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John Bonham's favourite Drummers


Mook

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I read that in the book LZ-'75: The Lost Chronicles of Led Zeppelin's 1975 American Tour (chapter 24), and you're right- Mind Transplant was the other album- turns out he was actually playing along to them at 3am in his Riot House hotel room- hilarious.

I bought Funky Snakefoot on mail order and had it on full volume tonight, had to laugh thinking about Bonham playing along all night in a hotel. Great drumming on the LP, a lot of high hat barks and single stroke rolls.

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  • 2 years later...

I talked to Butch about meeting Bonzo and he said he couldn't have been a nicer fella, happy and enthusiastic to meet him and loved the Basie band. Butch said he told Bonzo he was a big fan of his drumming too...so they were a mutual admiration society at that moment.  I think had Bonzo lived there would have been better , drum related interviews where he opened up about his influences, concepts, music in general. Shame we don't have more. 

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1 hour ago, porgie66 said:

I talked to Butch about meeting Bonzo and he said he couldn't have been a nicer fella, happy and enthusiastic to meet him and loved the Basie band. Butch said he told Bonzo he was a big fan of his drumming too...so they were a mutual admiration society at that moment.  I think had Bonzo lived there would have been better , drum related interviews where he opened up about his influences, concepts, music in general. Shame we don't have more. 

Very nice to hear. 

I agree. I think John would have been an even greater drum mentor in his later years.  He didn't do much press. I wish there were more pure drum related interviews with him. 

With all the great drum magazines out there since his passing, I can't picture him not doing more drummer related interviews. 

Edited by the chase
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I hear Al Jackson, Zigaboo, and Roger Hawkins in Bonzo's playing. Don't know for sure if he dug Hawkins but seeing as he played on so many great R&B and soul sessions it is likely. 

 

Listen to the drumming on this track..the bass drum work is killin, very Bonahm like.  Not sure if this is Roger Hawkins but it sure sounds like him.

 

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51 minutes ago, porgie66 said:

I talked to Butch about meeting Bonzo and he said he couldn't have been a nicer fella, happy and enthusiastic to meet him and loved the Basie band. Butch said he told Bonzo he was a big fan of his drumming too...so they were a mutual admiration society at that moment.  I think had Bonzo lived there would have been better , drum related interviews where he opened up about his influences, concepts, music in general. Shame we don't have more. 

That's great to read.

I think Bonham wanted to talk about drumming & music more but got asked a lot of stupid questions about other things by journalists, which is a real shame. He was always very complimentary about other drummers from what I can see, even towards the likes of Ginger Baker who has nothing nice to say about him.

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On 3/26/2015 at 0:12 PM, Mothership Drummer said:

I've always been curious what Bonzo thought of Peart as well. Anytime I hear Peart talk about his influences, he never so much as mentions Bonham. I guess that would make sense his not being an influence since they could not have more polar opposite drumming approaches, but he's almost dismissive like he's never heard of Bonham OR Zeppelin.

If you listen to All the World's a Stage and play Working Man / Finding My Way, the drum solo Peart does beginning at the 9:30 mark on. There are section which are, verbatim, lifted from TSRTS version of Moby Dick and I am not talking a lick or two, I am talking whole segments, 10 to 20 seconds long in parts. How Peart can act so oblivious to Bonzo after something like that really makes me wonder. It would be like Eric Clapton whipping out a bow and playing segments of D&C and then saying, "My influence...Albert King and Robert Johnson exclusively."

I love Peart as a player and a writer, but the guy is a wee bit strange to say the least. He does not do press, he refuses to talk with fans. I don't consider him a dick per se because he never talks shit, the problem is, he rarely talks and when he does it is primarily about his drumming influences (Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, and Keith Moon) which is fine. However, you don't play sections of Moby Dick in your own solo and then act as if Bonzo never existed.

Weird...Still love Peart but....weird.

