John Bonham | Me & My Music (June 1970)

June 1970.
In 1970, a British magazine had a section called "Me & My Music", in which popular musicians from that era spoke about their career in music. In late June 1970, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham was a guest on this section. Bonham spoke about his early days in music, among many other interesting things. This is what he had to say... Enjoy!

[@cdprince768]

Imagine having home movies of John Bonham teaching you drums as a child.

[@grokeffer6226]

Sad. John Bonham was a major part of what might be the greatest Rock band, ever. I hope his family is doing well.

[@ArmandoMPR]

It’s so bittersweet to hear him talk about his son. And he indeed became a great drummer.

[@traceya9615]

Yes, it's very moving.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

that touched my heart. You can see what it means to be a father to a child in some of that footage..and the precedent of responsiblity it sets.

[@kikovazquez7277]

Very touching and especially those last shots of Jason playing with Led Zeppelin.

[@radiomindchatter7994]

I learned more about John Bonham in this episode than anything else....John just never divulged much. Great as usual 👍

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

I know right. I don't wanna hear another anecdote from one of the blasted out members of the group. They can barely remember their names collectively and so much in-fighting in these super groups.

[@StratsRUs]

His brother's book is very good

[@davidellis5141]

My favorite John Bonham showcase is When The Levee Breaks 🥁 !

[@paulcooper8818]

Anytime I see or hear of him, that song pops into my head.

[@chrisbacos]

I liked this. It's different. His own autobiography of sorts. We lost him way too early. More than 40 years after his death he is still one of the role models for drummers to emulate.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

in his own words is always the best.

[@knickd1979]

That bit at the end made my feelies swell up a bit (of course I instantly kicked them back down), as a father it’s great to hear Bongam glowing about his son, and then of course his son turned into a great drummer and played with Zeppelin. Sweet!

[@MrRexdale71]

Some of Led Zeppelin's music is already 50 years old and people are still listening to it.50 years from now people will still be listening because good music is timeless. John Bonham's legacy in the history of Rock Music is secure. And the music he helped create lives on in all of those who remember.

[@user-bc7lu6qb5l]

People still dissecting his feel and response to pages riffs love it can’t get enough

[@heinrichvon]

I very much like reminiscences like this, not just for what it says about Bonham, but what it says about the British music scene that spawned and sustained him. Imagine that one band established both Dave Holland, Miles Davis' future bassist, and Noddy Holder, the future vocalist of Slade. Nicely informative.

[@dwaynewladyka577]

John Bonham is a phenomenal drummer. May he rest in peace. Cheers! ✌️

[@spinningmywheels8894]

Too bad he was so afflicted with the excesses of life.

[@lindadote]

@@spinningmywheels8894 …..true, but Bonham’s untimely death was hardly an isolated incident. Unfortunately, excessive or over-indulgence of drink, drugs or both, was always a huge part of the whole Rock ‘n Roll lifestyle for many, and directly caused the premature deaths of some of the most gifted of musicians. I can’t begin to imagine the insanity that comes with realising immense fame and fortune, but I can imagine needing to escape it for a while.

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

@@lindadote thanks for your sober reply.. I lost my own father to the same kind of afflcitions.. and he was a very talented Man like John ..(but in different areas).. , I can relate to how Jason Bonham must feel.. minus the 'stage' presence.

[@timetraveler8777]

My favorite drummer of all time , he was phenomenal, one of the most influential drummer .

[@lindadote]

All that insightful information on John Bonham in six and one half minutes! A wonderful drummer gone far too soon but he left us a remarkable legacy. Fabulous as always YP, thanks.

[@alphadogstudio]

Amazing! Bonham had only been playing a full kit for less than 4 years when he recorded Led Zeppelin first album! WOW!

