A Tribute to John Bonham

28 years ago today we lost, in my opinion, the best drummer of all time. Some may say others have more defined drumming skills, but no one can deny the power, the passion and the unique style that was his alone. He's inspired so many others over the years, including his own son, Jason who proudly continues his father's legacy.

For me personally, it was a tragic loss because at the time Led Zeppelin was my favorite band, and because John's death day was my birth day. It put a dark cloud over my plans to celebrate my 21st. I shared it here if you're interested - side note, yes, I'm 49, you can do the math but I'll never admit it - I've saying 38 for years and it still works ;)

Here are a few quotes from John and two videos that showcase a bit of his thunderous style. I miss you, Bonzo....

With Zeppelin, I tried to play something different every night in my solos. I'd play for 20 minutes but the longest ever was 30 minutes. It's a long time, but whenI was playing it seemed to fly by.

My nerves before a gig got worse; I had terrible bad nerves all the time. Once we started... I was fine.

I remember in the early days when we played six nights a week for a month and I was doing my long drum solo every night. My hands were covered in blisters.

I dare not drink before a gig because I'll get tired and blow it. So I have to sit drinking tea in a caravan.

Drumming was the only thing I was ever good at.

25 Years Ago Today

We lost the best drummer ever.

For my reaction to the news see below - It's the story of how I heard of his death on my 21st b-day which turned a happy day for me into a very sad one for many).