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27 minutes ago, IpMan said:

There are section which are, verbatim, lifted from TSRTS version of Moby Dick and I am not talking a lick or two, I am talking whole segments, 10 to 20 seconds long in parts.

Would you be able to tell us where in Moby Dick? Like on a youtube link or something? I'm very curious to hear this.

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6 hours ago, IpMan said:

If you listen to All the World's a Stage and play Working Man / Finding My Way, the drum solo Peart does beginning at the 9:30 mark on. There are section which are, verbatim, lifted from TSRTS version of Moby Dick and I am not talking a lick or two, I am talking whole segments, 10 to 20 seconds long in parts. How Peart can act so oblivious to Bonzo after something like that really makes me wonder. It would be like Eric Clapton whipping out a bow and playing segments of D&C and then saying, "My influence...Albert King and Robert Johnson exclusively."

I love Peart as a player and a writer, but the guy is a wee bit strange to say the least. He does not do press, he refuses to talk with fans. I don't consider him a dick per se because he never talks shit, the problem is, he rarely talks and when he does it is primarily about his drumming influences (Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, and Keith Moon) which is fine. However, you don't play sections of Moby Dick in your own solo and then act as if Bonzo never existed.

Weird...Still love Peart but....weird.

Yeah, he does come off weird but he's  been through some very tough shit in his life and he hated the "limelight". I think Peart didn't identify with Bonham , in terms of lifestyle. He is famously shy, introspective and basically a clean life type guy. Peart is an intellectual.  Bonzo tore up hotel rooms, brawled and partook of the hedonistic offerings of the Rock star lifestyle , even though I think it tormented him and at heart he was a regular bloke who disliked all the bullshit too. But he succommed , Peart didn't. So I wonder, and this is just my bullshit speculation, but I wonder if despite the likely hood that Peart took some influences from Bonzo ( I don't see how any great rock drummer couldn't) , he just didn't often cite him as an influence because of the lack of maybe...respect for Bonzos reputation? Then again he cites Moon as a big influence and he was ...well, Moon. 

Regarding drumming style, I don't hear much Bonham in Peart at all. The statement about Peart lifting parts of Moby Dick verbatim is just not correct IMO. Maybe in the obvious quadruplet shit which is basically Pearts way of playing what Bonzo did as triplets and the typical slow down of the pattern which was how Bonzo usually ended his solo. That's about it and that's not verbatim. The fact is, many other drummers played that same type thing in their solos, Ginger Baker, Carl Palmer, Ian Paice etal...and those guys got that from Elvin Jones IMO.  What else? Peart plays the jungle drums type thing ala Krupa which Bonham did too , but completely differently. Pearts bass drum is on the downbeats, Bonzos on the upbeats which make for a very different feel. If Peart did that then I'd cry , verbatim ripoff!  The snare workout stuff Peart is doing in that solo is basically run of the mill Buddy Rich type stuff, though not as sophisticated. No Moby Dick plagiarism there either.  Actually, I contend Bonham ( and Paice ) had those chops better than Peart. Not to detract from Peart's playing but he is much stiffer than Bonham, and Peart couldn't make a 20 -30 minute solo as interesting as Bonham , no way.  But, I love Peart's playing. I'm anticipating some hate will be coming  for saying this. ?

Edited by porgie66
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14 hours ago, Mook said:

That's great to read.

I think Bonham wanted to talk about drumming & music more but got asked a lot of stupid questions about other things by journalists, which is a real shame. He was always very complimentary about other drummers from what I can see, even towards the likes of Ginger Baker who has nothing nice to say about him.

I agree with this entirely.

It pissed me off to hear Ginger Baker in that documentary say Bonham couldn't swing from a rope. Sheeet, Ginger Baker  can't swing!!  GTFOH. Bonham actually did swing, for a rock drummer. Fucking ridiculous comment. 

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Here's one..... 

