ON THIS DAY: Led Zeppelin made the decision to break up following the death of drummer John Bonham.

[44] years ago today — on Dec. 4, 1980 — Led Zeppelin made the difficult decision to break up, two months after the death of drummer John Bonham.

The band was supposed to begin an extensive tour in the fall of 1980 when Bonham passed away.  The tour was canceled and rumors swirled about whether the band would continue on with a new drummer.

However, the surviving members ultimately decided that it was not right to continue with someone else playing drums.

“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.”

Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones have occasionally worked and recorded together, but reunions of all three have been few and far between.

Related: The Hammer of the Gods: The First Critical Biography of Led Zeppelin Finally Available on the Kindle.

My latest, on Stephen Davis’ somewhat infamous 1985 look at Zeppelin’s now infamous very much non-#metoo-approved debauchery, over at Ed Driscoll.com.