Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath’s Jam Session Remembered by Bill Ward

Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward has opened up about the legendary “Black Zeppelin” studio jam, which featured his band performing together with three members of Led Zeppelin in the studio. Depressingly, he maintains that nobody thought to press “record” on that fateful day.

“It only happened on one occasion… and I think it was in the mid-’70s,” Ward tells BackPage. “I don’t remember what album we were working on — but it all started when Bonzo comes into the studio and sits down at my drum kit and starts playing ‘Supernaut.’ That was one of our songs he really liked.”

He goes on to recount how Bonham enjoyed the heck out of playing on Ward’s two-bass drum setup while leading Sabbath’s frontline — Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler — through a 45-minute session with help from his own bandmates, Robert Plant and John Paul Jones, periodically yelling out ‘Supernaut!’ to punctuate the fun.  (Apparently Jimmy Page was off conjuring magic somewhere else.)

Sabbath’s original drummer also credits the tragedy of Bonham’s death with helping him clean up his own addictions: “I’ve always thought of his death as a signal for me that, ‘if you don’t shape up, Bill, you will be the next one drowning in beer or overdosing.’

Anyway, back to more positive thoughts. Can you imagine if this studio meetup had happened in today’s smartphone, YouTube obsessed era? Some engineer probably would have had it tweeted video footage within an hour! Well, at least we can get a glimpse of what this Sabbath / Zeppelin pairing might have sounded like with this, possibly the most awesome mashup that has ever been created: Wax Audio’s ‘Whole Lotta Sabbath.’

Source: Ultimateclassicrock.com

BILL WARD Talks About Legendary BLACK SABBATH/LED ZEPPELIN Jam Session

Backpage Magazine recently spoke to BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward about the infamous "Black Zeppelin" jam session rumored to have happened between SABBATH and LED ZEPPELIN during the 1970s.

"It only happened on one occasion that ZEPPELIN and SABBATH were in the studio at one time, and I think it was in the mid-'70s," said Ward. "We were in sessions — I don't remember what album we were working on — but it all started when Bonzo [LED ZEPPELIN drummer John Bonham] comes into the studio and sits down at my drum kit and starts playing 'Supernaut'. That was one of our songs that he really liked. It escalated to a pretty crazy situation within about 30 minutes, because not only was Bonzo there, but Robert Plant and John Paul Jones were there as well. Jimmy [Page] wasn't there, but I wish he had been. And Bonzo was kickin' the crap out of my drum kit!" Ward laughed. "I can still hear him playing that intro on the hat, over and over.

"Bonham's bass drum work, of course, was incredible," recalled Ward. "I played two bass drums, and they only let him play one in LED ZEPPELIN, so there he was playing two bass drums. 'Supernaut', I tell you, sounded like something from the hardcore bands of today, where they play two bass drums with such incredible speed. And you know, Bonzo was doing that easily. He was having a good time, playing two bass drums, and he was playing all the down beats and some quiet treble with all the high hats. So, he was playing 'Supernaut' with a whole different feel, all the while yelling 'Supernaut!' for pretty much the whole time. It was crazy, man."

Read more from Backpage Magazine.

Photo by Christopher Wagner (courtesy of Bill Ward)

Source: Blabbermouth