First Time Hearing Led Zeppelin "When the Levee Breaks" [ REACTION ]

ITS BEEN A GREAT JOURNEY AND WE’RE ON OUR WAY TO 40,000 SUBS!! THANK YOU
Join The Family and Start Suggesting Content Now (Patreon) / ftb_reacts
Help Support The Channel (CashApp) FromTheBottomFS
First Time Hearing Led Zeppelin "When the Levee Breaks" [ REACTION ]
📣 Email:[e-mail]
#ftbreacts #music #firsttimereaction

[@robertlear2712]

Recommended LZ songs, all live versions from Madison Square Garden 1973 - Since I’ve Been Loving You, Rock and Roll, Stairway to Heaven. Really any song from that concert is mind blowing.

[@FTBREACTS]

Nuff said..We’re knocking these out 💯

[@bobdam4478]

maybe im in the minority but most of the stuff ive seen live from Zep wasnt that good (sound quality etc).. I prefer their studio stuff. Pink Floyd however has some live performances that are better than the studio version..

[@1genxgamer10]

@@bobdam4478 100% your comment. A lot is missed in live.

[@sicotshit7068]

What’s great though, they added to the song & made it more known then it would be otherwise. Their love of the blues, is why they did some remakes.

[@m.ericwatson968]

@@bobdam4478 most live ZEP audio recordings are bootlegs so not the best audio quality, thank manager Peter Grant for that lack of foresight, '73 NYC Madison Square Garden is a gem however

[@joshuawiedenbeck6944]

The most famous drum groove in existence for drummers. The pocket he found is just otherworldly

[@MisunderstoodSpaceMarine]

"I hear you back there bro" describes the drummer perfectly.

[@juliemanarin4127]

This is the greatest band to ever grace the planet!! Robert...the singer...plays that harmonica!!

[@srt8rocketship241]

It don't matter how slow or fast the song is , Bonham's drums will be bangin'. They could not possibly lose the beat. RockStars forever. Legendary Masters.

[@eatthisvr6]

This is the greatest drum beat of all time

[@jenniferfoster1692]

There is no single best Led Zep song, but this is definitely near the top. Thanks for listening to it. Yes, it's a harmonica.

[@timtubemusic]

Harmonica played by robert plant.

[@williamcabell142]

The GOATS…PERIOD!😎🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Robert Plant on vocals and Harmonic…John Bottom on drums aka Bonzo….Jimmy Page Strings…John Paul Jones Keys, and Bass! Dude everything they touch is Classic!

[@stevedahlberg8680]

Bonzo's drums are just thunderous on this and yet so patient and plotting and relentless, like a river that is in flood stage and growing all the time and you just know bad stuff is going down soon. Thunderous. And yeah that is definitely a harp in the traditional blues style and it was common to cup your hands around it and put it right up against the microphone and then run it pretty hot through an amp. It creates such a perfect texture for this and Robert Plant really was good at that.

[@scotttrainer9704]

The drums were recorded in a multi-level staircase inside an old country villa with microphones at multiple levels and then ran through a compression device. There's a video about how it influenced Hip Hop and was sampled and copied a lot. Zeppelin was always trying new stuff.

[@njaco08]

It was Headley Grange and the drums were also run through a Binson Echorec. Awesome sound.

[@dougww1ectebow]

It was an Echorec. There may have been some compression but it was primarily echo.

[@m.ericwatson968]

Read that they slowed down the drum masters by 1/3 speed to get that deep boom, could be wrong about that so don't stab me lol

[@m.ericwatson968]

Ice-T "Midnight" sampled these drums and it is magnificent

[@PatrickORourke-yz3xn]

Hi FTB! Just FYI - The original is from Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929 about the great Mississippi flood of 1927. LZ were masters of making blues riffs and feelings into rock creations. Also - Yeah, John Bonham is a special drummer!

[@mattblatchley2061]

#facts #DeltaBlues

[@jenniferfoster1692]

Yep, it's literally about the levees breaking, people being displaced & the resulting large movement of African Americans up to the North, like Chicago, which he says in the song.

[@mateuszmattias]

@@jenniferfoster1692 Correct, what was to be known as the great migration north was already in progress, but the events of 1927 made the process accelerate to a whole different level.