Interview: Rush's Neil Peart talks drum solos 

"Take John Bonham, who's a drummer I greatly admire: I watch some of his drum solos and they're fantastic, but you know, it gets long and self indulgent"

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-rushs-neil-peart-talks-drum-solos-458100

Please read the interview before you pounce...

He's talking about how certain drummers like Ringo and Stewart Copelanfd hate to play drum solos.. 

Edited by the chase
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3 hours ago, the chase said:

Here's one..... 

Interview: Rush's Neil Peart talks drum solos 

"Take John Bonham, who's a drummer I greatly admire: I watch some of his drum solos and they're fantastic, but you know, it gets long and self indulgent"

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-rushs-neil-peart-talks-drum-solos-458100

Please read the interview before you pounce...

He's talking about how certain drummers like Ringo and Stewart Copelanfd hate to play drum solos.. 

I think most John Bonham fans would admit that his solos did go on too long at times.

I love his 'shorter' solos personally but his real contribution was how he played in the group setting.

*apologies - I didn't get a chance to read the article as it's blocked at my work

 

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5 hours ago, the chase said:

Here's one..... 

Interview: Rush's Neil Peart talks drum solos 

"Take John Bonham, who's a drummer I greatly admire: I watch some of his drum solos and they're fantastic, but you know, it gets long and self indulgent"

http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-rushs-neil-peart-talks-drum-solos-458100

Please read the interview before you pounce...

He's talking about how certain drummers like Ringo and Stewart Copelanfd hate to play drum solos.. 

I agree with this 100%. The longest drum solo I can stand is the version played on TSRTS. Everything he throws in there it is actually pretty concise and focused, then again I believe that solo is edited down from the original source. Either way, 10 to 12 min max IMO for someone like Bonham. Some of his 30+ minute solos were just excruciating exercises in self-indulgence of which meandering repetition was the phrase of the moment.

Thanks for that Chase, that is the first time I ever heard Peart mention Bonham.

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8 hours ago, porgie66 said:

Yeah, he does come off weird but he's  been through some very tough shit in his life and he hated the "limelight". I think Peart didn't identify with Bonham , in terms of lifestyle. He is famously shy, introspective and basically a clean life type guy. Peart is an intellectual.  Bonzo tore up hotel rooms, brawled and partook of the hedonistic offerings of the Rock star lifestyle , even though I think it tormented him and at heart he was a regular bloke who disliked all the bullshit too. But he succommed , Peart didn't. So I wonder, and this is just my bullshit speculation, but I wonder if despite the likely hood that Peart took some influences from Bonzo ( I don't see how any great rock drummer couldn't) , he just didn't often cite him as an influence because of the lack of maybe...respect for Bonzos reputation? Then again he cites Moon as a big influence and he was ...well, Moon. 

Regarding drumming style, I don't hear much Bonham in Peart at all. The statement about Peart lifting parts of Moby Dick verbatim is just not correct IMO. Maybe in the obvious quadruplet shit which is basically Pearts way of playing what Bonzo did as triplets and the typical slow down of the pattern which was how Bonzo usually ended his solo. That's about it and that's not verbatim. The fact is, many other drummers played that same type thing in their solos, Ginger Baker, Carl Palmer, Ian Paice etal...and those guys got that from Elvin Jones IMO.  What else? Peart plays the jungle drums type thing ala Krupa which Bonham did too , but completely differently. Pearts bass drum is on the downbeats, Bonzos on the upbeats which make for a very different feel. If Peart did that then I'd cry , verbatim ripoff!  The snare workout stuff Peart is doing in that solo is basically run of the mill Buddy Rich type stuff, though not as sophisticated. No Moby Dick plagiarism there either.  Actually, I contend Bonham ( and Paice ) had those chops better than Peart. Not to detract from Peart's playing but he is much stiffer than Bonham, and Peart couldn't make a 20 -30 minute solo as interesting as Bonham , no way.  But, I love Peart's playing. I'm anticipating some hate will be coming  for saying this. ?

