A lot of talented children have probably been asked by a parent to entertain family
and friends, maybe in the living room, maybe sing a little, play an instrument. No big
deal and a good way to get used to performing for others. But when Jason Bonham
was a small child and got called in to entertain, the family friends he played his
drums for could be anyone from Jimmy Page to some of the guys from the group Bad
Company. That's what happens when your father is drummer John Bonham, one of
the original members of the legendary rock band Led Zeppelin.
At the age of only five, Jason could play the drums, at least a scaled-down set of
them, with skill. When he was 17 he was a member of the band Air Race. The group
signed a record contract with Atlantic Records, recorded one album, and opened for
big names like Queen, Meat Loaf, Ted Nugent, and AC/DC. John Bonham died in
1980, but Jason, who has marked a few places in music history himself, has stepped
in from time to time to help keep his father's memory alive.
In 1988, Jason took his father's spot in the televised, first-ever Led Zeppelin reunion
at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert, which included Robert Plant,
Jimmy Page, and John Paul Jones. Later than year. he went on to tour with Page and
recorded the album Outrider with him.
By 1989, he completed the album The Disregard of Timekeeping, in his new band
called "Bonham". One of the tracks from this first effort, "Wait for You," earned him
a gold record. By 1992, with partners like Canadian vocalist Daniel MacMaster,
guitarist Ian Hatton, and bassist and keyboardist John Smithson, Bonham finished
another album: Mad Hatter.
Jason teamed up with greats like Paul Rodgers, Slash, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck and
others in 1993 to work on a Tribute to Muddy Waters album. The record's success
brought a nomination for a Grammy Award. A year later, Jason, along with Rodgers
and Slash, appeared at the memorable Woodstock II. That same year, he recorded a
new album, Peace 4 Me, in his group now known as Motherland with Marti
Frederksen on vocals.
In May 1990, Jason married Jan Charteris, in Stone, Kidderminster in a wedding
reception that included a jam with Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Paul Jones.
Jason represented his father when Led Zeppelin was inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame in January 1995, with his sister Zoe by his side. He soon put together
another solo project which culminated in "In the Name of My Father - The Zepset"
cd, which featured the songs of Led Zeppelin. Proceeds from the album went to
charity. The album followed up with When You See the Sun.
The Healing Sixes soon caught his attention and decided to tour and record them the
Indiana-based band, from 1999--2003. In 2001, Jason appeared in the film Rock Star
which starred Mark Wahlberg. The band in the movie, Steel Dragon recorded the
songs featured in the movie and the soundtrack.
Following an album with Debbie Bonham, the younger sister of John Bonham, Jason
was invited to drum for hard rock group UFO. In 2006, he also recorded with Joe
Bonamassa.
Jason starred with Ted Nugent, Evan Seinfeld (Biohazard), Sebastian Bach (Skid
Row) and Scott Ian (Anthrax) on the VH1 reality tv show, "SuperGroup", in May
2006. The musicians formed a band called Damnocracy for the show, during which
they lived in a mansion in Las Vegas for twelve days and created music. Most
recently, Jason has performed and recorded with Foreigner.
On December 10th, 2007, Jason played drums in the most anticipated concert of all
time - the Led Zeppelin reunion at London's O2 arena with surviving members
Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones and Robert Plant.
