Andy Johns, 1950-2013

“In the early 1970s, Johns was involved at different times with both Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. While the guitarist Jimmy Page had general supervision of Led Zeppelin recordings, Johns was often on hand to provide creative solutions or improvements to the sound. The most renowned example was a drum sound achieved at the Headley Grange studio in Hampshire in 1971. One of Bonham’s drum kits was set up in the hallway of the Grange. Johns carefully lowered a pair of microphones over the banister of the staircase above and captured the sound which formed the basis of the song When the Levee Breaks on the group’s fourth album. It has become one of the most emulated drum sequences in rock music.”
 — Sound engineer Andy Johns was 62.