[@kikovazquez7277]

His narrative reveals that he had confidence - he knew he was good. He had passion - even obsession. He knew he would succeed and with multiple offers, he prioritized choosing the band whose musical style he was most drawn to over bands that at least in his eyes, might stand the best chance for instant success. Zeppelin broke out of the gates like a thoroughbred on amphetamines. The first sounds we heard on their first album was a big drum into punctuated with Bonham's cowbell and with Page playing a one chord intro off the beat....Good Times, Bad Times.

[@_stardust62]

John talking about caring for his drums, drums are like a living thing and John cleaning them and working on them, he made a real connection with them, the drums gave back to him...and the two were one.

[@scottlucas9551]

No kidding? So wild to think John Bonham and Dave Holland were a rhythm section! In a way I could definitely imagine that, probably sounded great!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Amazing, isn't it? Bonham. Dave Holland, and Noddy Holder from Slade in the same band.

[@64north20west]

Anything with John Bonham is like the rarest of diamonds. Excellent.

[@f.w.2054]

Ended way too soon! (The article). Dave Holland and John Bonham in the same group! Wow!

[@centralparkjoe1290]

This is gold🤙❤️🇬🇧🙏

[@blossie33]

I can remember John Bonham from when he was the drummer with the Way of Life and later the Band of Joy, I heard them play at various pubs and clubs in Birmingham. I also saw him with Tim Rose's band in 1968, not very long before LZ formed 😊

[@MarkBarna1]

Bonham is like Hendrix in that there is mystery about him -- so good and died so young.

[@01sapphireGTS]

A family of great drummers.

[@nathalieplum2137]

That was super nice. And thank you for your version of Thank You ☺

[@Ariesmount]

Beautiful tribute. Thank you!

[@jerrywatt6813]

RIP Bonzo you were the heart of the Zepp sound no question ! For me the first two Zepp Lp's were the freshest ! I saw them on the first tour in Pasadena California our bands manager brought us and two weeks later opened our show at the whiskey with communication breakdown I was 15 ! Good show YP cheers!

[@knickd1979]

Tim Rose is totally ignored these days, yet his version of Hey Joe is absolutely perfect and was the obvious predecessor to Jimmy’s version a few months later. For anyone reading this, also check out Tim Rose’s version of “If I Were a Carpenter”….just get past the first minute of chanting, the rest is beautiful

[@tomy.1846]

Best picture ever at 5:28 Wish I could have been there! Great video, thanks for sharing!!

[@VolodyaVolodenka1981]

what a man - simple AND deep

[@whatevershebrings]

Top shelf presentation here, as always. Great pre -LZ photos. Interesting to learn of the Dave Holland connection, and he's absolutely spot on about caring for one's drums and equipmemt.

[@Sp33gan]

Loved this one, YP! Cool background into one of the greatest drummers of all time. One of my favourite things about the UK music story is also represented in how so many of the big names worked together at one point or another. So many of the bands are intertwined with the others. I look forward to more of this series ☺

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Yeah, that's one of the things I find fascinating about the UK music scene as well.

[@duskfun9154]

If you ever get a chance to do the Kevin Ayers one, please please please do!!!!

[@Megetkedelig]

Yeeees!!

[@ellebrook3413]

Loved this! He hit the nail on the head regarding his own ultimate legacy when he said *"I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle, but who's going to know you've done it?* Not that he didn't have technique, but I'd take his groove, feel and swagger on a fairly small set up over certain other precision technicians and their 8 million piece kits any day.

[@manliobenigni1256]

Thank You very much for this. 👏👏👏

[@acethegreat3963]

God, this is truly my favorite channel, and this is definitely my favorite upload so far! So wholesome hearing his journey and passion for music and drums! His playing sounds like a guy who's playing straight from within as honestly as he possibly can. RIP bonzo.

[@bipbopboom]

Excellent episode! A bunch of stuff I never heard before. Nice to see Noddy make an appearance. Great job Yesterday!! Cheers!!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Glad you enjoyed this episode, Jon. Cheers!