[@daveburns3886]

It is a remake of sorts and historically accurate about a flood, but of course totally different in the way they added new instruments,, they got sued for copyright and lost and on many other compositions but they said they knew they would but knew they’d make them better and mega- successful

[@chrislupson217]

This song, and others by Zeppelin were the first experience with real blues for me and many of my generation.

[@ngairehurunui9055]

RIP John Henry Bonham 🥁 What a track!

[@hanspettersson504]

Led Zeppelin does not plug in to amplifiers Led Zeppelin plugs in to your Soul ❤

[@marksanders8028]

Love the reaction an I love the message on the shirt.

[@louannlang7471]

That's Jon Bonham on those Fn drums! DEFINITELY the GOAT. check for yourself 😎FYI He passed WAY TOO YOUNG (drowned in his own vomit from OD of alcohol) 😢 a VERY sad day for rock and roll. Others have left comments to the origin of this song, valid for sure. Yet its left to interpretation, considering the era of this release. The LEVEE holds backs otherwise destructive "waters". Great reaction man.

[@peoplesmedicinedrum9916]

Zeppelin is the quintessential of the rock world. no one can hold a candle to them. they cover many genres when you listen to them from beginning to end of their record making career. Heavy blues in the early albums, then heavier rock and ballads in the middle, then they have a song with a reggae vibe in D'yer Maker, Trampled Under Foot has a funk feel to it, and then their late albums had some almost pop elements to it. They are unmatched. That is a harmonica as Plant (lead singer) would play that when not singing. There is no bad Zeppelin song. Hope you take the trip through their catalog. Some of the greats are from the MSG concert. So Stairway to Heaven, Song Remains the Same/Rain Song, Rock and Roll, Since I Been Loving You, all of them live. Some psychadelic sound would be the song No Quarter. P. Diddy used Kashmir to make his song Come With Me for the Godzilla Movie. Check them out. Many deep songs to get into.

[@richardcramer1604]

BTW you can tell that this is a studio version, a few times the harmonica is playing while the singer sings. Robert Plant is both the singer and harmonica player and no matter how good you are normally you can't do both at the same time LOL.

[@susanfigueroa872]

That's exactly what he's talking about! This is a song about a torrential storm that wiped out the levee's that were supposed to protect the town from flooding. I'm not sure when this actually happened but I understand this happened in either in the 20's or 30's down south. And yes that's a harmonica that the lead singer Robert Plant plays. He and the guitarist, Jimmy Page do a lot of call and response in most of their songs! Hope you enjoy your journey!! That's John Bonham (RIP) on drums, and the band's secret weapon, bassist, John Paul Jones!! He plays everything!!

[@thomashiggins9320]

It happened in 1927, and then Memphis Minnie wrote this tune and she and Kansas Joe McCoy released it in 1929. The flood forced a lot of poor black sharecroppers off the land, because it absolutely wiped them out. Many of them went north up out of the delta and took jobs in the rail yards and stockyards in Chicago. In that sense, it presaged what would happen a generation later, when International Harvester built the first really effective cotton harvester, right after WWII. Once the larger cotton-growers no longer needed so much black labor, a lot of the most oppressive laws and policies in place, in the South, started to loosen up and more and more black started to look for places that would offer them better lives. The communities established in Chicago from those who had fled the 1927 flood provided an open door for people to follow. An amazing documentary miniseries, based on the book by Nicholas Lemann, appeared on the Discovery Channel in 1995, back when that channel actually offered quality content. It provides some insightful detail about the Black migration after WWII and how it changed America, and makes reference to how the flood sort of set up what happened, later.

[@bradsense7431]

@@thomashiggins9320the great migration I believe they called it. I have lived in Mississippi and Chicagoland most my life with family ties in both. I am white but had many AA coworkers in Chicago and almost every one I mentioned my ties to Mississippi would relate their family was from there as well….part of that migration of the previous generations.

[@swamihuman9395]

- As you noticed/liked the drums on this song, you'll like anything John Bonham does! Yeah, he's that good :) - For something different though (as far as drumming goes), check out "BLACK DOG" (studio): beat is intentionally off from lyrics/melody - and creates a very interesting sound/feel. - And, for EPIC DRUM SOLO, check out "MOBY DICK" (live, for sure). - Actually, you can't go wrong w/ Zeppelin - so, enjoy :)

[@JuniorFarquar]

Live Since I've Been Loving You 1973 MSG ns off Led Zeppelin II The Lemon Song Great rxn!

