Led Zeppelin’s unmistakable sound leaned heavily on the powerhouse drumming of John Bonham. His explosive, intricate rhythms became as iconic as Robert Plant’s wailing vocals. So, when Bonham died unexpectedly in 1980, the band’s decision to disband felt inevitable.
Bonham’s last live performance, two and a half months before his passing, has been well-documented and celebrated. He delivered an unforgettable version of “Whole Lotta Love,” bringing his fierce energy to a captivated Berlin crowd. However, his final studio session with the band is less known—a recording session that took place almost two years before his death at ABBA’s Polar Studios in Stockholm.
In late 1978, Led Zeppelin traveled to Stockholm to record their last studio album with Bonham, In Through the Out Door. The band made the most of Polar Studios’ cutting-edge equipment and recorded amidst Sweden’s brutal winter. Within a span of eight days, they captured rough cuts of 11 songs. While Page, Plant, and John Paul Jones would spend another few weeks on overdubs and tweaks, Bonham’s drumming remained raw and untouched—a testament to his spontaneous brilliance.
The final day all four members recorded together was November 23, 1978. On this day, they laid down the foundational tracks for what would become “Carouselambra” and “I’m Gonna Crawl.” The latter was Bonham’s last studio recording, a haunting track that breaks from his usual thunderous style. Bonham’s drumming here is understated yet inventive, weaving in subtle, unexpected accents. His reserved, minimalist drumming supports Plant’s chilling scream, one of the most intense in Zeppelin’s catalog.
With hindsight, “I’m Gonna Crawl” has an eerie, prophetic feeling. While the band likely had no idea it would be their last studio record with Bonham, the track’s dark, haunting atmosphere suggests an almost prescient awareness of an ending—a fitting coda to Bonham’s legacy in Led Zeppelin.
