THAT'S ROBERT PLANT ON The hamonica

"When the Levee Breaks" is a country blues song written and first recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The lyrics reflect experiences during the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. When blues musical duo Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie wrote "When the Levee Breaks", the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was still fresh in people's memories. The flooding affected 26,000 square miles of the Mississippi Delta - hundreds were killed and hundreds of thousands of residents were forced to evacuate. The event is the subject of several blues songs, the most popular being "Backwater Blues" by Bessie Smith (1927) and "Mississippi Heavy Water Blues" by Barbecue Bob (1928). Ethel Douglas, Minnie's sister-in-law, recalled that Minnie was living with her family near Walls, Mississippi, when the levee broke in 1927. The song's lyrics recount the personal toll on a man who lost his home and family. Despite the tragedy, biographers also see in it a statement of rebirth.

Best band to ever walk planet earth led zeppelin

This song chugs along like a heavy train that don’t stop.

Welcome to the God Mode of rock and roll. I can hear this song a thousand times and never tire of it. Bonham is on fire. It’s like the ocean is crashing through the low country.

I still haven't figured out how these guys in their early twenties created such sophisticated lyrics and music ...

"Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good. When the levee breaks, mama you gotta move . . . " The flange on Plant's voice matches the slide guitar sound.

These guys have always worked off each other. They talk through their instruments to each other. That's what has always made them unique and otherworldly. I listen to them as much now as I did growing up. In essence...I've never stopped!

There's a lot of Zeppelin wizardry on this song's sound. They hung a couple mics in a stairwell to record the drums and the sound was then passed through some type of compressor to obtain a breathing effect. Parts of the song were recorded at a different tempo and then slowed down. There was a reverse echo on the harmonica. Like I said, a lot of awesome Zeppelin wizardry

If you want to hear him rip some harp you gotta listen to 'Nobody's Fault But Mine' from their album Presence. Ya gotta do it Mugs!

Dude, I fucking LOVE your channel. You're so open minded, humble and honest!!!

I saw Robert Plant (Led Zep lead singer) sing this song last week with Allison Krause live in Raleigh. Allison and another member of the band played fiddles and absolutely killed this song!!! Robert still sounds great at 75.

Mean ol' levee taught me to weep and mourn...

It's a cover of a 1928 song about the great flood of 1927. He talks about going to Chicago for work because industry in the south was wiped out.

That drum groove is NASTY! This is in my top 3 Zeppelin songs. So many different dynamics and skill sets. And did i mention the f---in' GROOVE?!

Zeppelin is the greatest band of all time. Idc what anybody says. 4 guys who were tight. There producing techniques revolutionized the music industry. Absolutly legendary

Robert defined his music from the black blues masters. Everyday Everyway.

This band was SO TIGHT, they "moved as one" on six or seven different instruments at a time!! RARE thing to have that quality.....NEVER be another ZEPPELIN!!! THIS ONE is a BANGER, as ALMOST ALL OF THEIRS ARE!! ENJOY!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

There was the new sound of the British Invasion of the Sixties. And then there came Zeppelin and masterpieces like Levy which completely rewrote the record book for how the blues could be presented. It was a new invasion. They took us by storm!

It's Zeppelin! Period. No mix, just pure genius!

There is no added effects on Roberts voice because of any remastering process. This entire mix sounds exactly the same way it did when I played it on vinyl back in the 1970's. Awesome reaction! Peace

My favorite Zeppelin song and Robert bringing the fire with that harmonica

flanger effect at the end of the song symbolizes the breaking of the dam and the sounds of voices and music as if from under water

I saw LED Zeppelin two days in a row day on the green 4 and 5 Oakland CA.the last time they played in North America. The weekend plants son passed away. RIP...

we are now farther away in time from this version of the song, than led zeppelin was from the original version when they covered it.

Robert Plant on the harmonica. Based on the song by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe Mc Coy in 1929, about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927. btw, you should def. check out JPJ covering the same song in "Playing for Change." It's amazing.

According to the album credits, Robert Plant himself was on the harp. Pretty impressive.

Every thing LED ZEP have done is pure fire. Saw them perform Live at the Alley Pally (Alexander Palace) London in the early 70's in my early teens 🤯🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

You are the first reacter in dozens that I've seen to mention the flange on his voice. Haha. That's awesome. 👏👏👏👏 But you make a good point. The difference is - in the 70s, yes, you want flange on everything. Kashmir has it on the entire drum track. Now, it's a little much.

