Bonham 'Top Drummer of All Time'

Johnny-Too-Good

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Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham has topped Rolling Stone's Top 100 Drummers list.


The late sticksman beat Cream's Ginger Baker, Keith Moon from The Who and Neal Peart from Rush to the No.1 spot in Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Drummers Of All Time.

The magazine says it based its choices on "one important caveat: we used rock and pop as our rubric, so a drummer's work needed to directly impact that world to make the list."

They say that Bonham "changed rock drumming forever" on Led Zeppelin's first record.

Rolling Stone adds: "Jimmy Page was still amused by the disorienting impact that Good Times Bad Times, with its jaw-dropping bass-drum hiccups, had on listeners: 'Everyone was laying bets that Bonzo was using two bass drums, but he only had one.' Heavy, lively, virtuosic and deliberate, that performance laid out the terrain Bonham's artful clobbering would conquer before his untimely death in 1980.

"At his most brutally paleolithic he never bludgeoned dully, at his most rhythmically dumbfounding he never stooped to unnecessary wankery, and every night on tour he dodged both pitfalls with his glorious stampede through Moby Dick."

Bonham died, aged 32, on September 25, 1980 of a pulmonary edema after drinking 100 shots of vodka in a 24 hour period while the band were rehearsing for tour. Led Zeppelin broke up shortly after.

Bonham's son Jason previously said he's confident that the remaining members of Led Zeppelin will play together again.


Rolling Stone's Greatest Drummers Of All Time

Top 10

1.John Bonham, Led Zeppelin
2.Keith Moon, The Who
3.Ginger Baker, cream
4.Neal Peart, Rush
5.Hal Blaine
6.Clyde Stubblefield and John 'Jabo' Starks
7.Gene Krupa
8.Mitch Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix Experience
9.Al Jackson Jr, Booker T and The MGs
10.Stewart Copeland, The Police
 

Johnny-Too-Good

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And where is Ian Paice, my dear "music experts"? :oyea:

Indeed. I guess you would question anything that 'Rolling Stone' puts out there, although I would say Bonham is my personal favourite. But Keith Moon at number two? Keith was a very entertaining individual, but I have seen Pete Townsend rip him to pieces in documentaries as regards his skills as a drummer.
 

rollingstoned

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Bonham is one of my favorite drummers for sure.

I think overall he would be my top choice. Keith Moon is amazing as well, along with Dave Grohl.
 

Ar-Pharazon

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Typical Rolling Stone poll....

Neil should be #1.

Every poll is subjective based on who they asked, if they bothered to ask anyone and weren't pulling names out of a hat.

I don't know some of the names on this list, as far as I'm concerned, Jason Bonham could be top-ten.
 
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recgord27

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Rolling Stone is usually off the mark with their polls, but I think that this time they may be right regarding John Bonham. There are certainly better drummers today, but in my book John Bonham wrote the manual on rock drumming. In the context of the times, he certainly revolutionised rock drumming.
Except for Neil Peart, Mitch Mitchell and Ginger Baker, I think there are much better drummers than those listed.
 

Mr. Bob Dobolina

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I'm glad Hal Blaine placed where he did. He drummed on so many classics, in a variety of styles. In the same area (session work) I'd also add Jim Gordon (personal tragedy aside). Funny, usually you see Charlie Watts place pretty high in polls like this. Levon Helm had a certain funkiness, too.
 

Sharp Dressed Man

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Every poll is subjective based on who they asked.

Exactly! I don't understand people who get upset over polls or best of lists.

Rolling Stone is usually off the mark with their polls, but I think that this time they may be right regarding John Bonham. There are certainly better drummers today, but in my book John Bonham wrote the manual on rock drumming. In the context of the times, he certainly revolutionised rock drumming.

I couldn't agree more!
 

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