "Love Me Do" by The Beatles to buy a guitar and later become a member of a rock band. The next verse has Johnny saying goodbye to his mother as he leaves home to pursue his dreams. The third verse sings of Johnny making a number one hit and becoming a worldwide star. In the final verse, Johnny dies due to a drug overdose of sleeping pills.

It can be inferred that Johnny is a guitar player as well as a songwriter. It is also possible that Johnny is the lead singer in his band as well because of the lyric "to hear him sing his song".

This song has been related to many rock stars who have also died of drug overdoses. Bad Company lead singer, Paul Rodgers, has said the song is a warning to people in the music industry and has referenced Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix in interviews when asked about the song.

"At that particular time you had Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin...just a catalog of people who didn't make it, who overdosed in their beds...that was the gem of this song. It's a story and it's almost a warning." — Guitar World, April 1999.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow, I didn't know that Jimmy played with Steve Winwood! I would love to see/hear them together!

I always wondered if "Shooting Star" was about Bonzo. "Johnny", in the song, was a guitar player, not a drummer. And "Shooting Star" was recorded in 1974, released in 1975, so it couldn't have been writen about Bonzo's death. But it turned out to be prophetic in relation to Bonzo. Too bad that some people in the music business don't take those lyrics to heart and heed the message that it sends.

Yep, you've got the dates and the theme absolutely correct. Ziggy Stardust would be another that would have fit the bill ! Could have been about anyone dry.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The clips are available on YouTube...'Who's To Blame', 'City Sirens', 'Layla', etc. Just search "Jimmy Page Steve Winwood".

Thanks, Steve.

I just watched all of the clips and I really enjoyed them!

I guess I never knew that Jimmy played with Steve at some of the ARMS concerts!

I was not even aware of the ARMS concerts back in the day. I was too busy studying in college to even be aware of things going on in the world of rock at the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess I never knew that Jimmy played with Steve at some of the ARMS concerts! I was not even aware of the ARMS concerts back in the day. I was too busy studying in college to even be aware of things going on in the world of rock at the time.

Well, glad to see you've finally got your priorties straight. Anyway, and hopefully not to take this thread further off course, according to Steve Winwood he recorded with Jimmy just prior to the formation of Led Zeppelin. It's been explored in depth within the Zeppelin Mysteries thread, but here's the gist of it:

In a 1982 interview published in Timothy White's book Rock Lives (1990), Steve said he "played with Jimmy Page for a solo album of his after he'd left the Yardbirds", then adds that "the music wasn't heavy like Led Zeppelin ... it was quite nice".

A Led Zeppelin bootleg CD called Olympic Gold credits Steve Winwood as organist on two tracks, "Instrumental #1" (2:50) and "Instrumental #2" (5:05). The tracks are two takes of the same jam theme, recorded at Olympic studios (London) in September and October of 1968. The organist on these tracks doesn't sound like Winwood to some, though.

A Page / Winwood tape in circulation consists of eight takes working out a song on guitar and organ. Some people have described this as part of the "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" sessions, and some people attribute the organ part to John Paul Jones rather than Steve Winwood. (Thanks to Neil from SP 26-03, 3/96.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, glad to see you've finally got your priorties straight. Anyway, and hopefully not to take this thread further off course, according to Steve Winwood he recorded with Jimmy just prior to the formation of Led Zeppelin. It's been explored in depth within the Zeppelin Mysteries thread, but here's the gist of it:

In a 1982 interview published in Timothy White's book Rock Lives (1990), Steve said he "played with Jimmy Page for a solo album of his after he'd left the Yardbirds", then adds that "the music wasn't heavy like Led Zeppelin ... it was quite nice".

A Led Zeppelin bootleg CD called Olympic Gold credits Steve Winwood as organist on two tracks, "Instrumental #1" (2:50) and "Instrumental #2" (5:05). The tracks are two takes of the same jam theme, recorded at Olympic studios (London) in September and October of 1968. The organist on these tracks doesn't sound like Winwood to some, though.

A Page / Winwood tape in circulation consists of eight takes working out a song on guitar and organ. Some people have described this as part of the "Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" sessions, and some people attribute the organ part to John Paul Jones rather than Steve Winwood. (Thanks to Neil from SP 26-03, 3/96.)