[@allyncarpenter5678]

My favorite Led Zeppelin song ❤

[@mitchshelton2995]

Way back when this came out we called it “ head music “ lol We’d get our heads right ( shrooms or something like 25 ) and put on this kind of jam. T.V. On , volume off with the album playing wide open!!! Liked and subscribed. Love and respect ❤️

[@marymargaretmoore9034]

Yep, it's a harmonica played by singer Robert Plant. Classic drums by the late John "Bonzo" Bonham. Jimmy Page on guitar and John Paul Jones, aka JPJ/Jonesy on bass, keyboards, Mellotron and other instruments.

[@amjrpain919]

"It's nobody's fault but mine" is a straight up banger...

[@donaldmerrick6626]

Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good! This holds up so powerfully today!

[@nancysmith38]

Swampy sound of the delta. Song about a real flood-- done quite well almost 50 years ago from some young British kids.

[@renecross392]

Powerful band Powerful music Then and now Good to watch you groove right out Total hypnotic stuff The late great John Bonham RIP on the drums

[@leslie8743]

Back in the 1970s house parties, well, every party had Zeppelin playing. Such a fun time in music, we could finally hear our favorite music in our cars with 8 track tapes. ❤

[@avlanche7777]

One of my Zeppelin faves.

[@Brandi6666]

Awesome shirt 🤘❤️🇺🇸

[@donaldmerrick6626]

On drums, the unquestioned rock GOAT, John Bonham!

[@philipsavickas4860]

I love the songs that robert plays the harmonica

[@hognaut]

One of Britain's greatest exports 🇬🇧. Glad you enjoyed that 👌

[@user-fc8lz1cg4x]

Darlin...react to LZ and you will definitely get more subscribers. Guaranteed. We're a BIG family. We will guide you...😊

[@cotezgold]

There's some great harmonica in "You shook me".

[@user-pf7jm9go6o]

Always listen to the studio version first, as you did here. Then you can check out how they did it live. Many LZ blues songs that will knock you out: You Shook Me, I Can't Quit You Babe, The Lemon Song, Bring It on Home, Since I've Been Loving You, and on and on.

[@Tijuanabill]

"Whoever that drummer back there is", is the most GOAT person in about anything, that you can name. He is so much the drums GOAT, you won't even find anyone that will argue someone else. They just say, "Well, after John Bonham of course, so and so is great too".

[@Teresa-ih4sn]

Oooo you are in for a treat!❤

[@carcarjinks1430]

42 years from the original to LZ's version. 52 years from then to now. we are now farther away from zeppelin's cover of this song, than they were from the original recording when they covered it.

[@UGG169]

You gotta react to the “ The Rain Song “ just remember to be sitting down !

[@danjohnson2986]

This. It will be played at my funeral.

[@user-vl6pk6gy3h]

Just one of the best Zep songs. Glad you enjoyed this. Zep is rooted in the blues and the guys had lots of blues influences, so when they play blues, blues/rock they are at their best. Also, love the hoodie!

[@donaldwhitt689]

Robert Plant on harmonica.

[@RodneyFrazer]

The live performance of "In My Time of Dying" is absolutely incredible and worth a look. Then again, pretty much any song you listen to is a banger

[@darrenherbst5572]

Love your Hoodie !!!!!

[@shannonrichardson3405]

In my time of dying! Give it a listen!

[@patrickmoranmusic9205]

Get Ready Brother!!!! Enjoy

[@patches6309]

The bass line and pocket groove that the drums are in becomes completely hypnotic! The echo effect in the mix is mind blowing!!

[@FTBREACTS]

Exactly! I heard bands try this same rhythm And this is where they got it from

[@EdKoller]

Spot on homie, that's Plant blowin' the harp.

[@bite28]

The energy in ttheir song is infectious; it's impossible not to get swept up in it.

[@mongosaqqara]

Brother...Dazed and Confused studio version...blow your mind!

[@user-jl7ty1ni4o]

The Lemon Song is the bomb!!

