"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 in reaction to the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.
It was re-worked by English rock group Led Zeppelin as the last song on their fourth album, released in 1971. The lyrics in Led Zeppelin's version, credited to Memphis Minnie and the individual members of Led Zeppelin, were partially based on the original recording. Many other artists have also recorded versions of the song or played it live.
Read more about When The Levee Breaks: Origin, Led Zeppelin Version, Other Versions, Sources
Famous quotes containing the words when the and/or breaks:
“Most writers steal a good thing when they can,
And when ‘tis safely got ‘tis worth the winning.
The worst of ‘t is we now and then detect ‘em,
Before they ever dream that we suspect ‘em.”
—Bryan Waller Proctor (1787–1874)
“I do not believe in lawyers, in that mode of attacking or defending a man, because you descend to meet the judge on his own ground, and, in cases of the highest importance, it is of no consequence whether a man breaks a human law or not. Let lawyers decide trivial cases.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)