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