[@SPINNINGMYWHEELS777]

When John said he doesn't play the cymbals , he plays the drums, I agreed 100%. Exactly my approach with the kit as well.. I didn't really know he felt that way until I heard this.

[@BONHAMOLOGY]

Really well done video based on a familiar interview. Wonderful. Thank you!

[@spinningmywheels8894]

@1:13 - I heard a Robert Plant side from 1966 in a band called "LISTEN"... he sounds kinda like Tom Jones on Side A ! It's a good 2 sider, more dance club oriented sound bit of Motown in it.

[@spinningmywheels8894]

I had heard about the Band of Joy so often.. I'm surprised to see there is no recorded material from the nucleus era. They of course have reused the name a few times since.

[@SmartCookie2022]

A very interesting listen, thank you, YP. It was also fascinating to learn that Bonham, like many musicians of the time, also appreciated classical music. I never knew he wanted to record the 1812 Overture.

[@marciashiraishi5891]

I've always been fascinated by the Bonham sound. It's a sound that reverberates inside your head and chest, it's like a primal scream, a call from nature. When I was a child and I was scared by thunder, my dad would say “don't be afraid, it's Bonzo playing for God”. My dad and I listened to Zeppelin every day. Now when I hear thunder rolling in the sky I smile and think “Bonzo is playing“. Thank you for that, YP. I loved!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Agreed, the Bonham sound is instantly recognizable. Cheers, Marcia!

[@marciashiraishi5891]

Yesterday’s Papers “He got fired because he was too loud”, you mean those growls and grunts we hear on his isolated drum tracks? I just love it all. In my teens I was in a taiko group, you know, those big Japanese drums and the screaming are part of it. Not random screams but at certain times. Drums have been used since time immemorial, in wars and ritual ceremonies, times when the human spirit is in a kind of hypnotic tension. The screams heated the blood and unified the warriors. I made a playlist of isolated Bonzo tracks and Zepp songs to listen to during my daily walk. There is no greater pleasure than this. They maintain my physical and mental health

[@YesterdaysPapers]

@@marciashiraishi5891 I don't think it was because of the screams, I think he kept getting fired from bands because he played too loud. Bands weren't used to that kind of drumming in the 60s.

[@marciashiraishi5891]

@@YesterdaysPapers Jimmy said that listening to Bonzo play, he felt it was exactly what he wanted for his band. Thank God for Page’s great musical sense!

[@YesterdaysPapers]

@@marciashiraishi5891 Bonham was definitely a perfect fit for Led Zeppelin. Hard to imagine Zeppelin with any other drummer.

[@ngairehurunui9055]

Wonderful 😁

[@buzzawuzza3743]

You make excellent videos.

[@drbassface]

Fantastic

[@SophieLovesSunsets]

All your music is lovely YP, but especially this intro, you're a gifted musician 💯❤ Fascinating insight into John Bonham. Drummers are very unique people for sure. I remember watching an interview with the lovely Charlie Watts and he described drumming as a "nervous twitch" humble until the end bless him 😊💜

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Thanks, Sophie! Drummers are definitely a rare breed.

[@SophieLovesSunsets]

@@YesterdaysPapers ❤

[@oreally8605]

John Henry Bonham. The Jaco of the drums 🥁 in the 70's.

[@lthompson7625]

John Bonham hod carrier, Roger Daltrey sheet metal worker, Tony Lommi plumber .. The list goes on and on. One day someone will write a book about how the British construction industry influenced the rock music scene😅

[@Mike-aka747]

Iommi was the sheet metal worker. It’s how he lost his fingertips and forced him to play a peculiar way. In other words. Inventing heavy metal 🤘🏼

[@lthompson7625]

@@Mike-aka747 Could well be wrong Mike, but l think he started off as an apprentice plumber then became a sheet metal worker. I think a lot of the future rock stars had jobs in industry. McCartney was an armature winder with a Liverpool firm Massey/ Coggins. I only remember that because l was one when l was a kid( apprentice) but didn’t last long😀Was reading the other day in the L,pool Echo that Lennon had a job digging ditches or something, but couldn’t hack it and packed it in after a few weeks.. l know Ringo worked on the Mersey Ferries.