You're right, it's an older song written by Blues musicians almost 100 yrs ago about the Great Mississippi floods of 1927. Those were literal levees he was talking about. And they talk about 'going to Chicago' because the floods in the South were a big part of the migration of African Americans from the South up to the North, cities like Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis etc. It's impossible to pick a favorite LZ song but this is one of my absolute favorites. Great reaction!

You're one of my favorite reactors. 100k right around the corner my friend. Nice going.

Makes me think of Hurricane Katrina, too. I'm guessing it originally related to the Mississippi Flood of 1927 and the Great Migration. Good music is timeless like that.

Bonz is nailing 4 on the floor, while the rest of the boys are cranking in 5/4 time. That creates the beautiful tension in the song.

Swampy Delta blues! You can visualize that train chugging thru the delta past the levee. Robert Plant duet with Allison Kraus called Can’t Let Go is more current Robert singing (in his 70’s) is freaking awesome

The singer Robert plant plays the harmonica.

I didn't know this when I was a kid, but apparently this is a cover from the 1920's ish maybe.it was 40's I don't quite remember, but a cover none the less, was blown away when I learned that

'Get The Led Out', an American LZ tribute band specialize in sounding like the recordings of LZ with all the incidentals and effects! and 'Levee' is no exception! BTW this song was a Memphis Minnie song.

Dude, you definitely are one of the most real reactors on YT, no doubt. I know you mean what you say and are actually at least interested in this music.

Yes Robert on the harp

Stellar harp

That swampy, muddy, dirty, desperate, swirling sound ... and Bonzo keeps on driving the train to Armageddon. Great stuff.

4 musical geniuses at work 😂😂 Great reaction and Peace out ✌️ ☮️

Oh I just noticed Plant does a Woo hoo part that is mimicking Howling Wolf's vocal in Smokestack Lighting I think 🐺🌙

"Hey Hey What Can I Do" is another excellent song (aren't they all, though?) you would really like. It's yet again another example of just how many different types of music these guys could create at a phenomenal level.

When the Levee Breaks" is a country blues song written and first recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The lyrics reflect experiences during the upheaval caused by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927.

❤❤❤Led Zeppelin ❤❤❤then there’s everyone else

Right on I actually got a notification this is a great song I used to play it all the time when I lived in Lodi

Some of us are living this right now.

Zeppelin toured the states. When they were in Louisiana NO, I believe it was Robert, He said there's no way these Levee's can handle the ocean. So, there you go.

Thanks for the Led Zeppelin ❤ My favorite band ever

Robert Plant has a 3 octave voice, steeped in old blues and rock n roll. Jimi Page and John Paul Jones (LZ’s secret weapon), both sought after session players, all come together with Bonham’s genius beats. There will be no other band like this… ever.

My favorite of Plant on the harmonica is You Shook Me. With Jones on the Hammond, then Plant on the harmonica, followed by Page, the solos section of that song is a trifecta.

Long live Rock!

Binham's drums are like the river that just keeps coming and nothing is gonna stop it. Relentless!!

Great review for a great song.

🫵You Godamn right!

Dude! Nice analyses of the sense of despair that lies at the heart of this song. Very well done. That said, if you'd like to know what the events of the Great Flood of 1927 led to, watch the fantastic 1995 documentary, "The Promised Land," narrated by Morgan Freeman. It's based on the equally excellent book by Nicholas Lemann, "The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How it Changed America." The displacement caused by the 1927 flood laid the foundation for what would happen right after WWII.

Great to hear someone else's opinion on one of the greatest bands in the world

Been listening to this since I figured out how to use the turntable 50 years ago. Has always been a part of me. Going to California is my favorite groove on this album, but this is also a standout for me. Love your take. Keep it up

I still say you need to watch the May 25,1975 In My Time Of Dying at Earls Court, it will blow your mind. That date is the cleanest visually & audibly.

For about 53 years I have loved the sss sss sss sound I guess from the hi hat. Along with everything else about this tune. They tried to play it live once or twice but couldn't make it sound like it should .

Great cover. No one did covers better than Zeppelin

“How Many More Times”’is a great song

This was a very astute critique. Really enjoyed this!

Andy Johns was the sound engineer who produced this masterpiece Mugs? He used twin Beyer Dynamic microphones on the snare and they laid this track and several others on this album in the hallway of an English countryside Bed & Breakfast Jimmy Page found. He was walking down the stairwell and dropped a coin. When it bounced down the stairs? He heard the Reverb!! They laid this track down and it became Rock History from there on! Another great job Mugs!! Thank you for always bringing the professional critique with thee best music.

Mad respect on the nice audio playback.

