Believe it or not this is actually the first time I’ve ever posted a #TBT here on BroBible, and because it’s my first TBT I wanted to make sure it was something particularly epic. I use that word epic very rarely, but in this case I think it applies.
The video below was taken in 1970, two years after Led Zeppelin formed as a band, and it shows legendary drummer John Henry Bonham absolutely KILLING a rendition of ‘Moby Dick’. If you’re not familiar with that name John Bonham was the drummer for Led Zeppelin, and in the video below he busts out what might be the greatest drum solo ever recorded:
After formally announcing “John Henry Boham,” Plant steps off stage as Page and Jones begin their contribution to the song with killer electric work and riffs from both legendary musicians just before Bonzo gets in the zone. There were even times that Zeppelin played live and Bonzo banged around long enough for the band to actually leave the stage and take a smoke break, letting the bad ass do his thing,
Shifting from the drum kit to the bongos, not a peep can be heard during this performance as Bonzo demanded full attention without even requesting it.
Today the closest thing you’ll ever find to a drum solo like that is at a Widespread Panic show, or at a Dead & Friends show (the remaining/living members of the Grateful Dead). It’s a bummer that there are so few bands in the world that showcase their drummer in the way bands did back in the late 60s and 70s. Santana did it, the Grateful Dead did it, and obviously Led Zeppelin did it. We need to bring music back to this time, it was a golden age of rock.
[h/t SocietyOfRock]