[@Mike-aka747]

@@lthompson7625 you’re right. Started off as a plumber. Had to go relook Iommi’s book. Well legend has it Ozzy would’ve been a career criminal 🤣or in prison if not for Black Sabbath. Always interesting to learn stuff about these guys. And how they were molded into what they would become. Cheers man!

[@lthompson7625]

@@Mike-aka747Before they were famous, write that book Mike! Thinking about it though, It’s probably already been done😀

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Didn't Robert Plant lay tarmac on roads for a while?

[@willieluncheonette5843]

Very enjoyable.... Lots of good things about technique and why it's not always the best thing and about being yourself and not copying others. Thanks YP.

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Cheers, Willie!

[@johnmikk1495]

Another GREAT video about a GREAT drummer! I would like to know where you get those psychedelic background music. Cheers from Brazil 🇧🇷❤️

[@YesterdaysPapers]

I record the background music myself. Glad you like it. Cheers!

[@garygomesvedicastrology]

Interesting that Bonham and Dave Holland were in the same band. I remember reading P.P. Arnold saying she decided to stay in England because all the groups knew each other and were friendly with each other.

[@itsjustme9354]

He was so handsome and his drumming was electric pity he lost his life to the bottle.

[@simonagree4070]

I'd like to hear the Kevin Ayers one. He was a sort of hero to me.

[@Sabotage8675]

Fun fact......he was best man at Tony Iommis wedding 😊

[@onightlysplendor]

Jason Bonham also played with Led Zeppelin on May 14th 1988 at Madison Square Garden for the 40th Anniversary of Atlantic Records!!

[@AlexAlexon3897]

I believe John Bonham was the second-best singer in Led Zeppelin, and Jason has a good voice too.

[@familydogg1234]

This version of " Sugar Shack" sounds live with echo. What's the deal? ( WE are listening as well as watching!!!) ❤💙💜💖💗💘

[@todd3563]

This was well done. 🥁

[@EmrahUncu]

When he was newly wed, he and his wife were living in a small RV. In order to pay the rent he quit smoking.

[@scourgestyles6219]

Please do the Kevin Ayers one, I beg you

[@neilforbes416]

The Spiders? Look them up on their (Terry) "Webb" Site!😁

[@pencilpauli9442]

Bostin'! Get the impression I would have liked John Bonham as a person had I met him. He came across really well in that piece imho.

[@thediamonddog95]

He looks like Ringo on 4:17.

[@garygomesvedicastrology]

Great comment about Ginger Baker and being yourself.

[@familydogg1234]

THE SENATORS She's a Mod, TERRY WEBB AND THE SPIDERS. Live with SCREAMING LORD SUTCH , CHRIS FARLOWE and TIM ROSE ( Mentioned)

[@tadhg3]

Years ago there was a whole audio recording of an interwoven with John Bonham. Anyone know where to find that?

[@voodooinblue3450]

Sad and awesome at the same time. Would loved to have seen him with Jason at Albert Hall. Your son did you proud all the sane. Especially at O2. Fkn drugs and in this case booze have ruined so many lives. Such a cruel waste. You’re the greatest drummer I ever heard Bonzo and I m dark at you for throwing your life away.

[@spinningmywheels8894]

@4:00 - what event is that show? Is there also audio available from that?

[@YesterdaysPapers]

Led Zeppelin live in Bath (1970). You can find some videos from that show on youtube.

[@petenobes4865]

Briefly with CHRIS FARLOWE AND THE THUNDERBIRDS,too.

[@wellsy1954]

My original comment was deleted so I will ask again - did John Bonham play with The Senators, of "She's A Mod" fame?. I believe he did but he doesn't mention them.

[@simonedwards9450]

No better drummer!

