"It was quite strange, really, meeting John Paul and Jimmy," Bonham, who had already befriended and performed with Plant says. Plant persuaded Page to invite Bonham to play with the band, which Page originally founded as "the New Yardbirds" following the breakup of Page's previous group the Yardbirds.
"Coming from where I come from, I sort of thought it was a bit of joke getting this sort of telegram," Bonham says of the invitation. "There's a chance of becoming one of the Yardbirds? It's like a gift from heaven, wasn't it?"According to Bonham himself, his own style is mainly rooted in the actual drums themselves, not the various cymbals and percussion that he surrounded himself with throughout the years. “I’ve always liked drums to be bright and powerful,” Bonham said in a 1973 interview. “I’ve never used cymbals much. I use them to crash into a solo and out of it, but basically I prefer the actual drum sound.”Although well known for his unmatched power, Bonham also took pride in his ability to lay down a solid groove. “It’s all to do with the swing,” he says in the same interview. “You get a much better tone with a big stroke than you do with a short stab.” John Paul Jones doubled down on his and Bonham’s ability to stay in the pocket. “Yeah, we were both huge Motown and Stax fans and general soul music fans, James Brown fans,” Jones said in 2008. “Which is one of the reasons why I’ve always said that Zeppelin was one of the few bands to ‘swing’. We actually had a groove in those days. People used to come to our shows and dance, which was great.”
Photo: Led Zeppelin, in 1968 by Dick Barnatt/Redferns
Led Zeppelin - How Many More Times (Danmarks Radio 1969)
“Thank you, I’d like to introduce Led Zeppelin to you!
On bass guitar - John Paul Jones, John Paul Jones
On drums - John Bonham
On lead Guitar - Jimmy Page
and myself - Robert Plant
This is what he meant!
Moby Dick (excerpt)
Led Zeppelin - Moby Dick Drum Solo (Madison Square Garden 1973)
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