Stairway to Heaven
From Freepedia
- For other uses, see Stairway to Heaven (disambiguation).
| "Stairway to Heaven" | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song by Led Zeppelin | ||
| From the album Image:Zoso.png (a.k.a. Led Zeppelin IV) | ||
| Single Released | Not originally released | |
| Recorded | December 1970 | |
| Song Length | 8:02 | |
| Record label | Atlantic | |
"Stairway to Heaven" is a famous and influential song by the British rock group Led Zeppelin.
One of the most requested songs on FM radio stations in the United States, "Stairway to Heaven", from Led Zeppelin's fourth album, was never released officially as a single. It did, however, appear as a promotional disc in the United States, on an Australian acoustic EP, and in the 1990s as a 20th anniversary promo issue. The song had its beginnings during the sessions for Led Zeppelin III at Bron-Yr-Aur, Wales, but was completed at Headley Grange, Hampshire, and finally recorded at Island Studios, London, in December 1970. It is not entirely clear whether a movie title was an inspiration for the song or the source of the song title.
The song was first played live at Belfast's Ulster Hall on March 5, 1971; it was performed at every Led Zeppelin concert thereafter, usually as part of a final encore from 1975 to 1980. "Stairway" was also played at Live Aid in 1985 and the 40th anniversary celebration of Atlantic Records in 1988, and by Jimmy Page as an instrumental version on his solo tours.
"Stairway to Heaven" is one of the biggest-selling sheet music publications in rock history. Since 1971, "Stairway to Heaven" has sold more than 1.2 million copies.
Contents |
Lyrics
The lyrics, written by Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant next to an evening log fire, were inspired by his search for spiritual perfection. A seminal influence was the book Magic Arts in Celtic Britain by Lewis Spence, which Plant had recently read; it contained references to May Queens, pipers, and bustling hedgerows.
Music
Musically, the song takes the form of a multi-movement suite, with a quiet introduction featuring acoustic guitar and recorder gradually giving way to a slow electric middle section, and finally, a crashing hard rock final section. This form would influence many other rock artists, notably Queen, who would use a similar structure for their opus "Bohemian Rhapsody". The guitar part opens with an Am-Fmaj7 chord progression with a chromatic descending bassline A-G#-G-F#-F. John Paul Jones contributed overdubbed wooden bass recorders in the opening section (He used a Mellotron to synthesize this arrangement in live performances) and a Rhodes electric piano in the middle section. The extended Jimmy Page guitar solo in the song's final section was played for the recording on a 1958 Fender Telecaster plugged into a Supro amplifier. Three different solos were recorded with Page deciding to keep the one which he felt best suited the theme of the song. The other guitar parts were played using a Harmony acoustic guitar and Fender Electric XII (12-string); both can be heard on the left and right recording channels respectively. For later live versions Page switched to using a double-necked 6/12 1968 Gibson EDS-1275, which was custom-built by Roger Giffin of Gibson's West Coast Custom Shop.
Cover versions
Although the song is a popular set choice for cover bands throughout the world, the iconic status and unique structure of the song have precluded the recording of many cover versions by established artists. A few attempts at a straightforward cover have been made over the years, notably by hair metal band Great White. German producer Frank Farian formed the "supergroup" Far Corporation which was the first act to chart with a single release of the song, barely making the charts in the U.S., while becoming a top-10 hit in the UK, reaching number 8 in October 1985. Singer Dolly Parton recorded a country-bluegrass version on her 2002 album Halos & Horns. Many other covers tend to be ironic or humorous in intent, notably Dread Zeppelin's reggae/Elvis-inspired version, a punk music rendition by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and Pat Boone's lounge take, and Rolf Harris who reached number 7 on the UK charts in 1993.
Frank Zappa covered the song during his 1988 world tour and appeared on the 1991 live album The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life.
Fake versions
One version of the song circulating on the Internet is a supposed "reggae remix" by Jimi Hendrix. In fact, Hendrix died a year before the song was released. Even if he were alive, it is unlikely that he would have made such a track. The actual song that is generally circulated around is a cover of "Stairway to Heaven" by Frank Zappa at one of his last live shows. This track is also sometimes attributed to Sublime.
Another widely circulated cover version is credited to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. This is definitely the version on the BBC Sessions album Zeppelin released in 1997.
