John Bonham, the legendary drummer for Led Zeppelin, changed the landscape of rock and heavy metal music with a drumming technique that combined a hard rock edge with remarkable technical proficiency. Throughout the late 1960s, Bonham climbed to fame alongside the turbulent entrance of Led Zeppelin, establishing himself as a true master of his trade.
To demonstrate Bonham’s greater talent, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant famously related a story. Jimi Hendrix, a world-class guitarist, was blown away by Bonham’s talent in this account. Hendrix said to Plant, “That drummer of yours has a right foot like a pair of castanets.”
John Bonham, revered as a drumming powerhouse, readily acknowledged the impact of past masters, with Gene Krupa standing out as a major inspiration. In 1998, Bonham’s bandmate Robert Plant revealed another figure that inspired him.
Plant told Ray Gun, “I’ll tell you who Bonzo loved.” Bernard Purdie, the legendary funk drummer. Yes, Purdie.” The influence of Purdie’s method may be detected if you listen closely to Led Zeppelin’s smash song ‘Fool In The Rain’ from 1979. Throughout the song, Bonham plays a variation of the half-time ‘Purdie Shuffle‘. This lends the song its trademark forward propulsion and colorful vibe.
The drummer supposedly invented the iconic ‘Purdie Shuffle’ in his youth, intending to mimic “the way a locomotive pushes and pulls.” The sound emanates a blues shuffle variety with the addition of syncopated ghost notes on the snare drum. Steely Dan’s “Babylon Sisters” and “Home at Last” vividly showcase this characteristic.
This method has influenced many, including Bonham, with versions heard on some of music’s biggest successes. These include The Police’s ‘Walking on the Moon‘, Toto’s ‘Rosanna‘, and, of course, ‘Fool In The Rain‘. Bonham’s admiration for Purdie may be traced back to visits to a drum shop operated by Mike Evans. Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward was also part of these visits. Evans used to demonstrate Purdie’s drumming methods to shop visitors, which included Bonham himself.
“I’d watch Mike do his ‘Purdie‘”, “I think he turned everyone on to Bernard Purdie, whose hi-hat work was incomparable,” Ward stated. Bonham would come in and screw it up. His bass drum was playing the language that everyone appeared to be speaking. But I’m still not applying myself as well as he did.”
Bonham’s approach was quite nimble, so it’s obvious that he learned from some of the best before him. Interestingly, although he adored Purdie, his favorite drummer of all time – and the one he referred to as “God” – was Krupa.
Krupa was one of the original pioneers of drumming, and many musicians still look to him for inspiration. “Gene Krupa was the first rock drummer in many ways,” Rush’s Neil Peart famously claimed. Keith Moon would not have existed without Gene Krupa.”
