John Bonham

John Bonham has on several occasions, considered as the greatest drummer ever. His art was well adored with the band, Led Zeppelin.

Early Accomplishments

Never received formal drumming lessons but created his own kit out of tins and cans when he was 5, his mother gifted him a snare drum at age 10 while his father bought him his first drum kit when he was 15. He began drumming for several local bands from age 14 and began a full drumming career at 16.

Best Known For

Known for his power, speed, fast bass hitting and his “groovy feel” sound, several media outlets such as AllMusic and Classic Rock and magazines such as Stylus, Modern Drummer, Rolling Stone and Rhythm all named him the greatest ever to ever play the drums in rock & roll history.

Sexual Orientation

John was straight and until his demise, was married to Patricia (née Phillips) Bonham since 1968. They both met when they were both playing in the band, Terry Webb and the Spiders back in 1964. During their marriage, he was rumored to have had affair with Connie Hamzy and Josette Caruso.

Family

He was the first child of James and Joan Bonham. He had Mick (1950-2000) and Deborah as his younger siblings as well as Billy Bonham as a cousin. 

He fathered 2 children with Pat; son Jason (born 1966) who is also a drummer and Zoë (born 1975) who is a singer.

Religion

Although, he and his Led Zeppelin mates were subjects of rumors of occult practices, John was largely a non-religious person. His cremated remains are however interred in a church’s cemetery, which may mean he was a Christian.

Worth To Know

He died from suffocation as he choked on his vomit. Autopsy revealed that he had consumed between 1 to 1.4 liters of 40% vodka a day before.