[@nathalieplum2137]

I'm sure The Professor's fanatics would like to have a word...😉

[@patricktracy1966]

Pages guitar is pretty thin on the first Zep albums. But the bass and drums are heavy duty! That's the Led Zep sound.

[@phosphorescentscotsman]

Bonzo seems like a down-home sort of bloke. I think that privately he was a bit intimidated by Zep's enormous success, and became weary of hotels and airplanes, and being away from his family. He medicated that with booze and we know how that turned out. Addiction is real no matter who you are.

[@WattisWatts]

Steve Brett and Maverick's version of Sugar Shack is great! It almost sounds like The Who or Yardbirds were told to behave themselves the best they could, but the pot simmered over just a little.

[@iconicshrubbery]

Now I understand the viscerality of Bonham. He was like Animal in the Muppets.

[@iconicshrubbery]

Edit: the reverse..Animal waa based on Bonham.

[@3rdmm]

That version of Moby Dick was great fun 😊

[@michaelwilson2340]

Respecting his instrument? I wonder what John thought of Keith Moon? And why exactly did Steeleye Span declare war on America? Ashley Hutchins always seemed so mellow.

[@wyliesmith4244]

War on America? I've seen Steeleye at least 5 times here in the States (all post Ashley), with and without Maddy, and I never sensed any war on America. When and where did they express that feeling?

[@MemphiStig]

They didn't call him The Beast for nothing!

[@simonagree4070]

Moon, of course. Mitch Mitchell. And the off-hander, Ringo. So many more. Why are so many of the great rock drummers British?

[@pastorpresent7774]

He seems like a nice, normal bloke who was eventually driven beyond the fringe by fame, money and the dreadful insecurity that must come from achieving such success and the pressures to reproduce it again and again.

[@deadlyoneable]

There’s no doubt bonham is a force, but the dude is too heavy handed for me. Lots of drummers have the rock down, but not many have the roll.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Bonham was the funkiest and grooviest rock drummer ever. He wasn't just a heavy hitter.

[@jamesheath7601]

If only he never drank all that vodka that day

[@p0llenp0ny]

2:04 Not John Bonham. Sorry.

[@cunatake7828]

fact: vodka sales have been in decline since 1980!

[@philipbrackpool941]

Never had any lessons. Bloody hell.

[@peterwooldridge7285]

Poingent

[@paavoviuhko7250]

Hod carrying? Really? Not much better than ditch digging. My teachers warned me away from not paying attention, or else. But some people become Led Zeppelin.

[@neboknenim9429]

Lookd afta his drums.......ask Bill ward!!!

[@ronnociar1216]

I am a drummer, and yes none finer than John in my world. Few things I see and or ready on {F.R.E.D.S.} do I stop and make comment on. I thoroughly enjoyed this KZbin presentation entertaining and informative. Talented and smart man oll Bonzo was Tragic lose, he went to soon.

[@hifijohn]

Derek: Well, uh, it's not a very pleasant story...but, uh, he died... uh...he choked on...the ac- the official explanation was he choked on vomit. David: He passed away. Nigel: It was actually, was actually someone else's vomit. It's not.... David: It's ugly. Nigel: You know. There's no real.... Derek: You know they can't prove whose vomit it was...they don't have the facilities at Scotland Yard.... David: You can't print, there's no way to print a spectra-photograph... Nigel: You can't really dust for vomit.

[@Cream1968]

Loves me some SpinalTap….😉🇬🇧🇬🇧 Great channel mate!

[@globalunitedanimals]

He isn't anywhere earth greatest in my book, because he was limited.He sucked at many things especially swing. Also, zep isn't the greatest rock band in my opinion because they did more covers than originals.

[@markbradley5290]

John Bonham,John Henry Bonham!

[@musashielmaldito6848]

The best drummer

[@cardinalsfan8182]

John Bonham,Keith Moon,and everyone else.

[@f.w.2054]

You forgot Ginger!