Posted on 09/25/2020 3:18:09 PM PDT by DoodleBob
It was 40 years ago today that Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham suddenly passed away. The 32-year-old drummer had had a heavy night of 40 shots of vodka, before tragically choking on his own sick. Now his bandmate Jimmy Page has paid tribute to one of rock’s greatest drummers of all time.
The 76-year-old posted Led Zeppelin’s first album cover on his Instagram account.
Aside from today being the 40th anniversary of Bonham’s death, it’s also the 52nd anniversary of the recording of the band’s debut album.
Page began with some fond memories from 1968 with Led Zeppelin before paying tribute to Bonham at the end.
The guitarist wrote: “Today heralds the inception of the epic Led Zeppelin I album.”
Page continued: “The moment whereby I would be able to manifest the sounds and layers I had heard in my head and also prove my status as a producer.
“The group went to Studio No.1, Olympic Studios, 117 Church Road, Barnes, London, SW13, having extensively rehearsed the material for Led Zeppelin I at my house in Pangbourne and we had had the opportunity to perform a good percentage of that material during a few concerts in Scandinavia and the UK to experience our music in a live situation under the clandestine cloak of the Yardbirds.
“In those days, the studio time was scattered and limited over a few days in September and October, dictated by Olympic's availability.
”Thus, with the aid of my old friend Glyn John's masterful engineering, at 11pm on Wednesday 25th September 1968, we began our recordings and embarked upon committing this eclectic powerhouse to tape.”
The 76-year-old added: “Much has been speculated about the initial recordings, so I thought it would be useful to show the worksheet from RAK that gives the dates and times that we were scheduled initially to go in.
“It makes fascinating reading.”
Paying tribute to Bonham, Page wrote: “The opening track of Led Zeppelin I, Good Times Bad Times, changed drumming forever with the glorious technique of John Bonham.
“Sadly, this day is 40 years since his passing. He left a heroic musical legacy.”
Following Bonham’s death, Led Zeppelin released a statement on December 4, 1980.
Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones had decided to disband out of respect for their drummer.
Led Zeppelin wrote: “We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were.”
Of course, Led Zeppelin have reunited over the years since.
Four times in fact, in 1985 (for Live Aid), 1988, 1995 and 2007. John’s son Jason Bonham played the drums on the latter three reunions.
Sadly, Led Zeppelin haven’t reunited since, with Page most recently saying it’s unlikely.
He told the BBC this summer: “It doesn’t look as though there’s anything in the future, unfortunately.
“We’re talking about a concert that was gigantic at the time, but that was 2007: time passes, y’know?”
It’s funny you can always tell boomer or Xer by which Led Zepplin or Pink Floyd they consider best works
Never fails
I’m early Zep fan and early to mid Floyd guy
At age 62 now
I agree I did not like Zep life so much ....I saw them at the Cotton bowl 1975 I think ....not great
But I sure liked their music
I tell u who was great live was the much maligned Tull
And Lynyrd Skynyrd
And Canned Heat....
>you can always tell boomer or Xer by which Led Zepplin or Pink Floyd they consider best works
Zepplin - I and II lead the pack. Never saw them live.
Floyd from Piper through Meddle. Saw them live five or six times over the years. Very bad sound at the stadium concerts, one of the best sounding concerts at Adelbert Gym in 1971.
Tull from This Was through Passion Play. Saw them three or four times.
Genesis from Trespass through Lamb. Saw them three or four times.
I could go on. Cleveland in the early 70’s was a great place to see live rock & I did, a lot.
Off to play some Zepplin I right now.
Almost forget - Bought Zepplin I when it first came out. Liked it so much I took it to school to show my English teacher. Thought she might be interested as she had been a singer with a hot jazz band back in the 20s. “Hey teach, check this out” She was so intrigued that she ordered up a record player and played side 1 in class.
Weird to think that the time between the Roaring 20s and the late 60s is less than the time between the first Zepp LP and today !
It’s too bad that he killed himself due to his own stupidity, but how in the world would that be considered “heroic”?
I don’t know...at least Bonzo didn’t have relations famously with a 14-year old
I think that timeline too
Cause I was a kid I assume like u mid 60s
And the flapper days were a long way ago then
My ginger grandma had been a flapper and could still do the Charleston
And the distance tween the 20s and the War Between the States was about the same ....
I like Wish You Were Here just as an homage to Syd but I agree with your picks too
First stereo concert I saw was Tulls Aqualung tour....they played some TAAB too
My favorite Tull is Benefit era....
Have you ever heard the first Floyd recordings from Cambridge shows 1965-67
Songs like I’m A King Bee.....Floyd doing blues
Another unusual Floyd song is the Nile Song
Soundtrack to the film More
Very early metal.....Gilmour doing heavy USA sounding metal.....and sounds like he’s having fun doing it
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