32 Years Gone

[who me? <dave_barbee@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Dec. 4, 1980, approximately two months after the tragic death of drummer 
John Bonham, Led Zeppelin made the difficult decision to break up.

The group had been preparing to to commence a tour in the fall of 1980 when 
Bonham passed away. After a day of heavy drinking, he had gone to bed and died 
via asphyxiation from his own vomit. The death was ruled accidental.

Meanwhile, the group was faced with the decision of what to do without such a 
key piece to their lineup. The pending tour was immediately canceled, but that 
didn’t stop the rumors from swirling about a number of famous drummers that 
could potentially come on board to take over for the late musician. However, 
the surviving members decided that it was not right to tamper with their legacy 
by bringing someone else in to play drums.

In a statement, the band simply and elegantly explained their decision:

    “We wish it to be known, that the loss of our dear friend and the deep 
respect we have for his family, together with the deep sense of undivided 
harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could 
not continue as we were.”