Following the death of John Bonham in 1980, speculation quickly swirled around who might step in for the legendary Led Zeppelin drummer. Ultimately, the band chose to disband rather than continue without him, but not before rumors surfaced that Carmine Appice had been approached as a replacement.
In a recent appearance on the “Talk Louder” podcast, Appice addressed those long-running rumors. The drummer, known for his work with Vanilla Fudge, Rod Stewart, Cactus, and others, clarified whether he was ever actually asked to replace Bonham.
“It was rumored. It was [rumored that it was going to be either] me or Cozy [Powell, drummer for The Jeff Beck Group, Brian May, Black Sabbath, and Whitesnake],” Appice said (via Blabbermouth).
He added that he “would’ve” joined Led Zeppelin had he been formally asked, “but I was [playing] with Rod [Stewart at the time]. It’s not like I was with nobody. We’d just finished doing six nights at the Forum [in Los Angeles].”
Appice continued: “So, Rod said to me, ‘Are you gonna join Led Zeppelin?’ I said, ‘Not that I know of.’ I said, ‘I know there’s rumors, but I never got a call or nothing.’ He said, ‘Oh, that’s good. Let’s keep [the rumors] going. There’s rumors that I’m gonna retire, so let’s keep it going. We’ll just sell more tickets.’ I said, ‘Okay.’ So that’s what we did. But I was never asked.”
