Dead
Rocker's Society
John Bonham
Placed with permission in Weldon Spring
Conservation CA. Thanks to John Vogel for his support of
Geocaching.
This is a series dedicated to
past rockers who have left their mark on our society. To be a
member of the Dead Rocker's Society, a person must be dead.. Sorry,
the living still have a chance of becoming famous. The person must
have been in a rock band with an album. Too many rockers died
before they ever achieved fame. They will not be included. This is
also not a rock and roll hall of fame. This is for die hard rockers
that impacted the 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's and 2000's. Each person
will have a cache placed in their honor. If you knew the person
through their work, please indicate it in the log. Share with us
what you remembered about this person. If you have never heard of
them, this hopefully, will introduce you to their work.
John Bonham was born in 1948 in Redditch, England. As a
boy, he would bang on his mother's pots and pans. He would often
tie a wire around a coffee tin, and use it as a snare drum. He got
his first drum at age 10, and soon there after got his first drum
kit. It was a second hand kit that his dad picked up for him, but
he treated it like his baby. Bonham often said that mistreating
your drum kit is just one step below child abuse. His first band
came right out of high school when he played with Terry Web and the
Spiders. He hadn't quite got that hard style that he became known
for at that time.
Later, he would play with many local bands like, The Nicky James
Movement, A Way Of Life, and Steve Brett and the Mavericks. At age
18, he met his future wife, Pat. Pat was reluctant to marry him
because she felt that he may not make it in the business.
However, Bonzo continued to assure her that he would make it. Soon
there after, he met a young singer named Robert Plant, and they
worked in a group together called The Band of Joy. The band soon
broke up, and Bonzo left to play elsewhere. One night, he was
approached by a guitarist by the name of Jimmy Page. Jimmy had
recruited Robert Plant for his new band, who were at first called
The New Yardbirds, and Robert had told Jimmy of John. John agreed
to come into the band. Then, The New Yardbirds were formed, and
upon a statement made by The Who's Keith Moon that "You'll go over
like a Lead Zeppelin," they changed their name to Led
Zeppelin.
On September 24, 1980, Bonzo went out on a drinking fest.
He had always been known as a drinker, but this night would be too
much for even him to handle. He had 40 shots of vodka over a four
hour period. He got in a cab, and went to Jimmy Page's country
home, where one of Zeppelin's roadies layed him to bed. During the
night, John Bonham vomitted while unconscious, and choked on his
vomit. Bassist John Paul Jones found him the next morning,
September 25, in his bed, not breathing. The funeral was held on
October 10, and the band officially broke up in December. The
others would go on to great solo careers, but they would never know
just how far Zeppelin would have gone. John left behind his wife
Pat, son Jason, and daughter Zoe. In 1994, Led Zeppelin was
inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame, and they recieved the
lifetime achievement award from the American Music Awards in 1995.
At both occasions, Jason Bonham accepted for his father.
You are looking for a small rocket ship! Make
sure you place everything back as you found it. Thanks!