[@user-nm4sz8xy1d]

So many LZ songs have freight train rolling down the tracks vibe, this is one of the best examples. Gallows Pole live has it in spades. I can say at 61 yo, I cannot sit in my chair when I hear that song. Levee is my fav LZ blues song, love their interpretation of the blues here.

[@user-fc8lz1cg4x]

Subscribed, cuz you reacted to the drums just when I wanted you to...and yes about the extra curricular. 😊

[@bostonvair]

You are correct, that was a harmonica. Played by lead vocalist Robert Plant

[@sage678]

Going to California! Such a beautiful song

[@slap_A_flamingo]

Great band to have a smoke to 😁 this an No Quarter always takes you away on a journey. Great reaction man. Got right into it brother.

[@diveplane05]

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.

[@AndICanTalk2]

Loved the reaction. I think you would enjoy a live performance of Moby Dick, which showcases Bonham's amazing drumming and improv capabilities. I would also say I'd love to see you react to Misty Mountain Hop, or anything else from this album you have not done already. It is one of the great albums of any genre, all time, imo. Love the channel.

[@tdunph4250]

Phenomenal vid! Keep em going! Your reaction was solid! 💯🙏👍

[@coachmullen1]

I always notice how the Beastie Boys sampled that opening beat for the song, "Rhyming and Stealing". It's so simple and yet so tough!

[@mickidonahue4038]

Enjoyed seeing you enjoy what I enjoyed as a teen in the 70s. New subscriber!

[@stevedahlberg8680]

Extracurricular activities, lol. Yeah I think he's singing through a flanger or a phase shifter there or something. Pretty trippy.

[@donaldmerrick6626]

Yes, he is actually talking about levees, the real ones that are supposed to hold back water! This is a cover of an old blues song by Memphis Minnie! They just did something to it and made it greater!

[@cityhonors1]

🤗 Subbed for Zep & hoping to hear you React to 'The Immigrant Song', 😊 just to see you go 🤯 "They made that song?!?" after you remember what Marvel Movie you heard it in! 😂 That's always fun & never gets old! Same with certain Rush, Pink Floyd & Steely Dan songs! Our music from back in the day on everything from Guitar Hero to famous Rap Songs! 😉😄🥰🐰

[@livinglife4835]

Yes water levee breaks. Song referring to 1927 Mississippi levee breaking. Massive, deadly flood occurred. They brought instruments that you would have heard in the south. Band had incredible depth and width.

[@madduck2323]

Yes, it’s a harmonica.

[@FTBREACTS]

Right 💯

[@shin-i-chikozima]

Did you see Zeppelin flying gracefully over Tokyo on august19,1929, trascending time and space while listen to Zeppelin's masterpieces❓

[@davecotterill-jy7ct]

Try any song on the Albert Hall 1970 live It will blow you mind the pure rawness and energy from 20 years olds

[@JohnSimpson-sv6sq]

Daze & Confused...for your drum habit! 🥁 lol...

[@stevenmonte7397]

A good follow up to this is Playing For Change. They do this song with Led Zeppelin bassist, John Paul Jones, and kill it. Artists from all around the world playing the song together. It's a beautiful tribute to the original. Trust me, MAN! It will bring tears to your eyes.

[@AlBarzUK]

PfC is great.

[@thomashiggins9320]

Agreed. That version is spectacular.

[@Misitheus]

HAMMER OF THE GODS.....Peace!

[@wrldchamps04]

My description of this song is always the same....filthy good👍🏻

[@user-jl7ty1ni4o]

I like Hot Dog as well!!

[@my2centsonit]

Saw them in concert at Chicago Stadium in April of 1977. Truly Amazing.....from what I am able to remember..😉

[@philipsavickas4860]

this is a cover song they made their own it's about a flood in early 1900s on the Mississippi river

[@JohnSimpson-sv6sq]

John Bonham..= G.O.A.T of Rock n Roll!! Drumming......

[@hoffy1955]

Imagine yourself at 14, a freshman in high school getting high with your older brother and his friends and listening to the debut album of Led Zeppelin. For the 4 years of high school I got to listen to the first 4 albums as they aired for the first time! They were amazing then, we'd never heard anything like the music coming off of that vinyl, and they're amazing now. Greatness is anything that doesn't remind you of anything else. 50 years from now this song will still rock! 😎

[@BertJamesMcKinney]

Hammer of the Gods!

