Drum Tip

John Henry Bonham

by Ilios Steryiannis

This week, I’d like to start talking about some of my favourite drummers. First, always first, he is my all time favourite and always will be, John Henry Bonham of Led Zeppelin.

The attack, the sound, the sheer ferocity of the drumming absolutely stunned me at the time, right from the very first track on side 1 of the vinyl record, “Good Times, Bad Times”. When I listen to it today, I get the same feeling all over again. Two hits on the snare and floor tom, some cowbell and hi hat work, then that thunderous Buddy Rich influenced intro fill into what is still some of the fastest footwork in rock drumming history in the main groove of the song.

There are many more tracks in the Zeppelin catalog that feature Bonzo’s great drumming (all of them, in fact!). We will discuss that and more of my favorite drummers in the coming weeks.

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