The Led Zeppelin song that John Bonham hated the most

Unlike the Liverpudlians, Page and co were an undeniable force who seemed to relish their partnership. Each member seemed willing enough to bring their power to the songs written by their bandmates. They seemed to work as a much more effective unit.

However, that doesn’t mean they haven’t misfired. be it Led Zeppelin III or presence, numerous moments in the band’s discography have long been the source of debate among fans, and even the band members themselves. One of the most notorious is ‘D’yer Mak’er’, a song taken from the 1973 album. Houses of the Saint. For many people, it’s the track that brings down an otherwise perfect record and leaves a sour taste in the mouth because of it – a joke gone wrong is never pleasant to hear.

Meant to mimic reggae and dub, ‘D’yer Mak’er’ is one of the earliest tracks Led Zeppelin released, and even at the time, drummer Bonham had a big problem with it. As John Paul Jones noted, Bonham’s performance reflected how much he despised the song. According to him, Bonham was not a fan of the reggae genre, nor of the accompanying drumming style.

Bonham’s signature thundering style and technical ability helped define Led Zeppelin’s sound in the late 1960s and 1970s before his untimely death in 1980. Like most of our percussive heroes, Bonham was self-taught, but his natural talent and unwavering creativity helped. he became one of the most influential drummers of his generation.

“John was into everything except jazz and reggae,” Jones said, quoting Chris Welch. John Bonham: A thunder of drums. “I didn’t hate jazz, but I hated playing reggae; I thought it was very boring.”

“I wouldn’t play anything but the same mix beat all the way through,” Jones reminded Welch, adding that Bonham had a disdain for the track that led to its lack of groove. The drumming hero hated it so much that he put very little effort into his part, with Jones stating that if he had worked harder, the final product would have been much better.

Jones opined, “It would have been nice if he’d worked the part, (but) he wouldn’t, so it sounded terrible.”

While maintaining that the song would have been better if Bonham had tried harder, Jones also revealed that he agreed with Bonham, going so far as to call it terrible because his rhythm section doesn’t adhere to the golden rule from a reggae band. He told Welch, “The thing about reggae is that the drums and the bass really have to be very strict with what they play.”

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