Everyone knows Led Zeppelin. John Bonham played drums for the group, and though he died young at the age of thirty-two, he’s often listed as one of the greatest drummers of all time from any genre. I wasn’t a dyed-in-the-wool Zeppelin fan, but some of my favorite Bonzo performances are from his typical resume of well-known performances, songs like “Good Times Bad Times,””Ramble On,” “The Ocean,” and “Fool in the Rain,” which Bonham composed as a variation of the Purdie Shuffle we talked about last week. Today we’re going to chat about his performance on “When the Levee Breaks,” the final track on the 1971 album Led Zeppelin IV. It’s a monster, and I’ll play it for you.
Continue reading “Beat Analysis: Bonzo’s Monster Groove on “When the Levee Breaks””Beat Analysis: Bonzo’s Monster Groove on “When the Levee Breaks”
Read time: 7 min.