‘When the Levee Breaks,’ Then and Now
Travel Blog • Eva Holland • 09.03.08 | 10:00 AM ET
New Orleanians are letting out a collective sigh of relief following Hurricane Gustav’s less-destructive-than-expected pass through the area. This time around, thankfully, the levees held—but as Wired reminds us in this look back at the much-covered blues classic When The Levee Breaks, flood anxiety along the Mississippi had been around for decades before Hurricane Katrina, and isn’t going away anytime soon.
Here’s the 1929 original, by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie:
And here’s the most famous remake, courtesy of Led Zeppelin:
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