As a former high school band drummer, I’ve seen my share of solos—but that was one of the best I’ve ever witnessed. That said, I still believe John Bonham was the greatest drummer ever. A solo can dazzle, sure—but a drummer’s true brilliance lies in setting the tempo and driving the music with the same weight and presence as any lead instrument.   In this regard John Bonham has no equal.

Gary Bonham was definitely a superb drummer. Peart is the GOAT. I will die on this hill. :) LOL

Richard Looks like they replaced Neil Peart for their new 2026 tour.

Gary https://youtube.com/shorts/W0cSbJh4T6k?si=WB3MznZz9zLtkZbE

Oh yeah... I love Anika Nilles. I've been listening to her stuff for the past few weeks now. She's killer. She's got some HUGE shoes to fill, but I think with her technique she can pull it off.

Pretty stunning solo! I'm also amazed he has the stamina to pull that off at a "later age." We could debate for days over Peart, Bonham, Paice, Portnoy, and others... You may have seen some posts about Karen Carpenter before she switched to just vocals!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVTA3RaLkC0

Michael Oh, wow, I only watched a snippet of that, but that's pretty impressive.

I played a little percussion in high school because the teacher knew I played piano, so he stuck me behind the xylophones and the marimba and anything that looked like a keyboard. And because I was a big guy, they made me carry the bass drum in the marching band. That was kinda fun. Better than playing the tuba or sousaphone.

I could never play the full drum kit. My hands work just fine, but I just can't get my feet to agree on the tempo... LOL.

Michael You mentioned Karen Carpenter as an unexpected drumming talent. Another one I didn’t realize was a skilled drummer is Phil Collins—until I saw this video, I thought he was just a singer-songwriter.  

https://youtu.be/PEWP9nbqG9Q?si=Mkap6Go2GmdsE_pY

Gary WHAT!? In the Air Tonight is the quintessential 80s anthem.

Richard And it was incorporated into what I consider the best TV series in the 80's - Miami Vice.  

https://youtu.be/-aMCzRj3Syg?si=WEl5FlIulnXKxWDD

Gary What's really amazing is that Phil Collins "came out from behind the drum kit" to replace lead singer Peter Gabriel in Genesis, after Gabriel left to solo. I found that out in college, when I couldn't figure out why the "Lamb Lies Down on Broadway" vocals sounded slightly different from their "current" tunes. Like Carpenter, he was a drummer who sang "secondarily." The same would later be true for Nirvanna's Dave Grohl, who stepped forward to sing for the Foo Fighters (the remnants of Nirvanna).

Michael one of my favorite music related jokes goes something like: A father asks his son, "If you could bring back any famous musician who died before his time, who would it be?" The kid thinks for a second and says, "Honestly, I'd say Kurt Cobain... but if he had lived, we never would've gotten the Foo Fighters, so maybe let the timeline ride."