ROCK/BLUES
1971
86 BPM
A minor
When the Levee Breaks
Led Zeppelin's monumental reimagining of a 1929 blues classic created rock music's most sampled drum break
Led Zeppelin
"When the Levee Breaks"
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Original Track
Led Zeppelin - "When the Levee Breaks" (1971)
The original track containing the legendary 6.0-second drum break
Break occurs at 0:14 - 0:20
The History
Led Zeppelin's monumental reimagining of a 1929 blues classic created rock music's most sampled drum break. John Bonham's thunderous drums, recorded in a stairwell at Headley Grange, became the bridge between rock and hip-hop culture.
Originally recorded by Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929 as a blues about the Great Mississippi Flood
John Bonham's drum sound was achieved by recording him in the three-story stairwell at Headley Grange mansion
The Beastie Boys made it the first rock sample to become a hip-hop anthem with 'Rhymin & Stealin' in 1986
Led Zeppelin's version runs 7:07, making it one of their longest studio recordings
The backwards echo effect was created by Glyn Johns using ambient room mics placed throughout the mansion
Became hip-hop's gateway to rock sampling, proving that any genre could provide raw material for beats
Who Sampled It
Beastie Boys
"Rhymin & Stealin"
Licensed to Ill
1986
Eminem
"Kim"
The Marshall Mathers LP
2000
Dr. Dre
"Lyrical Gangbang"
The Chronic
1992
Cypress Hill
"How I Could Just Kill a Man"
Cypress Hill
1991
House of Pain
"Jump Around"
House of Pain
1992
Coldcut
"Beats + Pieces"
What's That Noise?
1987
Massive Attack
"Safe from Harm"
Blue Lines
1991
Mike Oldfield
"Shadow on the Wall"
Crises
1983
💡 This breakbeat has been sampled 8 times in our database
Tags
rock
blues
led-zeppelin
john-bonham
headley-grange
stairwell-recording
memphis-minnie
rock-to-hip-hop