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Cover of [Led Zeppelin IV] by Led Zeppelin
Cover: [Led Zeppelin IV]

Song · Led Zeppelin

“When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin

From the album [Led Zeppelin IV] (1971)

“When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin appears on 80 radio countdowns from 29 stations between 1982 and 2026. It was first released in 1971 on the album [Led Zeppelin IV]. Its best result is #15 on the 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #575 indie & aaa song of all time and #107 of the '70s.

80countdowns
29stations
#15best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1982–2026years charted

Watch

Led Zeppelin - When The Levee Breaks (Official Audio)

Video from YouTube (Led Zeppelin). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"When the Levee Breaks" closes Led Zeppelin's untitled fourth album from 1971, and it's the band dragging a 1929 country blues by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie, a song born out of the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, into a thunderhead of their own making. Robert Plant kept many of the original words, and the credit goes to Memphis Minnie alongside all four members of the band.

Jimmy Page produced it and Andy Johns engineered and mixed it, and between them they built something enormous and slow: the drums land like boulders tumbling into a river, Plant's voice wails over the top, and the whole track sways and lurches like it's about to give way. Where the original was a lament, Zeppelin's version sounds like the flood itself.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1982 242 95.5 KLOS KLOS Memorial Day 500 (1982) 499
1990 430 Z-Rock Z-Rock Top 1001 Songs of All-Time (1990) 1000
1991 474 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1994 476 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 388 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 374 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1996 463 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 658 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 457 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 452 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2001 1677 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2002 432 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 814 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 826 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2004 422 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2009 275 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 263 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 598 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 609 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 70 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 261 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 15 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2013 17 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Led Zeppelin 50 50
2014 211 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 540 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 164 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2015 213 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 261 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 116 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2016 500 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 266 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 374 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2017 384 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 118 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2018 449 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2018 94 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 472 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 400 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 346 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 405 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 393 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 481 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2020 184 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 467 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 118 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 458 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 411 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2021 455 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2021 246 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 92 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 273 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 482 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2022 107 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 344 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2022) 500
2022 241 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 268 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 567 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 394 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 320 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2023 134 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2023 553 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 394 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 147 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 806 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 471 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2024 469 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2024) 498
2024 154 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 310 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 660 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 46 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Cover Songs 850
2025 469 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2025) 498
2025 112 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2025) 500
2025 44 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2025) 500
2025 227 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 468 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 300 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 259 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500
2026 34 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 U-Man 500 (2026) 499
2026 348 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 159 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: When The Levee Breaks.

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