Trivia
- The opening chord progression in "Stairway to Heaven" is similar to that of the 1968 instrumental "Taurus" by the group Spirit, who accompanied Led Zeppelin on a tour that year. Spirit has acknowledged this and is okay with it. No one in Led Zeppelin has ever mentioned being influenced by the Spirit track.
- Critics of rock and roll songs (and of Led Zeppelin in particular) have occasionally alleged that a backward message is recorded into "Stairway to Heaven." If a portion of the song is played backwards, then supposedly words beginning with "Oh, here's to my sweet Satan" can be heard. Various Christian fundamentalists have interpreted different lyrics from the allegedly-backmasked portion, which most agree to be the lines beginning with "If there's a bustle in your hedgerow...". The theory was advanced by Michael Myers, Jacob Aranza, and Jeff Godwin among others. Led Zeppelin have always ignored such claims, the only comment coming from Swan Song Records which issued the statement: "Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards". Also, Plant himself said in an interview: "To me it's very sad, because 'Stairway To Heaven' was written with every best intention, and as far as reversing tapes and putting messages on the end, that's not my idea of making music."
- The tendency for many aspiring guitar players to learn to play the introduction to the song was spoofed in the 1992 Mike Myers movie Wayne's World, when a "No Stairway to Heaven" regulation is enforced at a music store visited by the title character. The intro was replaced with a more generic, non-"Stairway" riff in later releases of the movie, making the joke rather incomprehensible.
- In the early 1990s, each episode of the Australian chat show The Money or the Gun ended with a different group performing an idiosyncratic cover version of "Stairway to Heaven". From a diverse range that included an Elvis impersonator, Kate Ceberano, and the Doug Anthony All Stars, the best remembered is Rolf Harris's version (complete with didgeridoo and wobble board), which reached the Top 10 on the UK singles charts.
- Harris is said to have received death threats from fans of the song for his version of this iconic rock anthem.
- A compilation album, Stairways to Heaven, was put out on the Atlantic label, featuring versions of the song by The Australian Doors Show, The Beatnix, John Paul Young, Kate Ceberano, Leonard Teale, Michael Turkic, The Ministry of Fun, Neil Pepper, Pardon Me Boys, Robyne Dunn, The Rock Lobsters, Rolf Harris, Sandra Hahn, Vegimite Reggae and others.
- A novelty song featuring the music and arrangement of the song combined with the lyrics to the "Theme from Gilligan's Island" (which has a similar chord progression) was recorded by the San Francisco band Little Roger and the Goosebumps and often featured on the Dr. Demento radio program. Singer Plant has described this as his favorite cover version of the song.
- A heavy metal band Down named their second album A Bustle in Your Hedgerow, which is a quotation from this song.
- The Butthole Surfers, in an act of parody and/or tribute, released an album in 1988 called Hairway to Steven.
- On original versions of the song " Tribute" by Tenacious D (as well as on the Tenacious D TV show) one can hear Kyle Gass play the opening to "Stairway to Heaven", and, commonly, during live performances after the song is completed, harmoniously sing "And they're playing the best song in the world", in a manner identical to the ending lyrics of "Stairway to Heaven" ("And she's buy-y-ying a stair-r-way to heav-en").
- In the 8:00 odd minutes of playtime, Robert Plant sings the phrase "Stairway to Heaven" three times.
- In 1990 a St. Petersburg, Florida, radio station kicked off its all-Zeppelin format by playing "Stairway to Heaven" for 24 hours straight.
External links
- NPR Fresh Air audio interview with Robert Plant, who comments on various covers of the song, the lyrics and writing it.
| Led Zeppelin |
|---|
| John Bonham · John Paul Jones · Jimmy Page · Robert Plant |
| Studio Albums: Led Zeppelin · II · III · Image:Zoso.png (IV) · Houses of the Holy · Physical Graffiti · Presence · In Through the Out Door · Coda |
| Live Albums: The Song Remains the Same · BBC Sessions · How the West Was Won |
| Compilations: Box Set · Profiled · Remasters · Box Set 2 · Complete Studio Recordings · Early Days · Latter Days |
| Films: The Song Remains the Same · Led Zeppelin DVD |
| Other: Peter Grant · Page and Plant · Swan Song Records · The Yardbirds · XYZ |
