Charlie Watts and John Bonham Once Played on Ringo Starr’s Drum Kit at a Party
Ringo Starr is one of the world’s most famous drummers. But he’s not the only drummer in the world. He was influenced by the drummers before him, and he inspired many drummers after him. Along with Ringo, some of rock’s most prolific drummers from his generation include The Rolling Stones’ Charlie Watts and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham. But could you imagine getting the chance to see all three percussionists jam out on a drum kit together?
Ringo Starr has paid tribute to Charlie Watts
In August, The Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts died peacefully surrounded by his friends and family. He was 80 years old. Since his death shocked the world, fans, fellow celebrities, and especially his bandmates have paid tribute to him. Ringo was one of the first people to pass along his condolences to Watts’ family. He also talked about what a great drummer Watts was.
Ringo and Watts might have been in rivaling bands, but they certainly inspired the same generation of drummers. When Watts’ family announced his death, Ringo took to his Twitter account to post a sweet black and white image of the pair smiling together. He commented his post with, “God bless Charlie Watts; we’re going to miss you man peace and love to the family, Ringo.”
Recently, Ringo opened up more about his friendship with Watts to MailOnline. “He was a beautiful human being,” Ringo said of Watts. “Charlie was a great guy and a lot of fun and he had a harder band than I did to keep together.” The ex-Beatle also had some funny stories to share about partying with Watts in the 1970s.
Charlie Watts and John Bonham jammed on Ringo Starr’s drums at a party
While remembering Watts, Ringo was brought back to an unforgettable night he spent partying with the Rolling Stone and Led Zeppelin’s drummer John Bonham in the 1970s.
“I had a party in the 70s and I had a drum kit up in the attic,” Ringo said. “Charlie came and so did John Bonham and so we’ve got three drummers just hanging out and Bonham got on the kit. But because it wasn’t like when you’re on stage and you nail them down so they’re steady it was just there. So, as he was playing, the bass drum was hopping away from him.”
Ringo explained that he and Watts had to hold down the drum kit so Bonham could jam out, which must have been a weird sight. “We will miss Charlie. He was a beautiful human being… He was like The Quiet Man,” Ringo concluded.
John Bonham was a massive fan of Ringo
While Ringo was friends with Watts, he also grew close with Bonham, who cited Ringo as one of his biggest influences. In fact, Bonham is a huge fan of Ringo and The Beatles.
Speaking to NME in 1970 (which appears in 2014’s Led Zeppelin on Led Zeppelin), Bonham spoke about Ringo’s drumming on The Beatles’ Abbey Road. “Let’s just say I think the drumming on Abbey Road is really good. Some of the rhythms on the album are really far out.”
“The drumming on all the Beatles’ records is great,” Bonham continued. “The actual patterns are just right for what they are doing.” So who knows what would have come out of a proper jam session between all three drummers, given they had the chance. It is great to see that they all appreciated each other, though.
