When the Levee Breaks

"When the Levee Breaks" is a blues song written and first recorded by husband and wife Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie in 1929. The song is based on the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

Related Topics:
Blues - Kansas Joe McCoy - Memphis Minnie - 1929 - Great Mississippi Flood

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It was famously re-worked by Led Zeppelin as the last song on their fourth album. The lyrics in Led Zeppelin's song were based on the original recording by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie, which Robert Plant had in his personal collection.

Related Topics:
Led Zeppelin - Fourth album - Robert Plant

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The Led Zeppelin version features a distinctive and often-sampled pounding drum beat by John Bonham recorded in a three-storey stairwell, driving guitars and a wailing harmonica, all presumably meant to symbolize the relentless storm that threatens to break the levee, backing a powerful vocal performance by Robert Plant. The best-known song on the album may be "Stairway to Heaven", but "When the Levee Breaks" makes for a memorable finale.

Related Topics:
Sampled - John Bonham - Guitar - Harmonica - Storm - Levee - Robert Plant - Stairway to Heaven

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The famous drum performance was actually recorded by placing the drumkit and drummer at the bottom of a stairwell at Headley Grange, and recording it using a microphone three stories above, giving the distinctive resonant but slightly muffled sound. The break has long been popular in hip hop and dance music circles for its "heavy" sound and has been used for many tracks, notably including Tomoyasu Hotei's Battle Without Honour Or Humanity from the Kill Bill soundtrack and the Beastie Boys' "Rhymin & Stealin" from their 1986 album Licensed to Ill.

Related Topics:
Headley Grange - Microphone - Break - Hip hop - Tomoyasu Hotei - Kill Bill - Beastie Boys - 1986 - Licensed to Ill

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Jimmy Page recorded the harmonica part using the backward echo technique, putting the echo ahead of the sound when mixing, creating a unique effect.

Related Topics:
Jimmy Page - Harmonica - Backward echo - Echo

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Because this song was heavily produced in the studio, it was difficult to recreate live. The band only played this song a few times on their 1975 US Tour.

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The song was also covered by by John Campbell on his Howlin' Mercy album in 1993, by Leftover Salmon on the classic "Ask the Fish" live album in 1995 and by A Perfect Circle on their third album eMOTIVe in 2004.

Related Topics:
Leftover Salmon - A Perfect Circle - EMOTIVe

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This has been the anthem for the Hurricane Katrina effects of New Orleans in 2005.

Related Topics:
Hurricane Katrina - New Orleans - 2005

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