- gone but not forgotten
John - you are the best, RIP
Do you remember where you were when you heard the news that Bonzo was....dead? :(
It was my 21st birthday and I was feeling good. Over the weekend my friends have given me the BEST PARTY EVER. I was on the campus of Saddleback College and I noticed a group of people gathered around talking in hushed tones, some of them crying. One guy yelled over to me "Did you here? John Bonham is dead". It was inconceivable that he was dead. This meant there was no more Led Zeppelin (more on that later). How could this happen? People all over campus were talking. This was 1980 - Zeppelin was about to go on a US tour, the first in three years. Rumors were flying about whether or not it was a suicide. The actual cause of death was "choking induced by an alcohol overdose".
It truly was the day that Led Zeppelin ceases to exist. Unlike some rock bands who replace deceased members (The Who comes to mind) Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones ended the band. I admire them because to this day they have turned down the opportunity to make millions of dollars by re-uniting the band but they have stood firm. The ONLY two times the three remaining band members played together was at 1985's Live Aid and the 1988 30th Anniversary concert for Atlantic Records - BUT GET THIS - guess who their drummer was on both those occasions? Jason Bonham. John's son had followed in his dads footsteps since he was a little kid and was chose as the ONLY one allowed to sit in for the BEST DRUMMER who ever lived.
7 comments:
Agreed. My sister called and told me the news, we both cried.
I have no recollection of the day, I am impressed by your clarity - and commend your keystrokes in cementing history
Yep, my sister called me too. It sucked that it was her birthday.
Yes I do remember that day...a day my heart was so heavy from the news. I too had that first thought upon hearing the news as you did.."the end to Led Zeppelin" as we had grown to know and love!!! It WAS a very sad time. And still is when I think about it..know what I mean?
Op~
How could I ever forget....I was in 7th grade Spanish class..we had to put a nickel in a can on Senor Hughes' desk if we used a word in English.....A classmate named Bill Yembrick( who spent most of his time hitting the morning bong before school) walked into class and put a dollar bill in the can before even sitting down. He had his head in his hands at his desk and was crying a little into his denim jacket....I was scared of him but a classmate asked him why he was crying and he said "Bonham's dead...I had tickets to the Buffalo(NY) show. I was never so intrigued and quickly switched my affiliation from AC/DC to Zep...and have never looked back!
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