CARMINE APPICE Says 'It Was Rumored' He Was Going To Join LED ZEPPELIN After JOHN BONHAM's Death: 'I Would Have' Done It

On the latest episode of the Talk Louder podcast, hosted by veteran music journalist "Metal Dave" Glessner and lifelong hard rock/metal vocalist Jason McMaster, legendary rock drummer Carmine Appice was asked there is any truth to the rumors that he was being considered for the drummer position in LED ZEPPELIN after John Bonham's death in 1980. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was rumored. It was [rumored that it was going to be either] me or Cozy [Powell; RAINBOW, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, WHITESNAKE, BLACK SABBATH]."

Asked if he would have joined LED ZEPPELIN had he been asked, Carmine said: "I would've, 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]."

Carmine 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."

Carmine, who has toured with Ozzy Osbourne, Rod Stewart, VANILLA FUDGE and Jeff Beck, told the "Totally Driven Radio" podcast in a 2014 interview that he would love to play with a reunited LED ZEPPELIN, claiming that he was a better fit to replace John Bonham than was John's son Jason.

"Everybody in that band there is legendary… They're old school and legendary," he explained. "Jason isn't legendary, and he's not old school. He's John Bonham's son, but he don't play like John Bonham. He plays more… He plays like him. He's not John. He's got that name, but he's not John Bonham. I'm not John Bonham either, but I think my style might be close, 'cause I came first, and John listened to stuff I did and did it his own way. And we took 'em on their first tour. It's very close-sounding stuff in feel."

He continued: "When John passed away, there was rumors that I was gonna join LED ZEPPELIN, but obviously I didn't get to do that. But, you know… whatever. I would like to do that. Whether they get Jason or not, I would still like to do that."

Asked in an interview with Journey Of A Frontman what it means to him to know that he was one of John Bonham's favorite drummers, Carmine responded: "It's nice. But it's not like I strive on it or anything. It's nice that the timing worked out the way it did. He came out two to two and a half years after I did. He listed me as one of his idols. I helped him and took him under my wing. It went beyond that, actually, because we were friends. Back in those days, we were all friends. Ginger Baker, Mitch Mitchell, Keith Moon, John Bonham… we all knew each other. The drummers today, they're all big, giant fans of John Bonham. I wasn't a fan; I was more of a friend."

Carmine Appice previously said that Bonham took the bass drum triplets from the VANILLA FUDGE song "Ticket To Ride" and incorporated it into the LED ZEPPELIN sound, telling Classic Rock Revisited in a 2006 interview: "When I first heard John Bonham do that triplet thing on the bass drum, I went up to him and said, 'John, that is amazing. I have to admit that I took that from you.' He looked at me and said, 'What are you talking about? I took that from you!' I replied, 'I don't do that. You couldn't have taken it from me.' He proceeded to tell me where I did actually do that on the first VANILLA FUDGE record and he was right. I only did it for a moment on that album and he took it and made something bigger and better out of it."