Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie
The great Mississippi River flood of 1927 inspired dozens of songs. Among those recorded a bit later was a tune from Kansas Joe (born Wilber McCoy) and Memphis Minnie (born Lizzie Douglas), a husband and wife team, called When the Levee Breaks that they recorded in 1929. The song describes the plight of a man who fears a flood is about to overwhelm the levee protecting his home.
You can also download a copy for free here.
A generation later, the song came back to the US via a British rock band. Led Zeppelin’s classic take on the song, released on the 1971 album Led Zeppelin IV, altered some of the lyrics and relied so heavily on technical tricks in the studio that they rarely performed it live.
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