Thanks for the info, Steve!

I guess that I now have my priorities straight, LOL!

Any chance of Steve and Jimmy getting together again? (Wishful thinking!)

Steve is still performing with Eric Clapton and his vocals are in top form., as well as is his guitar and keyboard playing.

I think that a new collaboration with Jimmy and Steve would be fantastic!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Paul Rodgers certainly knows "Shooting Star" (and knew John Bonham) better than we (fans) but, personally I would never associate John Bonham (and his tragic and horrific accidental death) with "Shooting Star." Yes, he drank and partied heavily but my perception has always been that when he was home his family and friends kept him grounded and stable. I never viewed him as the naive, "lost soul" and "doomed" figure that I thought the character in the song was. My friends and I always associate "Shooting Star" with Tommy Bolin - although the dates are wrong for that too. Just my interpretation. :)

I was at several of the U.S. ARMS concerts (thanks to my husband :wub: who persuaded me to go) and while I think Jeff Beck's performance was the strongest musically, Jimmy's appearance and the ovation he received outshone everyone else on stage. That (along with Ronnie Laine being brought out at the end) has stayed with me more than anything else from those nights. Page, Beck and Clapton together on stage: still the greatest rock lineup I've ever seen.

And yes, as a fan of Free, I absolutely remember the tragic death of Paul Kossoff.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shooting Star was released in 1975, five years before John Bonham's death, so the relation here is an indirect one - he died a 'Shooting Star' type of death.

The song tells a story about the rise of a boy named Johnny to stardom and his eventual death. In the first verse, Johnny is inspired by the song, "Love Me Do" by The Beatles to buy a guitar and later become a member of a rock band. The next verse has Johnny saying goodbye to his mother as he leaves home to pursue his dreams. The third verse sings of Johnny making a number one hit and becoming a worldwide star. In the final verse, Johnny dies due to a drug overdose of sleeping pills.

It can be inferred that Johnny is a guitar player as well as a songwriter. It is also possible that Johnny is the lead singer in his band as well because of the lyric "to hear him sing his song".

This song has been related to many rock stars who have also died of drug overdoses. Bad Company lead singer, Paul Rodgers, has said the song is a warning to people in the music industry and has referenced Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix in interviews when asked about the song.

"At that particular time you had Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin...just a catalog of people who didn't make it, who overdosed in their beds...that was the gem of this song. It's a story and it's almost a warning." — Guitar World, April 1999.

Hi Steve! :wave:

Just to respond to this thread. I have on audio tape somewhere in my collection of an interview that aired on the radio in which I believe Mike Ralphs and Simon Kirke state that they believe that Shooting Star was written about Jimi Hendrix. It's been years since I listened to the tape but I believe it was the program "In The Studio" or "Flashback" with Redbeard. I'll see what I can find.

Robert

www.behindthetoys.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Shooting Star was just a generic/composite cautionary tale, I think. Brilliant song, but it couldn't have been exclusively about Hendrix:

'Johnny was a schoolboy when he heard his first Beatles song, "Love Me Do" I think it was, and from there it didn't take him long'.

Jimi had finished school when the Beatles started, and when LMD came out, he'd just finished serving in the army. He was already a proficient guitarist by then as well.

I think of Elvis, too, when I hear this one.

R B)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My little bit of glory was talking to Paul Rodgers on Talk Radio in about 1996, I have it on CD somewhere. I asked Paul if Shooting star was written for Paul Kossoff, He said it wasnt. I then asked him what he's favourite Free track was and he said "Come together in the morning" He stated because of Paul's solo guitaring was brilliant in that track. Indeed it was as it was on all Free's records. RIP Paul, Another great talent lost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My little bit of glory was talking to Paul Rodgers on Talk Radio in about 1996, I have it on CD somewhere. I asked Paul if Shooting star was written for Paul Kossoff, He said it wasnt. I then asked him what he's favourite Free track was and he said "Come together in the morning" He stated because of Paul's solo guitaring was brilliant in that track. Indeed it was as it was on all Free's records. RIP Paul, Another great talent lost.

Little glory!!! What a great song. I would list Free as one of my top favorite 10 bands, and Paul is my second favorite vocalist behind Robert. If you have a chance can you post your interview? I would love to hear what you discussed if you don't mind sharing. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...