2.  John Bonham

What can I say?  With a sound often imitated but never duplicated, John Bonham easily slots in high on this list.  Not really a 2 but more like a 1a due to my love for the man and band, but I have to categorize these somehow 🙂  Everyone knows the classic intros (“When The Levee Breaks”, “Rock N Roll”) and some may pick out the finer qualities (the shuffle in “Fool In The Rain”, the footwork in “Good Times Bad Times”, the relentless locomotive chug throughout “Achilles Last Stand”), but the ability to combine that “tight but loose” feel with the light and shade found throughout the Zeppelin catalog is not an easy task for any drummer.  I mean, what do you think about when you hear the name Led Zeppelin?  Is it the heavier songs?  Is it more about their mystical side?  How about the acoustic based material?  The band covered a lot of territory and Bonham was certainly a key ingredient as to their success that it is certainly understandable that after his unfortunate death in 1980 that the band “could not continue as we were”, per the official press release.  Replacing such a character with such feel on the kit that had his own unique sound and almost inhuman metronomical timing was nigh impossible.  And they weren’t just replacing their drummer-  they would have been replacing a lifelong friend of Robert Plant.

Along with drummer #1 (who may be obvious by now), one of the most tragic deaths in the history of rock and roll.  Too many “what if?” scenarios go through the minds of many as we pontificate on what could have been.  Thank you John Bonham for the music you did make in your short life and the skills you displayed behind the kit-  you are sadly missed.