[@dougww1ectebow]

From Wikipedia: "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". "Whoever is on the drums" the late great John Bonham. Arguably one of the best if not THE best rock drummers ever born. They used a Binson Echorec, a tape who machine to get that amazing effect. Plus well... LZ is the best rock band EVER!

[@broetchenahoi6524]

Great reaction! LOVE Led Zeppelin! What I find so cool is that in the 1960s so many musicians and bands from the UK that became legends (like LZ, Cream, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, The Who etc.) were deeply inspired by African American Blues, specifically Mississippi Delta Blues, etc. LZ started as an all out Blues band - When The Levee Breaks is a prime example: With their awesome musicianship and new guitar effects, experimental execution and new recording technology at the time, they created a whole new genre doing so - Hard Rock. When The Levee Breaks is such a full circle moment example, b/c decades later the drum track was sampled countless times by Hip Hop artists like Dr. Dre, Ice-T, Beastie Boys, Beyonce, etc.

[@rachaddle6581]

I KNOW all genres. I was as the ripe age for ALL genres..a tennager in the 1980's which was the beginnings of rap. Rap comes from rock n roll believe this or not. My household as a child was all of rock n roll. As a teen in the 80's I had a younger brother that gravitated to rap. Because of him I got into Snoop Dog big time & everything that was hip at the time..absolutely loved! I can say 100% that the rock n roll genre will always be here to stay in my heart deeply. Rap is a genre that can go.I will not miss. I am well rounded in rap. I can say that rock n roll is dear to my heart.🔴

[@stevedahlberg8680]

And everyone is quick to point out the flood history of it but for me and I have to imagine millions of people growing up, I definitely got the feeling of it was talking about a relationship. That's what gives it so much deep emotional impact immediately, Beyond just the storytelling and historical aspect of it. And there is no way they didn't have that in mind when they did this. So yeah I agree with you.

[@jordanl1800]

Dope hoodie

[@bryanhale5254]

This song was written and recorded way back in 1929 by Memphis Minnie and Kansas City Joe and then Zep revamped it

[@barryscott8041]

That's the singer Robert Plant on the Harmonica

[@rollyro71]

Im really that old.... that there's people not sure about a Harmonica's sound.

[@dandrechsler6884]

Yes it's a harmonica

[@dcg4mn]

Oh yeah, that’s a harmonica alright: it drives me nuts how great it is😆 For unbelievable contemporary harmonica talent, check out Grégoire Maret! ✊🏽 Saw him last year in Italy he brought me to tears.

[@barryscott8041]

Yeah, my wife lived in New Orleans 9 years and said it's literal....the City floods if the levee breaks, or parts of the City

[@user-jl7ty1ni4o]

Southbound Suarez is one of my favs!

[@magicbrownie1357]

Definitely a harmonica at the beginning and the harmonica solo much later in the song.

[@jeffdempsey6478]

Big olle. MISSISSIPPI. FLOODING......WTH..J BONHAM rip luvya.

[@kennethallen3586]

Like the shirt.

[@neverfallnewsmedia]

This beat was sampled by the Beastie Boys in "Rhymin and Stealin'" on their 3rd album Licensed to Ill, in case you are interested. That song also samples "Sweet Leaf" by Black Sabbath, if you decide to review any Beasties. ❤

[@KelliSmith-mj5hc]

Listen to Stairway to Heaven! Best rock song of all time. Lived this Era. Magical and timeless.

[@kikivon3501]

Yes, this is a cover, but if you listen to the original you’ll find the words are similar, but the musical arrangement is totally different.

[@PeloquinDavid]

Yeah. The original sounds UPBEAT by comparison!

[@FredPena-rd5cf]

There's a 50s version by somebody thats popular. Bit the original is by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy from 1928. I got it from Napster....🥴

[@jefharper3954]

It is a song about a rising tide and a worrisome mind. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[@m.ericwatson968]

Zeppelin track that doesn't get a lot of mentions is "Out On The Tiles" from LED ZEP 3, not their best but still a damn cool song that deserves more listens

[@sicotshit7068]

Love drums, check out Bonham’s solo Madison Square Gardens live Moby Dick, it’s at least 15 minutes long. It shows his genius & why he’s the GOAT. Achilles Last Stand is amazing too.