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John Bonham: A Thunder of Drums
 
 
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John Bonham: A Thunder of Drums (Paperback)

by Chris Welch (Author), Geoff Nicholls (Author) "John Henry Bonham was born on May 31st 1948 in Redditch, Worcestershire, in the Midlands of England ..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £14.95
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Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Backbeat Books; illustrated edition edition (4 Oct 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0879306580
  • ISBN-13: 978-0879306588
  • Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 18.5 x 1.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 281,585 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #49 in  Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Music > Heavy Metal
    #65 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Instruments > Drums

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Product Description

Product Description
Led Zeppelin were the first Heavy Metal band, their sound defined and driven by the explosive drumming of John Bonham. John Henry "Bonzo" Bonham nearly didn't join the band, having to be lured away from better paying jobs in 1968, but going on to help write such legendary tracks as "Stairway to Heaven" and "Kashmir". His drumming style forms much of the lexicon of rock drumming and he remains an idol to Led Zep and heavy metal fans worldwide. Bonham played as hard as he worked and his life produced many of the enduring legends of the Rock and Roll lifestyle. Co-author Chris Welch toured with Zeppelin and writes with the advantage of first hand experience. It is a measure of the integral role Bonham played in the band that his untimely death in 1980 led to its immediate demise. His influence, however, lives on. His unmistakeable drum patterns are among the most sampled by today's musicians.

About the Author
Chris Welch is the author of numerous biographies and profiles of rock musicians, including the forthcoming Ginger Geezer: Vivian Stanshall and the Story of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. Welch served as chief reporter for Melody Maker, the UK's leading pop newspaper of the 1960s. Geoff Nicholls is a professional musician and writer. He wrote the award-winning BBC radio series "Byte The Music," and was the drummer/presenter on BBC TV's "Rockschool" series. Contributor to publications ranging from Melody Maker to The Independent, Nicholls coauthored Making Music's drum gear guide What Drum and wrote the acclaimed Rock Drum Method for drum manufacturer Boosey & Hawkes. Chris Welch is the author of numerous biographies and profiles of rock musicians, including the forthcoming Ginger Geezer: Vivian Stanshall and the Story of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. Welch served as chief reporter for Melody Maker, the UK's leading pop newspaper of the 1960s. Geoff Nicholls is a professional musician and writer. He wrote the award-winning BBC radio series "Byte The Music," and was the drummer/presenter on BBC TV's "Rockschool" series. Contributor to publications ranging from Melody Maker to The Independent, Nicholls coauthored Making Music's drum gear guide What Drum and wrote the acclaimed Rock Drum Method for drum manufacturer Boosey & Hawkes.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
John Henry Bonham was born on May 31st 1948 in Redditch, Worcestershire, in the Midlands of England. Read the first page
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John Bonham: A Thunder of Drums
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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars More technical than biographical?, 23 Jan 2002
By Mr. Daniel Smith "dang65" (Cheshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I'm not a drummer or any other kind of musician, but Led Zeppelin's music has been a love of my life for as long as I can remember and John Bonham's drumming was always the biggest attraction of all. I had to have this book.

Plus points: There are some great Bonham anecdotes which I hadn't come across in other Led Zep biographies. It's a very positive book, taking pains to show Bonzo in a good light and to explain some of his more 'excitable' behaviour of infamy (this is in pleasant contrast to other Zep biogs). It includes a few really nice pics of the man in action which would make excellent poster material for us more devoted fans (I think we've seen quite enough of Page and Plant leaning together at the front of the stage thanks...!) For the musician, there's plenty of technical analysis and comparison, though someone else will have to tell us how useful that is.

Minus Points: It's a frustratingly short book. After an interesting, and fairly long, account of his early life and bands before Led Zep, the story just flies past and even his tragic death is skipped over in a couple of paragraphs. I really wanted to hear more about the recordings, more comments about his legacy from other drummers, and even a little update about his family (without intruding, it would be good to have had a couple of lines to let us know how they're doing).

It would be too much to expect the author to have access to Jimmy Page, Robert Plant or Pat Bonham, and he does his best with previous band mates and friends who were willing to contribute, but there seemed to be quite a glaring lack of proper inside information about what made Led Zep tick, how they went about creating their music and how much Bonzo contributed to that creativity (he is, at one point, credited with the initial musical ideas for Kashmir, apparently singing the riff to Jimmy Page - and I wanted to hear more about that).

So, I have to give it an average 3 crowns. I would definately recommend the book to any Bonham fan, if only for the early stories and anecdotes (won't give any more away here). As long as you're prepared for those minus points above it's well worth having.

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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, 11 Jan 2004
By A Customer
Is this a very good book. As said above it focuses more on pre-Zeppelin times, but that is good - it's the early years that define your style of play. A student of rock drumming would benifit from reading this book.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars you need this book, 6 Jan 2004
not as much as I wanted to know, but everything in it is diamond.
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