Two weeks ago, Jason Bonham went on The Howard Show and relayed a memory about Jimmy Page introducing him to cocaine when he was 16. "We got called to his room," Bonham claimed. "And there was a woman on the floor with a collar on, meowing, and he had this grinder thing and he turned it over and he went, 'Here you go,' and I went, 'Thanks.' He's like, 'You've done this before, right?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, of course I have.' So he handed it over and I just did all of it, and he went, 'Just like your father - y'know, that was supposed to be for all of us.'"
But now Bonham is saying that the story is untrue. "In that interview I made certain untrue and derogatory statements concerning Mr James Page of the legendary band Led Zeppelin," he wrote in a message on his website. "I unconditionally retract all derogatory and defamatory comments relating to Mr J Page that I made in that interview. In particular it is wholly untrue that Mr J Page offered me any illegal substances either when I was a minor or at all."
He continued: "I apologize to Mr Page, unreservedly, for making these unfounded and untrue comments about him. Out of my long held respect for Mr Page I will make no further comments on the interview and I agree to make no further comments which Mr Page might view as disparaging, either now or in the future." (Page did not immediately reply to a request for comment.)
Bonham drummed for Led Zeppelin during their 1988 appearance at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert, his own wedding in 1990 and at their 2007 show at London's 02 Arena. The latter was their first full set since the death of his father and the band's original drummer John in 1980. It led to rumors about a full-scale reunion tour, but Robert Plant pulled the plug on the idea.
"A tour would have been an absolute menagerie of vested interests and the very essence of everything that's shitty about big-time stadium rock," Plant told Rolling Stone in 2014. "We were surrounded by a circus of people that would have had our souls on the fire. I'm not part of a jukebox!"
In 2010, Jason Bonham began playing the group's music under the banner Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Experience. They now tour as Jason Bonham's Led Zeppelin Evening.
Led Zeppelin unveiled the first installment of a new History Of Led Zeppelin video series. History Of Led Zeppelin is part of a continuing celebration of the iconic rock band's 50th anniversary.
Guitarist Jimmy Page, drummer John Bonham, bassist John Paul Jones and vocalist Robert Plant first joined forces in 1968 under the "New Yardbirds" moniker. The quartet recorded their self-titled debut studio album in September of 1968 and took the stage as Led Zeppelin for the first time on October 25, 1968. Page financed and produced an LP that would eventually be known as Led Zeppelin over the course of just 30 hours at London's Olympic Studios.
Episode One of The History Of Led Zeppelin focuses on the recording of Led Zeppelin. Watch the short film below:
Led Zeppelin remains one of those bands that represent the bygone era that made sex and drugs synonymous with rock 'n' roll. Looking back in 2019, these stories of wild parties and endless consumption seem a little less glamorous—especially when rap, the dominant genre, is directly addressing issues of mental health and substance abuse.
That's exactly what makes this story that Jason Bonham—Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham's son—told on Howard Stern about being with his father's band as a kid so incredibly fucked up.
It's about the first time he did cocaine as a kid with Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
“Jimmy was the first one to ever give it to me,” he told Stern on his Sirius XM radio show. “We got called to his room. … I was 16 at this point, and there was a woman on the floor with a collar on, meowing, and he had this grinder thing … and he turned it over and he went, ‘Here you go,’ and I went, ‘Thanks.’ He’s like, ‘You’ve done this before, right?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course I have.' So he handed it over and I just did all of it, and he went, ‘Just like your father—you know, that was supposed to be for all of us.’”
Jimmy Page and John Bonham on stage at Madison Square Garden in 1977. Bonham is considered one of the greatest rock ’n’ roll drummers, but his life and career were cut tragically short when he died in 1980 at the age of 32.
If Jason was 16 at the time, that would place this story somewhere in 1983, which is three years after John died, choking on his vomit in his sleep after consuming 1.5 liters of vodka in a 24-hour period.
But in those days, the band glorified Jason's substance abuse.
“I was taking it wrong," he told Stern. "Sometimes when I got really drunk, they’d go, ‘He’s just like his old man.'”
It's a pretty dark story in hindsight, but thankfully Jason has now been sober for 17 years.
Led Zeppelin guitarist and co-founder Jimmy Page’s girlfriend, Scarlett Sabet shared a recent Instagram post via her official account. Scarlett stated that Jimmy and her visited Jack Kerouac’s grave, and had real emotional moments.
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This Month in
Led Zeppelin History
April 24, 1969 - 2nd US Tour begins (1st as headliners) at the Fillmore West
April xx, 1970 - Robert comments about the violence in the audience near the end of the fifth tour
April 04, 1970 - Jimmy Page performs White Summer/Black Mountain Side on the Julie Felix BBC show
April 16, 1970 - Whole Lotta Love was certified Gold in the US after selling over a million copies. The single had peaked at No. 4 on the US singles chart. In the UK, Atlantic Records had expected to issue the edited version themselves, and pressed initial copies for release on December 5, 1969. However, band manager Peter Grant was adamant that the band maintain a "no-singles" approach to marketing their recorded music in the UK and he halted the release.
April xx, 1971 - Untitled is rumored to be released this month
April xx, 1972 - Recording sessions for Houses Of The Holy at Stargroves and Olympic studios
April xx, 1973 - Led Zeppelin rehearse their new stage show in preparation for their huge 1973 US Tour
April xx, 1974 - Swan Song concentrates its efforts on signing new acts
April xx, 1975 - Jimmy does some mixing at Electric Lady studios for TSRTS soundtrack
April 19, 1975 - 51,000 tickets sell in two hours for three nights at Earls Court, two added dates see another 34,000 tickets sold
April xx, 1976 - The band decide they will release their film to theaters
April 30, 1977 - Led Zeppelin breaks the record for the largest attendance for a single-act show in the Pontiac Silverdome with 76,229 in attendance
April xx, 1978 - The band hold a meeting, this time with Robert, to discuss Zeppelin’s future
April 03, 1979 - Page, Bonham and Plant jam with Bad Company again in Birmingham
April 27, 1980 - The band rehearses at Rainbow Theater for an upcoming European tour
April 26, 1988 - James Patrick Page III’s birthday. He is named after his father is the only son of Jimmy and Patricia Ecker. Jimmy spoke of his son saying: "He is wonderful. He has made a big difference to my life."