This has always been my favorite song by Zep, with Trampled Under Foot #2

Definitely natural disaster. Remake of a Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy song from 1929 about the 1927 floods along the Mississippi River. Top 5 Zeppelin track. I've only heard one live performance of this, Chicago 1975, and Robert has the flu...

Everyone talks about Plant's singing, but yes, he was a first-rate harp-player too! It seems like it was not unusual in the late-60's for lead singers to also play at least a bit of harmonica, take Mark Farner for example of Grand Funk Railroad. But Plant was not just a good player, but a damn good harmonica player IMO.

oh this gonna be good!

Do more!!! Robert...the singer...on the harmonica!

Amazing rebirth of the song …and of course Led Zep credited original artists on the album cover. ❤

I just subscribed to your channel. 🙂 Great reaction. Good observations. So glad you are "discovering" and listening to QUALITY Music and Bands. Led Zep The Who The Stones = Musicianship is on another level. You should check out the band YES and Supertramp. Peace.

They were going for an "effect" in this song with Plant's voice. They never "needed" to make him sound better. It was the "mood" of the song. The harmonica part Plant played was heavily effected too. Check out the effect on his voice on "What is and What should Never Be". Very cool.

Check out the fire on one of Robert's best blues/gospel performances on Baby Come on Home. A truly deep, deep, deep Zeppelin cut that very few people have reacted to.

Robert is a very good guitar player aswell most people do not know it

NOICE!!❤

If you think Bonzo is playing "Boom Bat" here, you'd be on to something. There are more than a few hip hop acts who sampled this beat.

Thank you Sir.

🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

Never gets old

According to the website Who Sampled, this song has been sampled on 255 other songs.

Good catch on the flanged lead vocal. It's on the original vinyl mix from the 70's

The early to mid 70s was a very progressive time for rock with technology starting to play a major influence on the production of music. It was a very experimental time. They rarely played this song live.

This is actually a cover of Memphis Minnie.. about the delta..life is a precarious proposition..

Thunder, thrashing paddle wheels, sirens, waves breaking against the bow of a steamer - Zepp transport us into an apocalyptic storm on the Mississippi...

Harmonica (Plant) ❤️

HAMMER OF THE GODS!.................Peace!

Great reaction. So much Zep to try, I recommend "Custard Pie" and "Nobodys Fault But Mine". Also, check out Robert Plant with Alison Krauss ("Polly Come Home" ). Thanks!

I think that flange on his voice represents foreboding. Bad stuff ahead. It's sort of spooky. And as it turns out at the end, he dies in the flood sitting on the levee.

Another one of their bestest

Never before, ...sadly, Never again. ❤

My advice? Hang on tight! 😎

That drum is a steam powered locomotive!!! Check out Trampled Under Foot and Ten Years Gone...

I think the effect on Plants voice may be to try to reflect the effects of being inundated by water from the Great Flood of the Mississippi River in 1927.

This song - #3 best Zep song. #2 - Led Zeppelin III (whole album) #1 - Led Zeppelin "CODA" - It's out takes that didn't make albums. But, SOOO good.

Led Zeppelin only played this song live a handful of times in the first 5 or 6 shows of their 1975 U.S. tour. I always wondered why this wasn't played more often by them as existing audience and soundboard recordings at the time revealed the song sounded great live. Jimmy Page had broken his finger at the very start of that tour, and they may have added the song to the set since his slide guitar riffs didn't require a lot of fast finger movement. That's just a guess though.

❤❤❤Robert ❤❤❤

Robert Plant has one hit from the 80's called I'm in the Mood for a Melody

As you said in the previous reaction to led zeppelin they were heavily influenced by African American Blues, Soul and Jaz as were the Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Animals and the Kinks all part of the so-called British invasion of America latter to be followed by such names as Zeppelin, Sabbath, Deep Purple, Floyd, Yes, ELP, Jethro Tull among others. African American music Played a big part in these UK bands early music playing covers of this music In part due to a quirk of history during WW2 African American forces came to the UK for the invasion of Europe they brough their music with them despite the American military enforcing segregation on their forces putting up notices that certain areas, clubs, pubs, dance halls and cinemas were for white forces only The British public in the main not only ignored this but actively campaigned against it consequently some African American musicians of the 20's 30's 40's and 50's were actually more well known in the UK and Europe than in the general population of America and also did sell out tours of UK and Europe on a regular basis. a prime example is Pink Floyd named after Pink Anderson and Floyd Council two blues artists Syd Barrett had in his record collection and the Rolling Stones named after a Muddy Waters song Rolling Stone.