#23 When The Levee Breaks

I wrote about John Bonham’s quickness on the drum throne last week. This week features the legendary drummer again, but instead for his power. “When The Levee Breaks” off of Led Zeppelin’s magnum opus - the mysteriously untitled fourth album - puts Bonham on display yet again as the world’s greatest drummer. Don’t just take my word for it - he’s been named number 1 by Rolling Stone magazine, Allmusic, The Los Angeles Times, Blabbermouth, Rhythm Magazine, Modern Drummer Magazine, Classic Rock Magazine, Stylus Magazine, and Gigwise, to name a few.

The strength of the opening drum track on this song is both a product of Bonzo’s hard-hitting style and Jimmy Page’s revolutionary creativity as a producer. As legend has it, the band rented an old poorhouse in Hampshire, England (named “Headley Grange”) to stay in while recording their fourth album. Built in 1795, the three-story stone home was a magnificent work of architecture and served as a perfect place for the band to immerse themselves in their art.

While roadies were moving Zeppelin’s equipment into the house, the drum-techs left some of the drum-kit in the main foyer, which was a three story vestibule with a grand staircase. As destiny would have it, Bonham was drawn to the kit and played a few licks by himself. The echoes inside the hallway walls created a bellowing sound that Jimmy Page became obsessed with recreating. Attaching microphones up and down the staircase was all they needed to once again change the way we think drums should sound.

Ever since, the drum beat has been sampled over 180 times by artists in the hip-hop genre including Beyoncé (Don’t Hurt Yourself, 2016), Eminem (Kim, 2000), Dr. Dre (Lyrical Gangbang, 1992), and the Beastie Boys (Rhymin and Stealin, 1986).

The lyrics are a rendition of a song by Memphis Minnie from 1929 about the horrors brought by the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 - the most destructive flood in American history. Page’s guitar riff and Plant’s wailing harmonica together make sounds reminiscent of storm winds crashing through the Deep South, where much of the bands musical heroes grew up during the birth of blues. “When The Levee Breaks” serves as the final song on an album that went 23x Platinum, selling over 37 million copies, and as of 2018 ranks third in the list of highest-certified albums in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America.