Exploring the Greatest Rock Drummers of All Time

Exploring the Greatest Rock Drummers of All Time

                                 Neil Peart                                                          John Bonham

 

  

Throughout history, Rock bands have come and gone, few have made their mark on music history. Of those bands that have stuck around and imprinted there name in history, there are the men that make up the backbone of the band. These men are drummers. They are the heartbeat behind all the music. As I was exploring many different bands and their members, two names stuck out to me. These names were John Bonham of Led Zeppelin and Neil Peart of Rush. Their impact on music and the world of drumming and percussion is still being felt today.

"Geddy once joked, "You're the only guy I know who rehearses to rehearse!"  

                                                         -Neil Peart

Neil Peart, now 58, has been a part of the Toronto-based hard rock band, Rush, since joining in 1974. Peart had always aspired to be a professional drummer. Having a doctorate in percussion, “The Professor”, with musical roots inspired by the likes of Keith Moon of The Who, brought a hard rock technique to Rush when he first joined. As time progressed Neil Peart began to approach rock with a new feel. He started to incorporate styles and techniques of Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, two of the greatest jazz drummers of all time. Peart’s drumming ability was overwhelming and it never went unnoticed. The drums were, and still are, a feature in almost all songs by Rush, including “Tom Sawyer”, “YYZ”, “2112: Temple of Syrinx”, and “Spirit of the Radio.”

 

Peart is a technician in all of these songs, playing with precise technique and amazing rhythm, but no song by Rush can compare to the drum solos of Neil Peart. Every Rush concert has a drum solo feature where Neil Peart shows in 8 to 10 minutes why he is the best drummer ever. Whether he is crossing his hands over, or playing incredible rhythms, or even playing on his electronic drum set, Neil Peart is, and will always be, one of the greatest drummers of all time.

"Drumming was the only thing I was ever good at."- John Bonham

John Bonham, the drummer of Led Zeppelin, is another that is considered to be one of the greatest rock drummers of all time. Bonham was best known for his speed and his power on the drum kit. Beginning at the age of five, Bonham became in love with the drums, making a drum kit of containers. It was not until the age of fifteen that Bonham received his first drum kit.

         

He was chosen by Jimmy Page and Robert Plant to join Led Zeppelin in 1968. The band immediately became well known due to Page’s involvement in his previous band, The Yard Birds. Led Zeppelin began touring and people started to see the talent of John Bonham. Using Ludwig drums, John Bonham would use his patented “Trees”, which is what he called his long, thick drumsticks. Like Peart, Bonham also had a feature drum solo, which was named “Moby Dick.” John Bonham was the rock drummer of his time.

         

"We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep respect we have for his family, together with the sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were."

                                                                             - Led Zeppelin

Unfortunately, Bonham’s time was cut short. John Bonham died shortly after midnight on September 25, 1980, at the age of 32, after consuming, what was later to be found as, 40 shots of vodka. Though Bonham died at a young age, his mark in the history of rock music will never be erased. Amazingly, without ever taking a formal drum lesson in his life, John Bonham is, still, named at the top of many lists, including Rolling Stone magazine, as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time