Fifty years ago, Led Zeppelin released their very first collection of mind-melting heavy
blues.
After twelve years and eight studio albums, however, the passing of drummer John Bonham
brought the band’s career to a sudden and tragic end.
In 2007, Led Zeppelin’s three surviving members and Bonham’s son Jason took to the
stage at London’s O2 Arena and played a near-perfect two-hour show.
That set stoked appetites for more shows and more music.
But while that performance left fans thinking they could indeed do it all again, Led Zeppelin
simply never got back together.
Here's why they never will.
John Bonham’s legacy
Led Zeppelin effectively ended on September 25th, 1980, when Bonham died after a massive
drinking binge.
“John Bonham found dead in bed yesterday in the house of the group's guitarist, Jimmy
Page”
According to The Guardian, Bonham had consumed 40 measures of vodka during a 12-hour band
rehearsal that day.
If you don't know what a measure is, that's an ounce and a half - or a shot… so basically
Bonham had 40 shots of vodka… yeah…
Page, Plant, and Jones officially ended the band a few months later, issuing the following
statement:
"We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend, and the deep sense of undivided
harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue
as we were."
Things don’t look to change anytime soon.
In 2016, Page reiterated the sentiment behind that first statement, telling Rolling Stone
that
"Led Zeppelin was an affair of the heart.
Each of the members was important to the sum total of what we were."
Getting on
Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones are each well into their seventies.
Their last gig together took place over a decade ago, too though Plant still tours with
his own solo band and Jones occasionally plays when the mood strikes him.
Still, with the exception of perhaps the Rolling Stones, few bands as old as Zeppelin can bound
across a stage like they used to.
Injuries would be likely and exhaustion would be inevitable.
After all, headbanging isn’t exactly great for the neck and shoulders.
Jones’ projects
Let’s face it: John Paul Jones is a busy man.
At this very moment, he could be practicing a Nordic folk song in preparation for a gig
with his folk trio Snoweye.
Or he might be considering another guest appearance, such as his 2017 show with Donovan in aid
of a charitable photography exhibit.
Or maybe he's reviewing the libretto for the opera he's been working on for the last who-knows-how-many
years a fresh take on August Strindberg's The Ghost Sonata which, according to his publisher
Chester Music, will be performed sometime in the 2019/2020 opera season.
“but first tell me who is your master?
Well, he's so many things… and he’s been everything”
Jones also remains in contact with the other members of Them Crooked Vultures, including
Foo Fighters front-man Dave Grohl.
Grohl recently told British music magazine NME that they still text each other from time
to time.
Jason Bonham
Bonham continues to tour theaters around the U.S. with his tribute show, Jason Bonham's
Led Zeppelin Experience.
He also drums for Black Country Communion, a supergroup consisting of Bonham, Joe Bonamassa,
ex-Deep Purple singer Glenn Hughes, and former Dream Theater keyboardist Derek Sherinian.
Bonham also helps make people's musical dreams come true through his involvement with the
Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy Camp.
For a trifling fee of only $5,000, campers can jam with Bonham as well as Aerosmith's
Joe Perry while rocking out, taking seminars, and living like music legends.
Groupies not included, presumably.
Jimmy’s going solo
His first and only solo record, Outrider, was released in 1988 but Jimmy Page has been
talking about a follow-up album ever since.
He's collaborated with other artists over the years but, more recently, Page has hinted
at actually following through on his desire to release new solo music.
He told Rolling Stone in 2015 that
"I've got a game plan.
I'm not going to tell anybody anything.
I don't want to give people ideas.
[…] I prefer to just get people by the jugular when I'm ready."
Page left some clues as to the contents of his next solo endeavor in an earlier interview
with Rolling Stone, during which he discussed a more wide-ranging guitar project.
He said:
“It's not just acoustic, it's not just electric, it's everything I can muster up."
Whatever it is, and whenever it’s released, it’s no doubt hotly-anticipated.
Plant’s a no-go
Robert Plant often gets the blame for being something of a stick in the mud when it comes
to a potential Zeppelin reunion.
He’s often accused of being too focused on the present to give the public want it
really wants which is a slice of the past.
His recent releases, however, have been nothing less than spectacular: from his Grammy-winning
collaboration with Alison Krauss through to his chart-topping solo albums.
There may be lots of talk about the possibility of a Zeppelin reunion, but Plant, naturally,
is having none of it.
When pushed on the subject by a reporter from Rolling Stone, he asked:
"Do you know why the Eagles said they'd reunite when 'hell freezes over,' but they did it
anyway and keep touring?
It's not because they were paid a fortune.
It's not about the money.
It's because they're bored.
I'm not bored."
What's left to prove?
Only a handful of acts can lay claim to the same kind of influence that Led Zeppelin has
wielded over the last half-century.
And yes, they went onstage in 2007 and proved they could very easily go out and do it all
again but that's not enough reason for the band to actually do it.
In the end, it might come back to what they lost in 1980.
Jason Bonham has stated to the media that his father's absence still haunts Plant.
He quotes Plant as saying,
"I struggle sometimes just thinking about trying to create some magic again when he's
not there."
In his mind, there is no Led Zeppelin without that magic, and no magic without John Bonham.
Page, Plant, and Jones may have proven they can play without their old friend but, without
him, there simply is no Led Zeppelin.