What Makes John Bonham Such a Good Drummer?

This is a cool little video that talks about Bonham and his technique,style etc...
Long Live Bonzo!!!

 

The. Foot.

 

Well, he was excellent at being very loud.

 

His feel and touch. Light touch, but HUGE sound, and a swagger in his feel that no one else has ever had.

 

And he was excellent despite being very loud.

 

Bonzo...there is no substitute.

 

Pete Best was better

 

Hitting 'em flippin' hard n lots of vodka..

 

All of the above and his sense of timekeeping.

 

The "Hammer" that drives Zeppelin. 'Nuff said...

 

Good production helps.

 

Read somewhere, perhaps on this forum, that Bonzo visited a Black Sabbath studio session, and Bill Ward
got pissed off because Bonham wrecked his drum kit. - Just the thought of that is really funny...

 

Ya, Page's talent as producer was better than his guitar playing (imo).

 

I think for me, it's his simplicity. Nothing really over the top or too flashy, except for how loud he seems.

 

Basically his swing feel. Iirc, some of his favorite drummers were Kruppa, Palmer, Dodds, etc.

 

I once asked a top-notch drummer this question. He replied, "Hits really hard."

 

Speaking of production, he didn't overdo the crash cymbals.

 

Nice little presentation video on some of his work. Outstanding drummer.

Love his stuff, but a bigger fan of Neil Pearl, admittedly partly due to the size of the Kit he used.

 

According to Ginger Baker, Bonham "couldn't swing a sack of s***".

 

He changed timing. He made it interesting to listen. He was in touch with the music.

 

I've always felt he made great use of dynamics.

 

That's true - he didn't swing much, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a great drummer. He had syncopation and was unique.

 

As mentioned, feel is everything, and he had buckets of it. He was also inventive, and dynamic, and like Ringo and Paice and Phil Collins and Jim Keltner, etc., always played for the song.

 

Fast foot, Great technical ability when needed, Feel, And like Ringo..He played for the song.
Wish he was still with us.

 

Musical sensitivity. He doesn't just hit the drums. He plays the song and truly plays with the other musicians.