{"id":222314,"date":"2025-10-13T20:15:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T20:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/222314\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T20:15:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T20:15:11","slug":"the-one-led-zeppelin-classic-fuelled-by-john-bonhams-anger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/222314\/","title":{"rendered":"The one Led Zeppelin classic fuelled by John Bonham’s anger"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"John<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n

Mon 13 October 2025 19:35, UK <\/p>\n

John Bonham<\/a> is rightly hailed as one of the greatest drummers of all time. Fusing technique with raw power, his jazz-inflected style of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll is one of the most influential ever recorded. The hairy rock titan had a panache when it came to drumming that has never really been matched. <\/p>\n

Bonham\u00a0will go down in the rock and roll history books as one of the best musicians in his field. However, without the backing of his unstoppably talented band, Led Zeppelin, the world may never have got to witness the sheer power and precision of his percussion. It\u2019s no surprise that Bonham has gone on to define not only the instrument but the entire notion of what a \u2018rock drummer\u2019 should really be.<\/p>\n

Subsequently, given his impact, countless stories about one of music\u2019s most mythical figures, including how he came to record his part for Led Zeppelin<\/a>\u2018s masterpiece \u2018Stairway to Heaven\u2019, have become hot property in the years since his death.<\/p>\n

Although Bonham thought he\u2019d laid down his part perfectly during the recording sessions for the track in one take, he hadn\u2019t. Digby Smith, the tape operator for the \u2018Stairway\u2019 sessions, retold the story in Led Zeppelin: The Oral History of the World\u2019s Greatest Rock Band, and it paints a candid image of the late Bonham. <\/p>\n

He needed guidance to truly find his groove, and Jimmy Page is about as good as it got in the 1970s in the studio. With a truly inspirational amount of studio experience, Page was well equipped to direct anybody within the music industry, but with Bonham, he understood and connected with the percussionist better than most. With that, he could channel the drummer into perfection.<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>John Bonham on stage with Led Zeppelin. (Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy)<\/p>\n

It turns out that one of Bonham\u2019s most dextrous and iconic drum parts was fuelled by something you wouldn\u2019t expect: rage.\u00a0Each of the band\u2019s musicians, Bonham, Page, and John Paul Jones, had completed their takes without a guide vocal, and their dazzling musicianship caught Smith\u2019s attention immediately. Despite it being a complex and meandering song, Smith recalled the band recording a perfect first take. He said: \u201cThe first take (was) awesome, no mistakes from beginning to end\u201d.<\/p>\n

Listening back to the take, Bonham, Jones and Plant thought that it should be used. However, Jimmy Page did not. He felt the band had a better take within them, but he did not reveal this at the time and remained tight-lipped. <\/p>\n

Page described Bonham\u2019s recording with insouciance as plainly \u201calright\u201d. This, of course, infuriated Bonham who was said to be \u201cfuming\u201d as the discussion unfolded. He grabbed his sticks, re-entered the studio, and sat down at the drum kit. In the book, Smith said: \u201cI can still see (Bonham) sitting at the kit, waiting to come in (with his drum part), seething\u201d. <\/p>\n

Hilariously, Smith remembered: \u201cWhen he finally comes in, he\u2019s beating the crap out of his drums\u201d. Regardless, the take was perfect. Afterwards, everyone in the room agreed, and Bonham<\/a> even accepted that Page was right in his assertions. <\/p>\n

When listening to \u2018Stairway\u2019 you wouldn\u2019t think that Bonham\u2019s part was fuelled by the resentment at having to record another take. Even towards the end of the song, when the cymbal crashes ring loud, there\u2019s still a level of restraint to Bonham\u2019s playing, showing just how much of a master he was. When fuming, he still had the nouse to pull off one of the most revered drum takes of all time. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Related Topics<\/p>\n

The Far Out Led Zeppelin Newsletter<\/p>\n

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Straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(Credits: Far Out \/ Alamy) Mon 13 October 2025 19:35, UK John Bonham is rightly hailed as one…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222315,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,19813,57349,19810,216,19811],"class_list":{"0":"post-222314","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-jimmy-page","10":"tag-john-bonham","11":"tag-led-zeppelin","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-robert-plant"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222314","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222314"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222314\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222315"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222314"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222314"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222314"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}