The most obvious "influence" from Bonham in Peart's solo at the end of Working Man is the section (I am not a drummer so please forgive) where he plays what sounds to me like the section of TSRTS Moby Dick where Bonzo is playing that amazing, rolling beat while in the film he is queuing up in the dragster. Peart plays that section for a good 15 seconds or more and to me, it sounds identical. That is just one example.

About Peart's personality, you are correct and that is why I stressed he was not a dick IMO, he is just shy and intense. The poor guy also could not seem to cut a break in regard to his family life, I really feel sorry for him, no one deserved what Neal had to go through. I am glad he has found happiness once again in his personal life and applaud him for having the balls to tell Alex & Geddy the show was over, time to put Rush to bed. Neal was not going to make the same mistakes twice. One of my biggest points of sadness regarding Zeppelin is that Bonham did not do the same thing after the European Tour in 80'. I truly believe had Zeppelin either gone on extended hiatus or just called it a day after July 7th, 1980 that Bonzo would likely be with us today, and elder statesman for drumming. 

Edited by IpMan
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Just now, IpMan said:

I agree with this 100%. The longest drum solo I can stand is the version played on TSRTS. Everything he throws in there it is actually pretty concise and focused, then again I believe that solo is edited down from the original source. Either way, 10 to 12 min max IMO for someone like Bonham. Some of his 30+ minute solos were just excruciating exercises in self-indulgence of which meandering repetition was the phrase of the moment.

Thanks for that Chase, that is the first time I ever heard Peart mention Bonham.

Very cool interview. I happen to love hearing Bonzo stretch out , when he was really exploring ...especially up to around 20 mins but I agree, much of the time it seemed like he was meandering or practicing, working out ideas. That's part of what I love so much about his solos, that searching . 

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31 minutes ago, Wolfman said:

That's not Peart on Working man; it's John Rutsey (who did sound a lot like Bonzo)

LPMan's talking about the All The World's A Stage live version with Neil on drums. 

1 hour ago, IpMan said:

Thanks for that Chase, that is the first time I ever heard Peart mention Bonham.

You're welcome, first I'd seen Neil mention JB as well. 

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1 hour ago, IpMan said:

The most obvious "influence" from Bonham in Peart's solo at the end of Working Man is the section (I am not a drummer so please forgive) where he plays what sounds to me like the section of TSRTS Moby Dick where Bonzo is playing that amazing, rolling beat while in the film he is queuing up in the dragster. Peart plays that section for a good 15 seconds or more and to me, it sounds identical. That is just one example.

 

Yes, it sounds a lot like it and I can understand why you would say you think its a direct take from Bonham's triplet bit but it's a common lick used by many drummers to create excitement in their solo. 

Paice is doing the same thing in this clip, only with a single bass drum, so triplets just like Bonham did, not quads....around 3:55 and again at around 4:30. I firmly believe this bit is directly inspired by Ginger Baker who did it all the time in his solos (The Toad) , and that Ginger copped this from Elvin Jones. Certainly Bonzo was influenced a lot by Baker's solo. 

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10 minutes ago, porgie66 said:

 I firmly believe this bit is directly inspired by Ginger Baker who did it all the time in his solos (The Toad). Certainly Bonzo was influenced a lot by Baker's solo. 

The fact that Bonzo said he liked Ginger Baker's playing and spoke of being influenced by him, was imo why it was so rude and disrespectful for Baker to say what he did. He's a great drummer but an intensely dislikeable character; no wonder Cream couldn't stay together for long despite the brilliant music.

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On 7/31/2017 at 10:49 AM, porgie66 said:

I hear Al Jackson, Zigaboo, and Roger Hawkins in Bonzo's playing. Don't know for sure if he dug Hawkins but seeing as he played on so many great R&B and soul sessions it is likely. 

 

Listen to the drumming on this track..the bass drum work is killin, very Bonahm like.  Not sure if this is Roger Hawkins but it sure sounds like him.

 

Anyone with me on this? :(

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