Robert Gregory Bourdon (born January 20, 1979) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founding member of the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

Early life

Bourdon was born in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish language, Spanish ''calabazas'' "gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains, Santa Monica and Santa Susana Mountains, Santa Susanna mounta ...

. He received classical piano lessons at a young age. He was inspired to play the drums after attending an

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whi ...

concert, where he was personally introduced to drummer

Joey Kramer Joseph Michael Kramer (born June 21, 1950) is an American musician best known as the drummer of the hard rock band Aerosmith, which was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001. Life and career Kramer was born in the Bronx, New ...

. He also cites

Tower of Power Tower of Power is an American R&B and funk based band and horn section, originating in Oakland, California, that has been performing since 1968. There have been a number of lead vocalists, the best-known being Lenny Williams, who fronted the b ...

and

Earth, Wind and Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (EW&F or EWF) is an American band whose music spans the genres of jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, big band, Latin, and Afro pop. They are among the best-selling bands of all time, with sales of over 90 million ...

as his early influences. Bourdon attended

Agoura High School Agoura High School is a public high school in Agoura Hills, California, United States. It is the largest high school in the Las Virgenes Unified School District. Athletics and activities Agoura High School's athletic teams are nicknamed the Cha ...

Agoura Hills Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to 20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the S ...

where het met future bandmates Brad Delson and

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocali ...

, in the high school's jazz band. Bourdon waited tables at a restaurant and worked as a party coordinator at a bowling alley prior to becoming a full-time musician. He attended

Santa Monica College Santa Monica College (SMC) is a Public university, public, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a Junior college#United States, junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Althoug ...

where he studied

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

Career biography

Bourdon and Brad Delson formed their own band, Relative Degree. The band played a sell-out concert at the Roxy Theather before breaking up. Bourdon later joined Delson and

to form

in 1996. The band enjoyed mainstream success with their debut album ''

Hybrid Theory ''Hybrid Theory'' is the debut studio album by American Rock music, rock band Linkin Park, released on October 24, 2000, through Warner Bros. Records. Recorded at NRG Recording Studios, NRG Recordings in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, North Holl ...

'' (2000), which would later go on to become 12× Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. Bourdon served as Linkin Park's drummer for seven studio albums and many international tours. Beyond drums and percussion, he also handled the band's business operations with Delson and

Dave Farrell David Michael Farrell, also known by his stage name Phoenix (born February 8, 1977), is an American musician, best known as the bassist of the rock band Linkin Park. He was also a member of Tasty Snax, a pop punk band. Early life He was born in ...

. Bourdon injured his back during the production of the band's sixth studio album, '' The Hunting Party'', after playing for 10 hours a day for 7 consecutive days but later recovered. He remained with Linkin Park through 2017, when the band went on hiatus following the death of front man and vocalist

Chester Bennington Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter who was best known as the lead vocalist of rock band Linkin Park. He was also the lead vocalist of the bands Grey Daze, Dead by Sunrise, a ...

Personal life

Bourdon dated actress

Vanessa Lee Evigan Vanessa Lee Evigan (born March 18, 1981) is an American actress. She is the daughter of actor Greg Evigan and model and actress Pamela Serpe. She is also the sister of actress Briana Evigan and singer-songwriter Jason Evigan. In 2001, Evigan a ...

from 2001 to 2007. He dated model

Irina Shayk Irina Valeryevna Shaykhlislamova (russian: Ирина Валерьевна Шайхлисламова; born 6 January 1986), known professionally as Irina Shayk (; russian: Ирина Шейк), is a Russian model and television personality who ...

from 2007 to 2009. Bourdon resides in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Discography

With Linkin Park

* ''

'' (2000) * ''

Meteora The Meteora (; el, Μετέωρα, ) is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos.Sofianos, D.Z.: "Metéora". ...

'' (2003) * ''

Minutes to Midnight The Doomsday Clock is a symbol that represents the likelihood of a man-made global catastrophe, in the opinion of the members of the ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists''. Maintained since 1947, the clock is a metaphor for threats to humanity ...

'' (2007) * '' A Thousand Suns'' (2010) * '' Living Things'' (2012) * '' The Hunting Party'' (2014) * ''

One More Light ''One More Light'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on May 19, 2017, through Warner Bros. Records and Machine Shop. It is the last Linkin Park album to feature lead vocalist Chester Bennington befo ...

'' (2017)

References

External links

* 1979 births Living people American rock drummers Linkin Park members Nu metal drummers People from Calabasas, California 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 21st-century American drummers {{US-rock-drummer-stub