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

Early life

Bourdon was born in

Calabasas, California Calabasas (from Spanish ''calabazas'' " gourds") is a city in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, between the foothills of the Santa Monica and Santa Susanna mountains. 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 band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of Steven Tyler (lead vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass), Joey Kramer (drums) and Brad Whitford (guitar). Their style, which is rooted in blues ...

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 Yor ...

. 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 th ...

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 reco ...

as his early influences. Bourdon attended Agoura High School in Agoura Hills where het met future bandmates

Brad Delson Bradford Phillip Delson (born December 1, 1977) is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist and one of the founding members of the rock band Linkin Park.

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 vocal ...

, 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, community college in Santa Monica, California. Founded as a junior college in 1929, SMC enrolls over 30,000 students in more than 90 fields of study. Although initially serving primarily pre-college high sc ...

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 Bradford Phillip Delson (born December 1, 1977) is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist and one of the founding members of the rock band Linkin Park.

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 band Linkin Park, released on October 24, 2000, through Warner Bros. Records. Recorded at NRG Recordings in North Hollywood, California, and produced by Don Gilmore, the album's l ...

'' (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/ ...

. 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. 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, ...

Personal life

Bourdon dated actress Vanessa Lee Evigan from 2001 to 2007. He dated model Irina Shayk 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 ''A Thousand Suns'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on September 13, 2010, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was written by the band and was produced by Linkin Park vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick ...

'' (2010) * '' Living Things'' (2012) * '' The Hunting Party'' (2014) * '' One More Light'' (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