“He was the kind of guy who liked confrontation, and I would always give it to him”: This is what Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore really thought about Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham

A composite photograph of Deep Purple’s Ritchie Blackmore and Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.

Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple were hard rock’s original Holy Trinity. During the late ’60s and early ’70s, this trio of trailblazing bands did more than any others to lay down the blueprint for what would follow.

Given that all three bands emerged at roughly the same time and played much the same circuit in their early days, it’s no surprise that they crossed paths with each other. Zeppelin’s Robert Plant and John Bonham came from the same part of the UK as Black Sabbath, and members of those two bands even took part in a fabled jam session together.