Some decisions define the rest of our lives. John Bonham must have come to that same conclusion when he agreed to join Jimmy Page’s fledgling rock group, Led Zeppelin. It’s tempting to assume Bonham – as if viewing the group’s career in retrospect – knew Zeppelin were going to be a success. But, as it turns out, he was very hesitant to join the group when the offer was made in 1968.
In 1966, a session guitarist called Jimmy Page united some of the best musicians in the industry with the intention of starting a band. The Who’s Keith Moon suggested calling the project Led Zeppelin, but nothing ever came of it – leaving Page with nothing but a catchy name. Not wanting to be caught standing still, Page joined the Yardbirds that same year. Sadly, by 1968, incessant touring had led to a complete creative drought, and it was decided that the group should part ways for good.
Finding himself back at square one, Page went on the hunt for a new lineup. Yardbirds bassist Chris Dreja suggested Terry Reid as a vocalist, but he declined the offer, suggesting that they check out a singer called Robert Plant instead. Plant accepted the offer, but that still left Page without a drummer. Robert suggested that his old Band of Joy drummer, John Bonham, might be a good fit. “I got so enthusiastic that I hitched back to Oxford and chased after John, got him to one side at a gig and said, ‘Look mate, you’ve got to join The Yardbirds,’” Plant recalls in Led Zeppelin in Their Own Words.
To Plant’s bewilderment, Bonham seemed strangely hesitant. “He wasn’t easily convinced,” Plant continued. “He said, ‘Well I’m all right here, aren’t I?’” Bonham, as it turned out, had grown rather comfortable with his current set-up. After The Band of Joy’s 1968 tour supporting Tim Rose, Bonham had been hired to serve as the singer-songwriter’s drummer. “He’d never earned the sort of bread he was getting with Tim Rose,” Plant recalled. “So I had to try and persuade him.”
Page travelled from London to see Bonham perform live, where it was quickly decided that Led Zeppelin couldn’t do without the drummer. But Bonham was still undecided. As well as performing for Rose, Bonham was mulling over offers from Joe Cocker and Chris Farlowe. The issue, of course, was that none of them were performing the music he really wanted to play. In the end, Bonham, who was familiar with Page’s work in the rock scene, decided to accept the guitarist’s offer and join Zeppelin’s ranks.
From the moment Plant, Page, Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones launched into their first rehearsal, he knew he’d made the right decision.